Southland’s Shoppers Are a Fickle Bunch : Mergers’ Effect on Food Bills of More Concern Than Who Owns Store

Money seems to count more than store loyalty to grocery shoppers in Southern California.

As word spread this week that the owner of Alpha Beta wants to buy Lucky Stores--the latest in a series of proposed takeovers involving Southern California supermarkets--many shoppers said they are not so worried about the loss of another grocery-store chain.

But they are worried about something else--prices and how far their money will go.

“There are takeovers all over the country, and I don’t like it at all,” said Ruth Bilderback, 75, outside an Alpha Beta in Costa Mesa. “They won’t have so much competition, so they’ll really run prices up.”

“Pretty soon there’s only going to be one grocery store in Southern California,” added Lisa Bass, 27, a legal office administrator and another Alpha Beta customer.

For the past few years, customers have reaped benefits as the supermarket chains have fought it out in the Southland. The chains have introduced double coupons, longer store hours, better service at check-out counters and bigger produce, deli and bakery counters. You can now buy flowers, lobsters, prescription drugs and ceramic gifts along with your milk, bread and hamburger.

Consumers Confused

But in the past several months, competition in cutthroat Southern California seems to have prompted a new round of consolidation efforts.

In December, Vons agreed to buy Safeway Stores’ locations in the Southland. Boys Markets was sold recently to a private company controlled by Mexican interests. And Ralphs Grocery has been put up for sale as part of a fierce takeover battle against its owner, Federated Department Stores. Now, American Stores, which owns Alpha Beta, has made a $1.7-billion offer to buy Lucky Stores.

The flurry of acquisition activity seems to have left consumers confused and worried about what it all will mean to their grocery bills.

“I wonder what’s going on. Why all these takeovers?” said Eilean Monahan, who was carting several armloads of groceries from Lucky in Costa Mesa. “The main concern is that they don’t raise prices . . . but I’m dubious.”

Mike Molar, 37, an assistant foreman in Santa Ana, was shopping for his family at Alpha Beta because he believes the chain’s double coupons save him money. While he’s unsure what the takeovers will mean, Molar suspects the worse: “There will probably be one company at the end that raises prices wherever they want to raise them.”

“It seems like it will be a monopoly--like you get what you get,” agreed Vickie Weichelt of Santa Ana, a 34-year-old computer analyst.

Another Lucky customer, Stanley Smith, is concerned, but for another reason. “The mom-and-pops will be run out of business. I don’t think monopolies are good for the country.”

But at the same time customers express their fears, they show the same lack of loyalty that industry experts say makes Southern California the toughest market in the country for supermarket chains to crack.

Marilyn Wortman, 46, a Costa Mesa housewife, watches the ads, then takes her checkbook to whichever store offers the best prices. Fedco, Albertson’s, Lucky and Alpha Beta are all options because “I have more time than money, so I go to each one to get their sales.”

For Jim Pierce--who shops at Lucky, Alpha Beta and Hughes--the supermarket merger frenzy could mean good news for comparative shoppers such as him. “When Ole’s and Builders Emporium merged, the prices stayed the same and sometimes were a little bit lower.”

Pierce, a 59-year-old financial planner, believes there’s “no question” that the merger frenzy could make a big difference in how much people pay for food, “if we get down to too few” stores. But, for now, he said, “there’s still plenty of competition around.”

Polly Dawns of Costa Mesa, 73, is optimistic, too. Once supermarket chains join forces, they will also combine advertising costs. If they cut their advertising, grocery prices might just drop, she said. “I hate to see all the businesses controlled by one company,” Dawns added. “But at least you won’t have to read so many ads.”