Dive Brief:
- The Save Mart Companies has debuted two new locations under its value-focused FoodMaxx chain in California, the supermarket company announced Wednesday.
- The warehouse-style stores, in San Jose and Santa Clara, California, were both formerly part of The Save Mart Companies’ Lucky traditional supermarket banner.
- The grocery company’s move to rebrand the Silicon Valley stores comes at a time when the retailer has been highlighting its focus on helping shoppers save money on groceries.
Dive Insight:
The Save Mart Companies said it decided to convert the supermarkets into its FoodMaxx format after customers in the communities where they are located indicated that they are straining under the cost of food.
The stores are staffed by the same employees who worked at them when they were Lucky locations, according to the announcement.
FoodMaxx, which comprises 56 stores in California and Nevada, describes itself as “delivering warehouse-style savings on everyday essentials” and does not charge a membership fee. Shoppers also bag their groceries themselves as a cost-saving measure.
“Silicon Valley families told us they need relief from high grocery costs, and FoodMaxx delivers," Jim Perkins, president of The Save Mart Companies, said in a statement, adding that the chain offers chicken breasts for $1.49 per pound and 10 avocados for $5.
In addition to FoodMaxx and Lucky, The Save Mart Companies operates grocery stores under the Save Mart banner in California’s Central Valley. The company also runs Roth’s and Chuck’s Fresh Markets in Oregon and Washington.
FoodMaxx stands out from The Save Mart Companies’ other banners because it offers an “absolute lowest price guarantee,” Zeb Early, The Save Mart Companies’ senior vice president of merchandising, said in an interview earlier this week.
For example, FoodMaxx recently began offering frozen turkeys at a below-market price of 57 cents per pound and planned to lower the price even further, Early said.
“On that turkey, we will not be beat. So if somebody goes down to a penny, we’re going down to free,” he said.
FoodMaxx is also offering a Thanksgiving meal promotion priced at about $5 per person — $1 less than what The Save Mart Companies’ other banners are charging for the holiday special.
