But we've already promoted two of them to store manager.' 'The assistant managers in particular saw that the chance of their being promoted in the newly merged Albertson's was pretty distant. 'Nearly half the managers and nearly all the assistant managers came with us,' he said. 'The employees are the ones who have to introduce us to their customers.'īrown has worked to retain supervisory personnel as well. 'The employees are the key contact when you're acquiring something new,' Brown added. 'We offered employment to all the people who'd been working in the stores with the same wage, seniority, job and benefits,' he said. has so far retained 95% of the workers at the acquired units. To keep the stores' customers, Brown said, you need to keep the stores' staff, and Stater Bros. I know it sounds trite, but he considers it a family enterprise,' he added.īob Lupo, a high-yield bond analyst at BancAmerica Securities in Chicago, said, 'The service that Stater provides is probably the best in southern California, in terms of friendliness, courtesy, helpfulness and knowledge.'īrown said the workers at the stores he acquired from Albertson's will be the determining factor in whether the expansion succeeds. 'They do a good job on low margins because Jack Brown keeps his hand on the pulse of the market.

is a very good operator,' said Ted Bernstein, an analyst with Grantchester Securities, New York. Industry analysts told SN Brown's people-centered style of management is one of the company's key assets. Meanwhile, Brown had informed Stater Bros.' other 10,000 employees of the deal through the company newsletter. 'They knew they were important because I am the president and CEO of this company, and I was there to talk with them,' said Brown. While some of these sessions had the CEO speaking before large audiences, Brown said there were a great many one-on-one encounters as well. stores have for more than 60 years, he said.īrown, who joined the company as president and CEO in 1981 and added the title of chairman five years later, also has no intention of changing his very personal, hands-on approach to management.īetween the mid-June announcement of the Albertson's deal and the early August rollout of the acquired stores under the Stater Bros.' banner, Brown said, he had met with 2,100 of his 3,000 new employees. The additional units will emphasize low prices and cheerful service, as Stater Bros. chairman, president and chief executive officer, said he doesn't expect the expansion to change the way the company does business. any beachfront property, but will bring the chain into San Diego County for the first time as well as increase its presence in Los Angeles County. These additional stores won't give Stater Bros. acquired were flagged Albertson's and 10 were flagged Lucky Stores, an American Stores banner. Stater Bros.' haul was part of the nearly 150 units Albertson's was required to sell to win federal antitrust approval of its purchase of American Stores, Salt Lake City. In June, Stater Bros., which for several years had remained relatively stable around the 100-store mark, acquired 43 stores and one development site from Albertson's, Boise, Idaho. Running a larger company.Īnd whether, in this current age of consolidation, the company should try to grow on its own or be acquired by an aggressive, national company. Remodeling 43 stores acquired in June, a task the chain doesn't intend to begin until January, and switching them to Stater Bros.' every-day-low-prices format, a task the chain began as soon as the ink dried on the acquisition agreement and had completed by Labor Day.Ĭompeting against more aggressive operators, such as Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., and Kroger, Cincinnati, in a region Stater Bros. However, they also said the largest independent supermarket chain in southern California has no shortage of challenges ahead of it. Industry analysts interviewed by SN said the new, 40% larger company has a good chance of succeeding on this foreign turf. is now expanding westward into fiercely competitive territory closer to Los Angeles and San Diego. It has a 27.8% market share in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, which puts it well in front of its second-place rival, Kroger Co., Cincinnati, which has 21.0%.īut Stater Bros. The company that has long referred to its base as the 'Inland Empire,' a realm centered in San Bernardino and Riverside counties just east of Los Angeles, has begun a dramatic march toward the sea.

Stater brothers market