Ralphs Grocery Co

Countering gains made by rival supermarket chains, Ralphs Grocery Co. plans to announce today that it is cutting prices on most items on its shelves. Chief Executive George Golleher said Wednesday that Ralphs, the largest supermarket chain in Southern California, is permanently marking down thousands of items in its 266 stores. "Southern California has one of the most competitive [supermarket] environments in the nation," Golleher said.

The partners in a planned supermarket mega-merger are negotiating with a group of their bondholders who are seeking higher interest payments and fees as a condition of participating in the deal. The negotiations are the first step in the plan by Food 4 Less Supermarkets--operator of Alpha Beta--to secure financing to acquire Ralphs Grocery Co. The bondholders are being asked to swap their existing holdings for new bonds that would be issued by a merged supermarket entity.

The financial structure of a planned Southern California supermarket mega-merger is being renegotiated in a bid to satisfy bondholders, prompting the two sides Friday to extend their talks for a second time. The prolonged talks have prompted some to question whether the planned purchase of Ralphs Grocery Co. by the owners of Food 4 Less supermarkets is in trouble, but analysts Friday doubted it.

Today may be the last time that shoppers can double the value of a manufacturer's coupon at Ralphs supermarkets for more than 50 cents. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles-based chain is expected to eliminate bonus valuations on coupons for $1 or more and will only double the value of coupons for 50 cents or less.

An executive of the Kroger Co. supermarket chain and three former managers with its Southern California subsidiary Ralphs pleaded not guilty Monday to federal labor fraud charges linked to the 2003-04 supermarket strike and lockout. A 23-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles accuses the defendants of conspiring to rehire locked-out workers using fake Social Security numbers and identification during the strike. A trial date of Dec.

The big supermarket chains and union officials have started talks on a new labor contract. If those early contacts have been the appetizers, the players will sit down to the main course Monday, when Southern California's biggest grocery union local meets with Ralphs Grocery Co. Healthcare benefits will be the central issue, just as they were in late 2003, when contract talks disintegrated into a 4 1/2 -month strike and lockout.

Southern California's three largest supermarket chains and the grocery workers union resumed talks Monday with both sides urging harmony. Negotiations broke down April 4 amid escalating tensions over the threat of a strike by the union and an employee lockout by the companies. Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are negotiating with the union to craft a new agreement for its 65,000 workers. It will replace a contract that originally was set to expire March 5, but has been extended twice.