NEW PARENTS RECEIVE 'BONUSES' FROM VONS

CAROL ANGRISANI

ARCADIA, Calif. -- A new Baby Bonus program at Vons here is helping new parents save money at the checkout.

Each time a customer spends $100 on baby-related items using the ValuePlus card, he or she receives a $5 gift certificate. The program is being offered at the retailer's Vons and Pavilions stores.

The campaign also includes Baby Bonus Values, items that are worth double their dollar value toward the next Baby Bonus gift certificate.

Baby Bonus items featured in a recent Pavilion ad included Gerber 2nd Baby Food, three for 84 cents; Huggies convenience-pack diapers, $6.59; Vons Pediatric electrolyte, two for $5; and Johnson's Healthflow baby bottle, $1.99.

Vons officials did not return phone calls from SN. But a store-level source at the chain's Rancho Bernardo, Calif., Vons store told SN the Baby Bonus program was launched in her store March 6.