Giant Eagle Keeps Grocery Bills Down By Locking Up Low Prices

PITTSBURGH — Multi-format food and fuel retailer Giant Eagle, Inc. announced it will help families better manage their grocery budgets by locking low prices through the holidays on hundreds of the items customers purchase most. Even if costs go up, prices for these items will not change.

"Increases in commodity costs for corn, wheat and soybeans continue to contribute to rising food prices, and are compounded by additional factors such as fluctuating energy costs and drought," said Giant Eagle Senior Vice President of Marketing Lisa Henriksen . "Our Low Price Lock program will help Giant Eagle customers manage through this uncertainty during the holiday season, and make it easier to plan gatherings and budget-friendly meals with prices on many popular everyday and seasonal items locked, or in some cases reduced. Our Low Price Lock is yet another way for consumers to save by shopping at Giant Eagle."

The Low Price Lock item list includes a combination of national brands such as Heinz, Jif and Pillsbury alongside Giant Eagle brand products from many store departments including meat, produce, deli, dairy, grocery, seafood, bakery, frozen and prepared foods, and health and beauty items. Even prices on flu shots and a popular cell phone have been locked, through January 2, 2013.

The rich assortment of essential items makes it a breeze to plan holiday celebrations and a delicious, varied menu of wholesome breakfast, satisfying school lunches and hearty at-home dinners, while the options for fresh, frozen and prepared foods offer choices that match the taste and lifestyle needs of any family.

For example, consider a chicken-and-stuffing casserole made from cooked chicken breasts, Pepperidge Farm Stuffing and Giant Eagle Cream of Mushroom Soup accompanied by a Nature's Basket Baby Spring Mix Salad with carrots and green peppers; Jiffy Corn Muffins and apple pie for dessert. For pasta-lovers, try Giant Eagle Pasta and Pasta Sauce with meatballs, grated cheese and Giant Eagle Garlic Toast accompanied by a Nature's Basket Romaine Hearts Salad with grape tomatoes. Or carry out Giant Eagle prepared Ribs or Rotisserie Chicken and serve with oven-fried Idaho potato wedges. Just in time for memorable holiday meals, Giant Eagle Spiral Hams and Cooked Shrimp are also on the Price Lock list.

To launch the program, "Price Lock Patrol" agents recently carried out price lock-downs on items inside Giant Eagle locations (see enclosed images). Additionally, Giant Eagle is supporting the program with a full marketing campaign including television, radio, newspaper, billboard, online, and in-store advertising. Consumers can identify the more than 300 included items in-store by highly visible bright yellow and red signage and price tags bearing the Low Price Lock symbol, or by visiting GiantEagle.com/price-lock.

The Low Price Lock is one of many ways Giant Eagle customers save in-store, including competitive everyday prices, great weekly specials, loyalty rewards offers including fuelperks! and foodperks!, coupon doubling up to 99 cents, and unbeatable pharmacy discount programs including the company's generic prescription, free antibiotics and free diabetes medications programs.

About Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle Inc. is one of the nation's largest food retailers and distributors with approximately $9.9 billion in annual sales, which would place the company among the top 30 largest privately held companies on Forbes magazine's largest private corporations list. Giant Eagle is also a recent recipient of Grocery Headquarters' Retailer of the Year Award and the EPA's ENERGY STAR Retail Partner of the Year Award. Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. has grown to be the number one supermarket retailer in the region with 229 supermarkets and 178 fuel and convenience stores throughout western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia and Maryland.

A recipient of the American Diabetes Association's 2010 Chairman's Citation Award, Giant Eagle was also previously named America's Second Harvest Regional Retailer of the Year for its support of local food banks, and actively supports numerous community events, the United Way, Childrens' Hospital, Race For The Cure and other non-profit organizations.

Source: Giant Eagle