LEEVERS SETS LOYALTY CARD EXPANSION TO SECOND STORE

LINDA PURPURA

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. -- Following the successful launch of a frequent-shopper program at its Boulder, Colo., store, Leevers Supermarkets here will expand the program to its Loveland, Colo., unit this month.

The 13-store chain introduced the program June 15 in its Boulder store. Aided by a sweepstakes offering a jeep as the top prize, the program reached its goal of identifying 80% of sales a week earlier than planned.

"We actually ran out of cards" at the Boulder store, said Chris Leevers, director of marketing. "We ordered an initial stock of 20,000 cards and we have run out of them already. So sign-up has been very good."

By year-end, Leevers is planning to have a loyalty program in place at two other Colorado stores, in Pueblo and Granby. No implementation dates have been set for its nine stores in North Dakota.

Currently, all transaction information from the Boulder store is sent to a computer at its division office in Franktown, Colo. This information is then sent back to the store in report form. In the future, Leevers would like to be able to access its frequent-shopper data from the stores via a modem connection or wide area network.

Leevers said the goal of the program is to reward its loyal customers, who include those who spend a lot and those who shop at Leevers frequently enough to be considered loyal to the chain.

Leevers is the second chain to introduce a card-based program in the Boulder area. King Soopers, Denver, which has a Boulder location, introduced a frequent-shopper program chainwide in January.