End of the Line in Sight

Anne Robinson will miss the ritual.

Every week she and her husband, Pete, would drive from their North Hollywood home for one-stop bargain shopping at Fedco. The convenience of finding everything from groceries to garden supplies to toiletries made the 20-minute drive worth it through the years.

But on Wednesday, Robinson made what could be her last trip to the discount retailer, which is going out of business after nearly 50 years.

Fedco, Southern California’s first membership discount retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month and will sell its 13 outlets to Dayton Hudson Corp., which owns the Target discount chain.

About half the Fedco outlets are expected to reopen as Target, but the fate of the Van Nuys store is not yet known.

It will remain open as Fedco to members, as well as nonmembers, until most of its merchandise is liquidated. Beginning Wednesday, everything was marked down 5%-20%, and the discount could eventually be increased, said Donna Walters, a Fedco spokeswoman.

Robinson did not come to Fedco for the sale, though. She was simply on her weekly trip, stocking up, and she may return next week if Fedco is still open.

“It’s very sad to see the old store go,” Robinson said. “I’ve shopped here for 30 years. We shall miss it very much.”

Fedco was founded in 1949 by about 600 Los Angeles-area postal workers seeking relief from a postwar wage freeze and rising prices.

Initially, membership was limited to federal government employees and retirees, but the rules were gradually relaxed to include others. In the first five years, membership exploded to more than 50,000 and eventually grew beyond 3 million.

The first store, which closed years ago, opened in Los Angeles, Walters said. The Van Nuys store opened in 1956.

“An awful lot of people have very fond memories of Fedco,” Walters said.

But the retailer was losing a battle in recent years against several nationwide discount chains, including membership stores such as Costco. The increased competition caused profits to dwindle and there were not enough proceeds to reinvest and expand the company.

When Fedco filed for bankruptcy July 9, company executives said it had become clear last year they could not afford to modernize and expand its chain of aging stores.

“They simply didn’t move with the times,” said Sandra Johnson, a Valencia resident looking for a bargain Wednesday at the Van Nuys Fedco. “I’ve been a member since 1968, but I go to Costco. Fedco just isn’t clean and neat. It’s more like a cluttered warehouse and prices aren’t even that good.”

Longtime Fedco member Ted Kenriksman of Van Nuys said he will not miss the store. He was disappointed with the size of the discount Wednesday and said he will not return unless merchandise is marked down at least 50%-70%.

Many others felt the same on the first day of what’s being billed as a going-out-of-business sale. A small crowd strolled through the aisles shortly after doors opened, searching for what turned out to be elusive bargains. There was no pushing, shoving or fighting over merchandise.

“In the last two years, I’ve been here maybe twice,” Kenriksman said, his cart empty. “I usually go to Target. They have better prices.”