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AMERICAN CONSIDERING FRESH FOODS FORMAT

SALT LAKE CITY -- American Stores Co. here, which has unveiled a number of new formats lately, is considering a new one geared to fresh foods, a company official told SN.The company is mulling two units -- one in Salt Lake City and the other in Sacramento, Calif. -- "but we're still very early in the conceptual and developmental stages," said Meredith Anderson, vice president, public, government and

SALT LAKE CITY -- American Stores Co. here, which has unveiled a number of new formats lately, is considering a new one geared to fresh foods, a company official told SN.

The company is mulling two units -- one in Salt Lake City and the other in Sacramento, Calif. -- "but we're still very early in the conceptual and developmental stages," said Meredith Anderson, vice president, public, government and investor relations.

Jonathan Ziegler, an analyst with Salomon Bros., New York, said the stores are expected to be a cross between a Fresh Fields and a Harry's-in-a-Hurry. Fresh Fields is a natural foods supermarket, while Harry's is a smaller, convenience-store version of a perishables-oriented format.

Gary Giblen, managing director of Smith Barney, New York, said the stores are likely to feature a combination of gourmet, organic and health foods to appeal to a variety of upscale consumers -- those who seek out healthy products and those who don't. He said American wants to test one of the stores near its headquarters here because it will be easier to do the research and development if the store is close by. Another advantage is the lack of health food stores in Salt Lake City. American's Anderson said only that the stores would feature perishables and possibly prepared foods.

Securities analysts contacted by SN said the possibility of the "fresh" stores was raised by Victor L. Lund, American's president and chief executive officer, during a day-long meeting with analysts in Chicago late last month.

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