Ralphs

Ralphs is an American supermarket chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. names in California.

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 in Los Angeles by George Albert Ralphs and his brother, Walter Benjamin Ralphs. Ralphs teamed with S. A. Francis in 1873 to open the Ralphs & Francis store at 5th and Hill – an area which would become the Historic Core of the city in the early 20th century, but was then a mostly residential area with many single-family houses. In 1875, Ralphs’s brother Walter bought out Francis’s share, and the business became the Ralphs Bros. Grocers, specializing in produce. The business boomed. In 1876, they constructed a two-story building at the southwest corner of Sixth and Spring.

In the 20th century, Ralphs became a grocery pioneer, offering self-service markets with checkout stands in distributed locations. The company employed notable architects in designing its stores, and the former Ralphs Grocery Store building built in 1929 in Westwood Village has been photographed by Ansel Adams, declared a Historic Cultural Monument, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1980s, it created a chain of hybrid supermarket/warehouse stores called The Giant, which failed, but the concept returned with the company's merger with the Food 4 Less discount chain. In 1968, Ralphs was acquired by Federated Department Stores, based in Cincinnati.

In 1988, Canada-based Campeau Corporation launched a $4.2 billion hostile takeover of Federated, Ralphs's parent. Ralphs would then be put up for sale, with American Stores (owner of rival chain Lucky) making an offer.

In 1992, Federated, now known as Macy's, Inc., sold Ralphs to a group of owners, led by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, after filing for bankruptcy two years earlier in 1990. In 1994, Ralphs was acquired by the Yucaipa Companies for $1.5 billion. Yucaipa owned ABC Markets, Alpha Beta, Boys Markets, and Cala Foods. Soon, all ABC Markets, Alpha Betas, and Boys Markets were rebranded as Ralphs. At the same time, Food 4 Less was merged with Ralphs. In 1997, Yucaipa sold Ralphs to Portland-based Fred Meyer, owner of several chains in the west. Soon, Ralphs Marketplace stores started opening in suburban areas; these stores are based on the Fred Meyer model but without apparel. At the same time, they also acquired the 57-store Hughes Family Markets chain. In October 1998, the parent company, Fred Meyer, merged with Kroger of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1999, Ralphs purchased about 30 Albertsons and Lucky stores, mostly in Northern California, as well as stores in the Central Coast region, and one store each in Bakersfield and Laguna Beach. The stores were divested as a result of the Albertsons and American Stores merger and marked the chain's reentry into Northern California after a short-lived expansion in the 1970s.

In 2005, Ralphs exited the Bakersfield market, closing 3 stores.

Ralphs operated in Northern California until January 2006, when they announced that all but one Ralphs in northern California would close. In August 2006, the one remaining Ralphs in northern California, in Grass Valley, was given a 60-day notice of closure, ending Ralphs' presence in northern California for the second time. Also, in August 2006, Ralphs finalized plans to sell eleven (of thirteen remaining) Cala-Bell Stores to Harley DeLano, who previously ran the chain.