CONSUMERS MARKETS OFFERS CHICKEN FOR MOM

ROSEANNE HARPER

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Consumers Markets here attempted to keep mom out of the kitchen this Mother's Day.

For the first time in a Mother's Day ad, the chain featured a fried chicken meal package. Also during that week, "Remember Mom" commercials run on local television stations mentioned the meal package.

"I had heard that Mother's Day was KFC's biggest sales day of the year, and that certainly figured into our decision to feature a fried chicken meal," said Michael Knisley, bakery-deli director for the 23-unit chain.

Consumers' package, at a special price of $9.98, included 12 pieces of fried chicken, 1 pound of potato salad, 1 pound of baked beans and six dinner rolls. The everyday price is $10.98.

Gross margin is not necessarily any greater on the meal package than on the items sold separately, Knisley said.

"The idea is just to make it easy to order. Consumers are used to not having to think when ordering at fast-food restaurants. In some, you can order by number," he added. He also said the meal package would call more attention to Consumers' fried chicken, making people think of it for the day's meal.

Ease of serving and eating also were taken into consideration.

"We've been selling a lot of rotisserie chickens recently, but we chose to do the meal with fried [chickens] because it's easy for the customer. They can take this to the park and eat it if they want," Knisley said. Last week he projected sales of 1,500 of the meals from the chain's 18 delis on Mother's Day.

Meanwhile, Louisville, Ky.-based KFC confirmed that Mother's Day indeed is its biggest sales day of the year.

"Compared to an average Sunday, we sell 30% more fried chicken on Mother's Day," Gary Gerdemann, KFC spokesman, told SN. "When Colonel Sanders was alive, he said his goal was to get every American woman out of the kitchen, and that's what a lot of husbands are trying to do on Mother's Day," he added.

KFC's Mother's Day best-seller is its bucket of Original Recipe fried chicken with a pint of mashed potatoes, a pint of coleslaw and four biscuits. A Springfield, Mo., KFC unit last week was selling a 12-piece bucket with a choice of two side dishes and four biscuits for $17.69.