With Dominick's Shoppers Up For Grabs, Local Chains Move In

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With no Dominick's left in town, what are the grocery-chain's loyal shoppers to do? For one thing, reports The Chicago Sun-Times, they can get their milk and eggs at Whole Foods or Jewel.

For a quick primer on Dominick's rapid-fire closings: dozens of the Chicago stores closed for good on Saturday, after Safeway Inc. announced earlier this year that it would shutter the chain due to lost proceeds.

This was bad news for some 6,000 Dominick's employees, and also disheartening for loyalists of the hometown brand (check out this Chicago Business Journal reporter's tale of his "heart-wrenching" final visit to the store.) Then, there's the question of what will happen to some 60 Dominick's stores that haven't been acquired by other chains—and of course what will happen to its shoppers. Cue the competition.

According to the Sun-Times piece, Whole Foods has mailed out fliers to former Dominick's shoppers offering $15 discounts on purchases of $50. The flier also includes a sympathy note, and lists some of Whole Foods' more affordable items. Overall goal, of course: getting Dominick's shoppers hooked on green goodness.

"We sent out coupons to communities...in hopes they would discover how delightful and affordable natural and organic foods can be," Whole Foods spokeswoman Allison Phelps told the paper. In a symbolic tradeoff of brand loyalty, shoppers can even hand in their Domick's cards at Whole Foods to redeem the discount (Whole Foods will recycle the cards.)

Jewel-Osco is also accepting Dominick's cards in exchange for 10 percent discounts on groceries. But this chain was more explicit in inviting former Dominick's former customers to shop at Jewel. In a piece called "Hey Dominick's Shoppers" on the Jewel-Osco blog, a copywriter explained that shoppers can turn in the Dominick's cards, which: "will then be destroyed since you won't need it any longer once you transition into a Jewel-Osco shopper!"
· Whole Foods Joins Jewel In Offering Discount For Dominick's Shoppers [The Chicago Sun-Times]
· Final Curtain Falls On Most Dominick's Stores [CBS Chicago]
· A Reporter's Final Visit to Dominick's [Chicago Business Journal]