Just two months after its heralded debut, the Downtown Ralphs already ranks in the top 15% of the chain’s 262 Southern California supermarkets, according to a company spokesman. The quick success is spurring hope that other supermarkets and retail outlets will arrive sooner than expected in the effort to serve the burgeoning residential neighborhood, the Downtown News reports.
“It has far, far exceeded our estimate of the business that we would do,” said Charles Barfield, vice president of public relations for Ralphs Grocery Co. “The store is doing much better than any of us anticipated.”
The 50,000-square-foot South Park store, on the ground floor of the Market Lofts at Ninth and Flower streets, serves approximately 2,000 customers each day, employees say, and consistently exceeds projected weekly revenues by more than $100,000.
While Ralphs representatives would not disclose exact figures, Efrain Ramirez, Downtown Ralphs’ manager of operations, said he expects the store eventually to compete with the chain’s top, $1 million-a-week outlets.
The Westwood Ralphs, Ramirez said, “was doing about $400,000 when they opened and now they’re doing $1 million a week. That’s what we’re aiming for.
