The group that owns and operates the Piggly Wiggly and Shoppers Value supermarkets in Baton Rouge and Lafayette has acquired Ralph’s Supermarket at 6576 Jones Creek and is converting the 34,000-square-foot store to a Shoppers Value—the seventh in the local market.
The sale of the store included inventory and equipment but not the land, which is leased through Stirling Properties.
Garnett “Skipper” Jones, the majority owner of the local Piggly Wiggly and Shoppers Value stores, began converting the Piggly Wiggly locations in this market to Shoppers Value outlets earlier this year because he says the business model makes more sense. Shoppers Value sells all its items at cost plus a 10% markup, which is applied at the register.
“We dramatically lower the cost and double the volume,” Jones says. “We’ll do twice the volume Ralph’s did.”
Only one store in Baton Rouge, at 3873 Choctaw Drive, and one in Lafayette remain under the Piggly Wiggly brand. Jones plans to convert the Lafayette store to a Shoppers Value later this year and eventually the Choctaw Drive store, too.
As for the former Ralph’s, Jones say it’s a great location for the Shopper’s Value concept. The store is closed this week for renovation and will reopen next week under the new name. A grand opening is scheduled for Aug. 31.
Ralph’s owner Ronnie Trosclair says his family decided to sell the supermarket so it can concentrate on its other Ralph’s Supermarket locations, both of which are in Gonzales, and its Plaquemine supermarket, Butcher Boy.
—Stephanie Riegel
