Food 4 Less Gets Nod to Convert Raley's Stores in Las Vegas

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Food 4 Less Gets Nod to Convert Raley's Stores in Las Vegas
    LAS VEGAS, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Food 4 Less, the nation's largest
price-impact supermarket chain, announced today that it will begin converting
eight Raley's supermarkets in the Greater Las Vegas Area to the Food 4 Less
banner later this month.
    Food 4 Less is acquiring the stores as part of an agreement reached by its
parent company, The Kroger Co., to purchase 18 Raley's stores in Las Vegas.
The Federal Trade Commission has completed its review, and Kroger and Raley's
expect to close the transaction this Friday, November 15, 2002.
    "We believe these stores will provide excellent growth opportunities for
our members at Food 4 Less as we continue to expand our presence in the
Greater Las Vegas Area," said Dave Hirz, president of Food 4 Less Stores.  "We
look forward to introducing Food 4 Less' special brand of friendly service to
even more customers who appreciate quality, variety and service at everyday
low prices."
    The eight Raley's stores that will be converted to Food 4 Less are located
at:
      --  260 E. Lake Mead
      --  2271 N. Green Valley Parkway
      --  3864 W. Sahara Ave.
      --  2475 E. Tropicana
      --  2545 S. Eastern
      --  1955 N. Nellis Blvd
      --  1255 S. Lamb Rd.
      --  120 S. Rainbow

    "We are excited about the potential of all of the stores we are acquiring
and we look forward to defining the future of supermarket shopping in Las
Vegas by providing state-of-the-art and value-added services for busy, budget
conscious shoppers," Hirz said.
    The store conversions are expected to be completed by January 31, 2003.
    As part of the agreement, Food 4 Less will also provide employment
opportunities for many Raley's employees, many of who have already been
interviewed for positions with Food 4 Less.
    "Raley's has many qualified employees and we look to welcoming many of
them onto the Food 4 Less team," Hirz said.
    The acquisition and conversion of the eight Raleys stores also reinforces
Food 4 Less' commitment to Las Vegas.  Food 4 Less currently operates five
stores in Clark County with two brand new stores scheduled to open next week
at 4965 East Sahara Avenue and 3013 West Craig Road.  The company also has
begun construction on two other new Food 4 Less stores in Las Vegas and
Henderson.
    Food 4 Less is a hybrid supermarket/club store.  Once converted, the
former Raley's units will offer customers supermarket quality and selection on
name brand grocery items, fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and poultry, and
a delicatessen and bakery -- all at low everyday prices.
    Hirz asks customers to remain patient during the store conversion process.
"We understand the conversions may cause some hardship for shoppers, but we're
making the stores better," he said.  "Our goal is to provide the customers who
shop in these stores with quality supermarkets and the kind of personalized
service they expect and deserve.  I invite everyone to come out and take a
look at the converted stores when they re-open as Food 4 Less markets."
    In addition to its quality stores, Food 4 Less is well known for its
extensive community involvement.  "Food 4 Less believes in giving back to the
communities where we operate," Hirz said.  "The new communities we will be
serving will find us to be good citizens and neighbors."
    Last year, Food 4 Less contributed more than $10 million to support
education, hunger relief and local non-profit organizations in the communities
where it operates stores.
    Food 4 Less has been serving the residents of Greater Las Vegas since 1999
when it acquired five former Price Rite stores.  Since then Food 4 Less has
invested significantly in remodels and improvements to these stores.

    Food 4 Less currently operates 116 price-impact supermarkets under the
Food 4 Less banner in Southern California, Nevada, Illinois and Indiana, and
the Foods Co banner in Central and Northern California from its headquarters
in Los Angeles.  Food 4 Less is a division of The Kroger Co., (NYSE: KR), one
of the nation's largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio.  For more
information on Food 4 Less, please visit our website at http://www.food4less1.com .
SOURCE Food 4 Less
http://www.food4less1.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/732950.html
CONTACT:
Terry O'Neil, +1-310-884-4680, for Food 4
Less Stores