West Coast Grocer Set To Drop Prices

Albertsons, the West Coast grocer, is set to drastically drop prices on many items throught their stores. These price drops are in response to their dwindling sales and inability to keep up with with discount markets and superstores. The LATimes reports that the initiative is aimed at regaining budget-minded customers both from its rivals and those lost to discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. The report also notes that, Albertsons' move comes at a time when "everyone is fighting for traffic right now. They are all aware that consumers are under a lot of pressure," said Stella Kapur, the supermarket analyst at Standard & Poor's, the New York corporate credit rating company.

Will we see other regional grocers following Albertson's lead?