Boys Markets

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

Ralphs Grocery Company

File:Ralphs.svg
File:Ralphsmarketplace.jpg 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 represents 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 established west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also manages retail outlets under the brands Food 4 Less and Foods Co. within California.

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 in 1886

The origins of Ralphs Grocery Company trace back to 1873 when brothers George Albert Ralphs and Walter Benjamin Ralphs founded it in Los Angeles. That same year, George Ralphs partnered with S. A. Francis to establish the Ralphs & Francis store at Fifth and Hill streets—then a predominantly residential district that would later evolve into the city's Historic Core during the early 1900s. By 1875, Walter Ralphs had acquired Francis’s interest, rebranding the enterprise as Ralphs Bros. Grocers with a focus on fresh produce. The company prospered rapidly; in 1876 they erected a two-story structure at the southwest corner of Sixth and Spring streets.

Throughout the twentieth century, Ralphs emerged as an innovator in grocery retail by introducing self-service stores equipped with multiple checkout counters spread across various locations. The company commissioned prominent architects for its store designs; notably, the former Ralphs Grocery Store building constructed in 1929 in Westwood Village has been immortalized by photographer Ansel Adams, designated as a Historic Cultural Monument, and included on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1980s, Ralphs experimented with a hybrid supermarket-warehouse format called The Giant, which ultimately was unsuccessful; however, this concept resurfaced following its merger with the discount chain Food 4 Less. In 1968, Federated Department Stores—headquartered in Cincinnati—acquired Ralphs.

During 1988, Federated’s parent company faced a $4.2 billion hostile takeover bid from Canada-based Campeau Corporation. Subsequently, Ralphs was put on the market with American Stores—the owner of rival Lucky Stores—submitting a bid.

By 1992, after Federated (by then known as Macy's Inc.) filed for bankruptcy in 1990, Ralphs was sold to a consortium led by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. Two years later in 1994, Yucaipa Companies purchased 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 alongside Food 4 Less. In 1997, Yucaipa sold Ralphs to Portland-based Fred Meyer—which operated multiple western chains—and began launching Ralphs Marketplace stores modeled after Fred Meyer’s format but excluding clothing departments. That same year they acquired Hughes Family Markets’ 57-store chain. In October 1998, Fred Meyer merged with Cincinnati’s Kroger.

In 1999, Ralphs expanded by acquiring approximately thirty Albertsons and Lucky stores primarily located in Northern California—including those on the Central Coast—as well as individual outlets in Bakersfield and Laguna Beach. This acquisition followed Albertsons’ merger with American Stores and marked Ralphs’ renewed presence in Northern California after an earlier brief expansion during the 1970s.

By 2005, Ralphs withdrew from Bakersfield by closing three locations.

Ralphs continued operations in Northern California until January 2006 when it announced plans to shutter all but one store there. The last remaining location in Grass Valley received a closure notice in August that year—ending Ralphs’ second exit from Northern California. Additionally in August 2006, plans were finalized to sell eleven out of thirteen remaining Cala-Bell stores to Harley DeLano—previously involved with that chain.

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

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

Currently competing against Albertsons (including Vons) and Stater Bros., Ralphs uses the slogan "Fresh for Everyone," consistent across all Kroger-owned grocery brands. It holds a leading market share position throughout Southern California.

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

Exterior view of a now-closed Ralphs store in Encino, Los Angeles, shuttered January 2020 (Store #219)

2003–04 strike

Main article: Southern California supermarket strike of 2003–04

Ralphs Grocery Company maintained 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 solidarity with rival Vons (a Safeway subsidiary) amid a UFCW strike against Vons in Southern California. Key negotiation points centered on healthcare coverage and wage frameworks, which the supermarket chains argued were essential to curtail expenses and stay competitive against emerging discount retailers such as Walmart. The dispute concluded in March 2004 with a settlement viewed as favorable to the grocery chains—new employees would receive significantly lower wages and reduced health benefits compared to existing staff.

On October 16, 2006, Ralphs consented to a $70 million settlement resolving felony allegations that it unlawfully rehired locked-out workers under fictitious names and Social Security numbers during the labor conflict. Out of this amount, $50 million was distributed to qualifying UFCW members, while the remaining funds were paid as fines to federal authorities.