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This article is about the grocery store chain. For the NRHP listed building, see Ralphs Grocery Store (Los Angeles, California). For people with the surname, see Ralphs (surname).

Ralphs Grocery Company

File:Ralphs.svg
File:Ralphsmarketplace.jpg A Ralphs Marketplace located in Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California (Store #703-00127)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail (Supermarket)
Founded	1873 (1873) in Los Angeles, California
Founder	George Ralphs
Headquarters	1100 W. Artesia Blvd. Compton, California , United States
Number of locations	184 stores (April 2024)
Area served	Southern California
Key people	Tom Schwilke (president) John Sparkenbach (VP of Operations) Laura Peters (VP of Merchandising)
Products	Bakery, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, grocery, meat, liquor, pharmacy, produce, seafood and snacks
Revenue	US$6 billion (2023)
Owner	Yucaipa Companies (1994–1997)
Number of employees	27,000 (2021)
Parent	Federated Department Stores (1968–1992) Fred Meyer (1997–1998) Kroger (1998–present)
Website	www.ralphs.com

Ralphs is a supermarket chain operating primarily in Southern California. As the largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it holds the distinction of being the oldest grocery chain west of the Mississippi River. Within California, Kroger also manages stores under the banners of Food 4 Less and Foods Co..

History

File:Ralphs Brothers Grocery and New York Bakery, southwest corner of Sixth Street and Spring Street, 1886.png

Ralphs Brothers Grocery and New York Bakery at the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Spring Street, 1886

The origins of Ralphs Grocery Company trace back to 1873 when brothers George Albert Ralphs and Walter Benjamin Ralphs established the business in Los Angeles. That same year, George Ralphs partnered with S. A. Francis to launch Ralphs & Francis at the intersection of 5th and Hill streets—an area that would later become part of Los Angeles' Historic Core but was predominantly residential at the time. By 1875, Walter Ralphs acquired Francis’s stake, rebranding the enterprise as Ralphs Bros. Grocers with a focus on produce. The company experienced rapid growth and in 1876 erected a two-story structure at Sixth and Spring streets.

Throughout the 20th century, Ralphs was among the first to introduce self-service grocery formats featuring checkout counters across various locations. The company engaged prominent architects for store design; notably, the former Ralphs Grocery Store edifice completed in 1929 in Westwood Village has been captured by photographer Ansel Adams, designated a Historic Cultural Monument, and included on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1980s, Ralphs experimented with a hybrid supermarket-warehouse concept named The Giant, which ultimately did not succeed; however, this format was later revived through its merger with the discount chain Food 4 Less. The company became part of Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1968.

In 1988, Federated’s parent company came under a $4.2 billion hostile takeover bid from Canada’s Campeau Corporation. Subsequently, Federated placed Ralphs on the market with an offer made by American Stores—the owner of competing Lucky Stores.

By 1992, after filing for bankruptcy in 1990, Federated Department Stores (then known as Macy's, Inc.) divested Ralphs to a consortium led by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. Two years later in 1994, the Yucaipa Companies acquired Ralphs for $1.5 billion. Yucaipa also owned ABC Markets, Alpha Beta, Boys Markets, and Cala Foods chains; these were soon consolidated under the Ralphs brand while Food 4 Less merged into Ralphs operations. In 1997 Yucaipa sold Ralphs to Portland-based Fred Meyer—owner of multiple western grocery chains—which introduced Ralphs Marketplace stores modeled after Fred Meyer's format but excluding apparel departments. Concurrently, Fred Meyer purchased Hughes Family Markets’ 57 stores. In October 1998 Fred Meyer merged with Kroger from Cincinnati.

In 1999 Ralphs expanded into Northern California by acquiring approximately thirty former Albertsons and Lucky stores primarily located in Northern California’s Central Coast region plus locations in Bakersfield and Laguna Beach—assets divested following Albertsons' merger with American Stores—marking its return to Northern California after an earlier brief presence during the 1970s.

By 2005 Ralphs withdrew from Bakersfield by closing three locations.

The company maintained operations in Northern California until January 2006 when it announced plans to shutter all but one store in that region. By August that year, the last remaining Northern California location in Grass Valley received notice to close within sixty days—ending Ralph's presence there for a second time. Also during August 2006, plans were finalized for selling eleven out of thirteen remaining Cala-Bell stores to Harley DeLano who had previously managed that chain.

On July 20, 2007, Ralphs launched a new 50,000 square feet (4,600 m²) supermarket at Ninth and Hope Streets within downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district—marking the first full-service grocery store downtown in fifty years since a prior location closed at Seventh Street and Figueroa Street in 1950.

In early 2023, president Tom Schwilke revealed intentions to open a new Ralphs location within two years—the first such opening in over a decade.

Currently competing against chains like Albertsons (including its Vons division) and Stater Bros., Ralphs promotes its slogan "Fresh for Everyone," which is shared across all Kroger-owned grocery brands. It holds a leading market share position throughout Southern California.

File:Barnes & Noble, Ralphs, Encino, CA.JPG

Facade of a former Ralphs store located in Encino, Los Angeles, closed as of January 2020 (Store #219)

2003–04 strike

Main article: Southern California supermarket strike of 2003–04

Ralphs Grocery Company maintains agreements with the United Food and Commercial Workers, the largest grocery union nationwide. During late 2003 and early 2004, Ralphs initiated a lockout of its UFCW-affiliated employees in Southern California, aligning with competitor Vons (a Safeway subsidiary), following the UFCW's strike declaration against Vons. Central negotiation topics involved healthcare provisions and wage frameworks, which the supermarket chains argued were essential to cut expenses and stay competitive amid the expansion of discount retailers such as Walmart. The strike concluded in March 2004 with a settlement viewed as favorable to the grocery chains—new employees would receive significantly lower wages and diminished health benefits compared to existing staff.

On October 16, 2006, Ralphs consented to a $70 million settlement resolving felony allegations that it had unlawfully rehired locked-out workers under false identities and Social Security numbers during the labor dispute. Of this amount, $50 million was distributed to qualified UFCW members, while the balance was paid as federal government fines.

External links

• Official website
• Ralphs History
• Ralphs Ends Its Attempt to Give Giant Stores a Separate Identity