STOP & SHOP PUSHES NEW PREMIUM PRIVATE LINE

RICHARD TURCSIK

QUINCY, Mass. -- Stop & Shop Cos. here is using extensive sampling and full-page ads to get consumers enamored of its new Stop & Shop Select premium private-label products.

The Stop & Shop Select product line consists of carbonated beverages, diet sparkling water products, pet foods, crackers, salad dressing, pasta sauce, Indulgence ice cream and frozen yogurt, mayonnaise, cookies, and salsa in mild, medium and hot varieties.

The introduction of Stop & Shop Select began in late August, and products will continue to be introduced throughout the fall. Additional pastas and sauces as well as wet and dry nutritional pet foods will be introduced later this year.

As reported, the line was developed for Stop & Shop by Oakland, Calif.-based Safeway, which created the Safeway Select line for its own use and is sourcing it for Stop & Shop. Both chains are controlled by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a New York-based investment firm.

Mary Jo Anderson, a Stop & Shop spokeswoman, told SN the chain is using in-store sampling and demonstrations to introduce shoppers to the new Select line.

"We did do extensive demoing," she said. "For the first three weeks, we did two products for four days a week in each of our 130 stores. It really was an intensive demo schedule."

Anderson added that most of the Select products will be new additions to the chain's private-label stable, although the soft drinks, waters and pet foods are replacing the old Stop & Shop brand. She declined to discuss the success or merchandising of the Select line.

A local observer told SN that soft drinks carrying the old Stop & Shop label were marked down to clear the shelves for the new arrivals.

"Stop & Shop liquidated the Stop & Shop brand soft drinks. They flushed all the product out to the stores, and it was up to the stores to sell it off-shelf. Stop & Shop picked a date, and at that point the stores were required to just sell the Select label.

"It was all of the variety flavors that seemed to be left. They knew it was coming, and they balanced their inventory down. They then flushed out basically everything that was left in the warehouse. They did the same thing with the pet food," the observer said.

"Stop & Shop is merchandising Select the way they did their regular private label but giving it some different ad treatment. It is highlighted in their different ad vehicles, and they've taken a different set of items every time they've advertised it," he explained.

For example, in one circular distributed last month, Stop & Shop devoted an entire inside page to announce the Stop & Shop Select beverage line, which consists of 26 flavors of soda, three varieties of mixers, seven varieties of flavored seltzers and four varieties of clear, flavored diet water.

"For premium-brand quality and exceptional value, new Stop & Shop Select beverages can't be beat!" the ad copy read.

"We've carefully reformulated our current Stop & Shop beverage line and created a totally refreshing new line of over 40 Stop & Shop Select beverages, which will take the place of our current Stop & Shop brand beverage line.

"Like our new Select Cola. One taste and you'll swear you're drinking your favorite national brand."