FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Shoppers Commend Seattle Albertsons for 'No Loyalty Card' Stand
July 10, 2002

Date: Saturday, July 13
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Location: Albertson's supermarket at NE 145th and 15th NE, Seattle, WA (Street address: 14500 15th NE)

(Seattle, Washington) Seattle shoppers will rally this Saturday morning to thank Albertson's for not demanding its customers to have an intrusive special card to receive advertised sale prices.

The "Thank You" event comes in response to rival chain QFC's recent introduction of an "Advantage" card. With QFC and Safeway both requiring that their customers present a card to receive sale prices, Albertson's is now one of the few privacy-friendly alternatives left to shoppers in the area.

Albertson's, the nation's second-largest grocery chain, has built up a loyal following among Puget Sound shoppers with its "No Card Needed" promotional strategy. The store offers substantial discounts through its "Bonus Buy" program, making sale prices available to all shoppers, including those opposed to having their purchases recorded through a card.

Saturday's event is part of a growing national consumer movement in opposition to supermarkets' use of so-called "loyalty cards," spearheaded by Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN). CASPIAN is calling on stores around the country to discontinue the programs as a result of recent research revealing worrisome privacy and pricing aspects to the cards.

"Not only do Safeway and QFC's cards violate our privacy, they don't even save us money," says Redmond resident and CASPIAN volunteer Robert Eberl. A recent price comparison conducted by the group found QFC's "Advantage" card price was nearly 40 percent higher than Albertson's Bonus Buy price on the same six sale items.

"We want to go directly to our local Albertson's to thank them for offering such great sale prices without the hassle of a card," Eberl explains.

Mac McMahill, a volunteer from Edmonds, left Safeway when the Club Card was introduced several years ago. After comparing prices at several stores, McMahill settled on Albertson's for his shopping. "Their prices are definitely the lowest, and the best part is I don't need a card," he said.

While Albertson's has introduced a "Preferred Savings" card in a few areas of the country, the majority of its 2,300 stores, including those in the state of Washington, do not have cards. The company was plagued with customer complaints and bad publicity when the cards were introduced in Dallas last year.

"Millions of American shoppers rely on their local card-free Albertson's as an alternative to the stores with cards," said CASPIAN founder and director, Katherine Albrecht, "so wherever Albertson's stores stay with their longstanding 'no cards, no-hassles' policy, we will support them 100%."

For more information on the national fight against cards, visit CASPIAN's website at http://www.nocards.org.
Katherine Albrecht can be reached at (603) 465-9093

CASPIAN
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
An information clearinghouse and resource for community and national action

© 1999-2005 Katherine Albrecht. All rights reserved.