Chain stores in Fallon say Supercenter means business as usual

While a Wal-Mart Supercenter is set to open Wednesday morning in Fallon, managers from other retail chain stores in town are not saying much about the increased competition.

In fact, they refuse to discuss the matter at all.

Managers at Fallon chain businesses like Safeway Stores Inc., Rite Aid Pharmacies and Raley's Supermarkets & Drug Centers all declined to comment on how their stores would react to the 187,000-square-foot Supercenter's Fallon debut.

Each manager of those Fallon stores passed off comment to corporate public affairs representatives, who also declined to talk about how the new Wal-Mart could affect their respective businesses.

While she refused to discuss any ways that the store could combat the Supercenter's grocery market, Raley's spokeswoman Nicole Townsend acknowledged Wal-Mart's presence in the business community.

She does not, however, anticipate that Raley's will lose a vast amount of customers, and said the coming of Supercenters in Fallon and other cities is "not going to change the way we do business."

"We do understand that Wal-Mart is part of the retail landscape," Townsend said. "However, many of our stores have served their communities for decades with many customers shopping with us for generations. We're really part of the communities that we serve and part of the lives of our customers, which makes us stand apart.

"There will always be points of difference that separate us from competitors like Wal-Mart."

Jody Cook, a corporate spokeswoman for Rite-Aid, said her employer would also continue to trumpet any differences that its stores have with other businesses.

"We do compete with Wal-Mart and other businesses across the country, and we do well," Cook said. "People choose Rite-Aid for convenient service and our product selection. We'll continue to deliver those services no matter what."

As for whether any of the Fallon stores would offer sales or promotions to try to distract shoppers from the new Supercenter, managers and corporate representatives once again declined comment.

"In general, we feel confident that out offerings are good for customers. But we don't comment," said Safeway Public Affairs Director Jennifer Webber.

-- Burke Wasson can be contacted at bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com.