Warehouse grocer Smart & Final Inc. may be looking for shoppers for itself.

The City of Commerce-based company is securing legal and financial advisors to review “strategic alternatives,” a phrase often synonymous with a sale. The decision was made after majority shareholder Casino Guichard-Perrachon S.A., better known as Groupe Casino, announced it will shed assets considered non-strategic by the end of 2007.

Despite Smart & Final’s action, Randall Oliver, a spokesman for the 250-store chain, said a sale is not currently in the works. “There is nothing in any way definitive about anything here. This is the beginning of a process that could take quite a while and may not have any sale at the end of it,” he said.

Still, the shopping list of potential buyers could be long if Smart & Final does decide to put itself on the shelf. Jonathan Ziegler, an analyst with Dutton Associates, said among those companies possibly interested could be Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco Wholesale Corp., Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Minneapolis, Minn.-based Target Corp., along with several private equity firms.

“They have a great concept, and I think they were doing things with it,” he said. “These guys are not in dire financial condition. They are not selling out of desperation by any means.”

Instead, Ziegler, who has a buy rating on Smart & Final’s stock, said the company is exploring options because Groupe Casino put it in a bind. The Saint-Etienne, France-based retailer now holds a 56 percent stake after first acquiring an interest in Smart & Final in 1984 and taking the company public in 1991, according to Randall.

In March, retailer Groupe Casino, which has 9,265 outlets of its own worldwide, detailed a $2 billion asset disposal plan. Under that plan, the company will focus on discount and convenience stores in France; international markets with growth potential, including Latin America and Southeast Asia; and retail-related businesses in promising sectors. The company did not discuss specifically what it intends to do with its ownership in Smart & Final.

If the past is an indicator, Groupe Casino may not end up ridding itself of Smart & Final. About 10 years ago, Ziegler recalled Groupe Casino said it might sell its shares of the warehouse grocer at an asking price of $25 per share. With shares trading at $18 at the time, the key players in the industry didn’t bite.

Certainly, the market is quite different today. The large big-box and grocery companies are in fierce competition to grab up retail space, while real estate is hard to come by in tight urban areas. In addition, the number of financial firms vying for stakes in companies in the sector has increased.

“There is a very strong argument to be made that this company can not grow as a public company. This is a great opportunity for a private financial player,” Ziegler said.

Shareholders have reacted positively to Smart & Final’s move to explore its options. The stock closed at $17.62 on April 5, up from $16.39 on March 31 shortly before the news was made public.