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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Independent Grocery Stores in Overtime Mode During Strike

Independent Grocery Stores in Overtime Mode During Strike By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter Somi Rehil put in two 14-hour days over the last weekend. The owner of Saam’s A-1 Produce on Reseda Boulevard in Northridge usually works about 10 hours a day, but ever since the United Food and Commercial Workers union struck California’s major supermarket chains, it’s been hard to keep up with the increased business. Rehil, who has owned his store for about a year and a half, is an independent grocer with a very small staff and only he and his wife Veena to run the checkout counters. And as sales have increased by 20 to 25 percent, there is much to do from stocking the shelves to a stepped up ordering schedule required by the increased demand. For independents like Rehil, long in the shadow of the major supermarket chains, these are the salad days. Depending on their location, most independent markets are reporting sales increases from 20 percent to more than 50 percent since the strike began, as shoppers who do not want to cross picket lines seek alternatives. “We have many, many, many new customers that are coming here because of the strike,” said Pat McQuaid, who, with his brother, owns Jim’s Fallbrook Market in Woodland Hills. “We have many customers that have been here before, and are shopping more than they would before and then we have our old customers who are mumbling to themselves because there’s too many new people here.” Jim’s, located on Fallbrook Avenue just down the street from two supermarket chains, is getting good referral business from the strikers, who are handing out flyers with the store’s location to customers as they urge them to shop elsewhere. Other markets are simply attracting attention of local shoppers who never thought to visit the store before. “They used to drive by and they never came in,” said Rehil at A-1. “Now they come in and see the prices, and they know it’s 50 percent cheaper. Every day I have 10 to 15 customers telling me they made a mistake not to come in for so long.” Not all the independents are seeing such increases. Sam, the manager at Jr. Mustang Market on Sherman Way in Canoga Park, for instance, said much of the customer base is Latino, and Vallarta Supermarkets, which caters to Latinos and is not affected by the strike, is just across the street. But for others, the increase in business has been dramatic, so much so that some report shortages in deliveries. Many local independents are supplied by the same Los Angeles-based distributor, and the company, along with its suppliers up the chain, are not prepared to meet the large increase in demand. “A typical order comes in 25 percent short,” McQuaid said. As more shoppers discover these independents they are also learning that conventional wisdom doesn’t always apply. The chains have long touted the buying power conferred by their size, but for many items, especially produce, independents say they are competitive, if not considerably less expensive. “Ralphs is always more expensive,” said Abraham Nakoud, the owner of Harvest Market on Burbank Boulevard in Van Nuys, where bananas were selling four for $1.00 and a dozen eggs were going for 99 cents. “He puts more profit in his pocket. Everyone knows that.” At A-1, onions sell for 19 cents a pound. “Nobody has them for less than 33 cents a pound,” said Rehil. “The supermarkets may get aggressive on grocery items, but they can’t compete on produce.” The independent grocers may not be able to take advantage of volume discounts from suppliers but they all say they are able to sell at lower markups, either because their expenses are lower or simply because their business philosophy is markedly different. “I try to make a fair markup so I can stay in business,” said McQuaid, whose family has owned the store since 1951. “But a lot of my customers are neighbors, and I don’t feel like becoming a millionaire off them.” Most of the grocers say they don’t expect all their new customers to continue shopping at their stores once the strike ends, at least not for all items. While many of these independent stores have far more selection than many of their new customers expect to find, they can’t stock all the items a chain offers. “I’m manager, cashier and owner,” said Nakoud. “I don’t have the time to make what people ask for. People ask me for new stuff, and I ask my suppliers, but if they don’t have it, I don’t carry it.” But these grocers say they are hopeful that at least some of the new business they’ve picked up will continue. At M & M; Market on Moorpark Street in Studio City, owner Steve Shin said he feels badly for the chain stores because they’re losing money, but he’d like to see some of the business stay. “We’re trying to provide good service and good prices,” said Shin. “We smile and try to make them happy.” Now that shoppers have discovered these alternatives, at least some are likely to keep coming back, and for these smaller retailers, even a small bump can be meaningful. “If I pick up 15 percent new customers, that’s all fine and dandy,” said McQuaid.

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