Two small ethnic grocery-store chains are combining in a bid to grab a greater share of the Latino market in Southern California.
On Monday evening, the Gigante chain of seven stores will close its doors, reopening Tuesday morning as part of its competitor, the El Super chain. In all, there will be 15 El Super markets in Southern California.
The name change follows the May purchase of all seven Gigante stores by City of Commerce-based Bodega Latina Corp., which operates El Super.
"This is a time of growth," said Carlos Smith, chief executive of Bodega Latina. "We believe that bringing the Gigante stores into the El Super family will provide synergies that will benefit both the company and the consumers in Southern California."
El Super is one of a growing number of supermarket chains in Southern California targeting Latinos by seeking to offer unique blends of food, store designs and locations that set them apart from mainstream supermarkets such as Ralphs and Vons.
The wave of Latino supermarkets has grown steadily since the mid-1990s, according to Carlos Garcia, president of Garcia Research Associates, a Burbank marketing research firm.
"Everything is built around Latino strategies for survival and food preferences, and these stores are fulfilling that," Garcia said. "When you're buying for a family of five or six, a major expenditure of the week goes there, so a place that feels familiar, is clean and has good bargains -- it just works for them."
Latino-oriented stores often feature Mexican pastries and tortillas made fresh and expanded offerings of fruits, vegetables, herbs and condiments. "These aren't going away," Garcia said. "I'd be worried about the relevance of Vons and Albertsons."
The typical market is "not an American store trying to attract Latino customers," he said. "It's a Latino store for Latinos. That's why it works."
El Super operates nine stores in the United States, including eight in Southern California and one in Phoenix. With the acquisition, it will have 16 stores in all.
The Latino food and beverage market in the U.S. will grow to an estimated $8.4 billion in 2011 from $5.7 billion in 2006, according to a food industry research group. Among the larger chains in Southern California are Northgate Gonzalez, based in Anaheim, with 30 stores in the region, and Vallarta Supermarkets, based in Sylmar, with 25 stores.
