Homebodies, sit back and relax a Pink Dot grocery delivery person driving one of the company’s trademark VW Beetles could soon be working your neighborhood.

The Los Angeles-based chain known for delivering sandwiches, salads and an array of everyday items is rolling out a 12-store, $15 million expansion effort.

“We’re expanding because there is a growing need for this kind of customer service. We deliver time and convenience for people,” said Dan Frederickson, the company’s new president and chief executive. “We’re the perfect application for people who are either busy or lazy.”

Currently, the company has eight outlets in West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice, Burbank, Van Nuys, Pasadena, Redondo Beach and Glendale. Areas targeted by the expansion are Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley, Culver City and Santa Ana.

Along with the expansion, Frederickson, who previously spent 11 years as president of Ventura-based Kinko’s Inc., plans to move the headquarters to Camarillo, cease video rentals and spend as much as $100,000 to update its Internet operation.

“We feel the cost of living and quality of life will be better served in Ventura County,” Frederickson said about the relocation. “At some point, we’re going to need a big telecommunications center and the cost (of real estate) is an issue. It will have to be in a more rural area.”

The timing of the expansion makes sense, say analysts, especially in the volatile $630 billion grocery industry in which chains are consolidating and people are exploring other shopping options, such as online grocery retailers.

Pink Dot promises delivery in 30 minutes or less for a service fee of $2.99. If a driver is late, the customer receives a certificate for a future free delivery.

“They don’t have a whole lot of competition. Let’s face it, 7-Eleven doesn’t deliver,” said restaurant analyst Darlene Heskamp of Beitler Commercial Realty Services in Brentwood.

Neither do Ralphs Grocery Co., Lucky Stores Inc., Vons Cos. Inc., and Trader Joe’s. “We’ve discussed the issues (of Web-site ordering and delivery), but we have no plans about implementing them,” said Ralphs spokesman Terry O’Neal.

Pink Dot outlets, all but one of which are closed to the public, stock 2,000-plus items ranging from Del Monte pineapples to Advil tablets as well as key emergency supplies like Correctol laxatives and Huggies diapers.

The operation is highly streamlined and offers a toll-free number for customers to call in their orders. About 20 people staff the company telephone center on Pico Boulevard, fielding 1,500 to 2000 calls a day from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Orders are transmitted to the outlet nearest the customer, then given to an employee to collect the merchandise.

The items are then double-bagged and delivered, often in one of the company’s blue-and-pink vintage Beetles outfitted with beanie tops and wind-up keys.

“We deliver to the stars, and up in the Hollywood Hills they take real good care of you no matter if you’re bringing them a pack of cigarettes or groceries,” said driver Jack Lamposne, 36, who works out of the West Hollywood store.

Pink Dot was founded in 1987 when entrepreneur Bill Toro bought a liquor store at Sunset and La Cienega in West Hollywood and began a delivery service in response to customer complaints about congestion and traffic. From there, the store began offering more and more merchandise for delivery, zeroing in on the needs of singles, young and affluent professionals, and families who find it difficult to run errands with kids in tow.

Last year, private investors bought 70 percent of the company, providing needed capital, and then brought in Frederickson and fellow Kinko’s alumnus Karen Sophiea as chief marketing officer. Toro now sits on the board and maintains a 30 percent stake.

Frederickson declined to provide sales figures but said Pink Dot is profitable because of its relatively small inventory that reduces overhead. “Our prices are similar to grocery stores. We benchmark our prices to be competitive to places like Vons,” he said.

Pink Dot’s slightly higher prices are worth the convenience to fans like David Zweig, who began using the service last year when he was living with his cousin in Sherman Oaks.

“We got sick of ordering pizzas. So, we started using their service every other week even though we had a grocery store down the street. It was absolute sloth,” said the 26-year-old art director of a theme-park design company. “The universal remote is the excellent analogy for Pink Dot.”