RALPHS SERVES UP DOUBLE COUPONS FOR BREAKFAST

RICHARD TURCSIK

COMPTON, Calif. -- At Ralphs Grocery Co. here it was breakfast on the double.

The chain ran a promotion last month wherein it touted its double-coupon program by listing breakfast-oriented items in a newspaper ad during a week when manufacturers' coupons for the products appeared in the newspaper's freestanding insert.

"Ralphs Breakfast on the Double!" read the headline. The ad urged readers to look in the newspaper for coupons on the listed products and save more than $19 by redeeming them at Ralphs. The ad featured products by all three leading cereal manufacturers -- Kellogg's, General Mills and Post -- as well as Weber's bread, General Foods International Coffees, Kellogg's Eggo waffles, Minute Maid orange juice, Philadelphia cream cheese and Hormel Black Label bacon. In the ad, Ralphs also did a comparison with a local Lucky supermarket, which offers everyday low pricing instead of double coupons. While Lucky's total cost without coupons was $73.57, compared with Ralphs' $76.71, when the double coupons were factored in Ralphs total was $57.41 compared with $63.92 at Lucky.

Ralphs backed its ad with a four-color page in the FSI showing the savings that could be had by redeeming Post cereal coupons at Ralphs.

Officials at Ralphs declined to comment, but local observers told SN Ralphs has had success using theme promotions.

"Ralphs does these promotions quite a bit -- more than the other players in this market. Their advertising department does a real nice job with it," said one local observer.

"Ralphs usually does these theme ads about once a quarter," he continued. "They'll do a breakfast one and just prior to summer they'll do a sandwich. They'll do one during summer on having a picnic. They'll also do things like Italian dinner night."

Observers told SN double coupons are very popular with southern California shoppers.

"In Los Angeles, the two major players -- Ralphs and Vons -- battle each other with double coupons, and Hughes also doubles coupons. A few years ago Albertson's changed to everyday low pricing and discontinued doubling the coupons. At the time, the general consensus in this market was that it would lead to their destruction, but they actually survived it quite well and they are doing pretty well for themselves," an observer said.