• Los Angeles Times , Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:01 AM

As part of a strategy to grab market share from rivals that has worked successfully for its corporate parent (Kroger) in other regions, Ralphs Grocery Wednesday unveiled a lower-price policy that it said was a nod to beleaguered consumers struggling to pay rising food and gasoline prices.

Ralphs also will retool its loyalty card program so that shoppers gain points based on purchases and collect cash rebates. The grocer has also changed its double-coupon program, capping the savings a shopper can garner.

In moving to a lower-price strategy, Ralphs is trying to deal with intensifying competition from new entrants such as Sprouts Farmers Market, a Phoenix-based purveyor of "natural" and organic food, and Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, a unit of Tesco. At the same time, discounters such as Target and Wal-Mart continue to move into the packaged and frozen food market.

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