Food and Drugs at Albertson's

Albertson's Inc. (Boise, Idaho) has completed the reformatting of stores in Tucson, Ariz., and Reno, Nev., to combination food-and-drug supermarkets.

The established format combines the retailer's food and drug operations into a single format. During September and October, the company converted all seven Tucson Albertson's stores to the new Albertson's/Osco format, and all but one store location in the Reno market to the new Albertson's/Sav-on format.

The company says the combination store format doubles the general merchandise product selection while maintaining the store's food product variety. The new format introduces one-hour photo, seasonal products, and an expanded cosmetics and beauty care department featuring cosmeticians. The Albertson's combination store format management responsibility is shared by a store director and a drug store manager.

Albertson's, the second-largest supermarket chain in the U.S. (behind Kroger) operates some 2500 stores in 36 states across the country under the Albertson's, Acme and Jewel nameplates. About 800 outlets are standalone drugstores operating under the Osco and Sav-on brands. Its Chicago subsidiary, Jewel-Osco, was a pioneer in combining the supermarket and drugstore formats.