CHICAGO -- A free folding card table with the purchase of four matching chairs at $24.99 each promoted at Jewel Food Stores here may be too high priced with sales reported only fair, according to a store source. The promotion, launched in January, will run through the end of this month. The source added that the chain ran a similar promotion last year and it "did better at stores in more affluent areas, but not as well at stores in poorer sections since it's a little too expensive." Chain executives declined to comment on the promotion.
Tables are being offered to customers who buy four fabric upholstered chairs at the special $24.99 price along with a separate $10 additional purchase. At several store locations the complete set is displayed at the front end of the store.
To get the free table, customers need to show proof of purchase receipts for the chairs at the service desk for a merchandise certificate. They are given a choice of a blue or green unit. The chain is supporting the offer in newspaper ads. One ad stated "The Offer's On The Table" and "Play your Cards Right and Get a Free Table." Another source at one of Jewel's stores did not know how many tables have been sold to date. But a few weeks after the promotion was kicked off, the source said, "It's doing all right, but nothing spectacular."
