Smart & Final to be acquired by Bodega Latina

[storewanderer]

I'll take a S&F Extra over an Albertsons any day of the week. There's plenty of conventional supermarkets like Albertsons around. S&F Extra provides bulk items and lower prices.

While there may be some conversions, overall I think El Super will borrow from S&F (supply chain, private label products) more than the other way around.

Since I don't think this was a leveraged buyout, they won't feel pressure to sell stores right away.

Adding El Super may replace the volume lost when they sold off Smart Foodservice, maybe...

Smart Foodservice was using Supervalu/UNFI as primary supplier though it was getting a lot of Smart & Final First Street etc. brand items that way too. US Foods Chef also keeps using Supervalu/UNFI as primary supplier and seems to be getting some of the US Foods private label items through Supervalu/UNFI too. There must be an iron clad agreement that requires Supervalu/UNFI to keep supplying those stores despite ownership changes since they were originally United Grocers Cash & Carry. At the rate it is going, Supervalu/UNFI won't have many customers left in the Pacific Northwest beyond those US Foods Chefs.

[Bluelightspecial]

S&F have stores in so many different demographic areas, I wonder if the play here is to sell some of the stores off to pay for the remainder to be converted to El Super? There are S&F in areas as diverse as Santa Barbara and East L.A. There is a market to make money in both of these areas but does Bodega Latina have a plan to do that. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these stores aren't sold off to Kroger (Ralphs), Albertsons or Sprouts.

[Bagels]

Dare I say it, Bodega Latina should probably dissolve the Smart & Final Extra format. Convert stores in Latino neighborhoods to El Super (although El Super operates larger stores than S&F), while selling stores in other areas to Albertsons or Stater.
I can't believe that S&F bought nice former Albertsons stores from Haggen (San Pedro, Newport Beach, Carlsbad Village, Quartz Hill, Westlake Village, Mira Mesa). People in those areas want the Albertsons back.

Given that Bodege Latina took the time to point out that nearly half of S&F's customers are Hispanic, and said it's a market they'd like to grow upon, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the S&F stores ultimately turned into El Super -- or at least mimicked that chain's format. The handful of S&F that aren't in diverse areas (mostly ex-Albertsons/Vons, but there's some that they organically opened) may be sold or closed.

[HCal]

Given that Bodege Latina took the time to point out that nearly half of S&F's customers are Hispanic

Hispanics now make up nearly half of California's population, so that in itself doesn't mean much. For example, Los Angeles County is 48% Hispanic. Obviously lower in the bay area, and higher in the central valley.

But from what I can tell, Hispanic food businesses (taquerias, churro stands, Mexican food trucks, etc.) are among S&F's best customers. They may be too small for a supplier like Sysco, and they tend to operate in smaller towns that may not have a restaurant supply store or a Costco. Drive through the central valley and you will see many of these businesses using First Street ingredients and Simply Value paper products.

[Bagels]

Hispanics now make up nearly half of California's population, so that in itself doesn't mean much. For example, Los Angeles County is 48% Hispanic. Obviously lower in the bay area, and higher in the central valley.

It means a lot. LA County may be 48% Hispanic, but there's tremendous segregation in where people shop. For example, in Orange County, Lake Forest has a growing Hispanic population. Ralphs, Albertsons, Stater Bros and Sprouts clientele is overwhelmingly Caucasian or Asian, whereas the lion's share of shoppers at a pair of 99 Cents Only stores are Hispanic. That's not wholly surprising, 99 Cents Only was on the brink of liquidation (and still may be) not that long ago, before doubling down on efforts to attract more Hispanic shoppers. Smart and Final - which has a very large store in Lake Forest (it was a small store, before it took over the neighboring Office Max to create CA's first SmartCo. foods - S&F's defunct flagship banner) could do the same. Currently, there are no Hispanic grocers nearby (although plenty of vacant space does exist for build outs).

I've mentioned this before, but Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons have shuttered dozens of stores in the OC's growing Latino corridor (leaving just a handful open). Several of these stores have become S&F (at least one closed not long after it opened). Not that long ago, I read an article in which some Northgate shoppers were critical of the chain, as they believed it hadn't evolved quickly enough to satisfy the appetite of second/third generation Hispanic Americans. So, there is an opportunity.[/quote]

[submariner]

This ought to be interesting here in Anaheim, where we have an El Super and a Smart & Final Extra! right next to each other...

[luckysaver]

Bodega Latina dba El Super is now replacing Town Talk hot dog/burger buns (not their own product) with First Street buns. The first ever integration of Smart & Final products at El Super began in early December 2021 just before the start of the college football bowl games. I expect Smart & Final's "Iris" brand of disposable napkins/eating utensils to disappear and be replaced by El Super's "Selecto" brand sometime in the near future. The integration is actually very easy - both chains are headquartered in Los Angeles County (S&F in Commerce at the CItadel Mall, El Super in Paramount).

El Super's corporate office is attached to their flagship Paramount store, a former large Albertsons-Savon. The store itself is two-thirds of the building and the corporate headquarters has the remaining space.

luckysaver

[retailfanmitchell019]

Bodega Latina dba El Super is now replacing Town Talk hot dog/burger buns (not their own product) with First Street buns. The first ever integration of Smart & Final products at El Super began in early December 2021 just before the start of the college football bowl games. I expect Smart & Final's "Iris" brand of disposable napkins/eating utensils to disappear and be replaced by El Super's "Selecto" brand sometime in the near future. The integration is actually very easy - both chains are headquartered in Los Angeles County (S&F in Commerce at the CItadel Mall, El Super in Paramount).

El Super's corporate office is attached to their flagship Paramount store, a former large Albertsons-Savon. The store itself is two-thirds of the building and the corporate headquarters has the remaining space.

luckysaver

That Paramount El Super was a Smith's before Lucky bought it.

[luckysaver]

With the Anaheim plaza location, I think they could close either store or keep them together. They both serve different types of customers.

City of La Puente has both S&F and El Super less than a mile apart along Hacienda Blvd. It appears both are here to stay. S&F did extensive remodeling of the building (an old 1950's ex-supermarket that later became a run down subdivided strip mall) in order to be there. El Super was built from the ground up (previous site was a bowling alley).

luckysaver