Ralphs Grocery Reports Loss for Year

Ralphs Grocery Co., which had consolidation costs associated with its 1995 merger with Food 4 Less Supermarkets Inc., reported a loss of $93.8 million for the fiscal year ended Feb. 2. By comparison, the Compton-based company had a loss of $283.2 million during the previous 12-month period, which included the June 1995 acquisition of Ralphs by Food 4 Less. Food 4 Less operated Alpha Beta, Boys and Viva chains that were converted into Ralphs stores. The loss was blamed partly on the cost of consolidating warehouse and distribution operations as well as the closing of some underperforming stores, the company said. The privately held supermarket operator had sales of $5.5 billion for the year. Same-store sales--revenue from stores open at least 12 months--rose 1.8% during the year. The company has 342 supermarkets in Southern California.