Colorado grocery wars heat up: SmartCo jumps into the fray with a new concept.

• Author: Abels, Randi
• Position: RETAIL - SmartCo Foods

Colorado is gaining a new player in the grocery market--and 500 jobs--as SmartCo Foods opens five stores this summer, hoping to attract consumers with its triple-threat concept: part conventional grocer, part warehouse club, part farmer's market.

"We saw an opportunity in Colorado. It is the only place where this concept exists today," company spokesman Randall Oliver said. The company was scheduled to open its first metro Denver store in June and has others planned to open in July. It plans to open 20 to 25 stores in Colorado over the next few years, Oliver said.

SmartCo is a new branch of California-based Smart & Final, a 140-year-old grocer that operates about 280 stores. It arrives in Colorado as rival upstarts like Sunflower Farmers Market and Sprouts Farmers Market open new stores in Colorado. Both SmartCo and Sunflower have been taking over former Alberston's locations as that national chain pulls back on its Colorado presence due to tough competition and declining sales.

David J. Livingston, a sales analyst for supermarkets based in Wisconsin, says consumers are looking for good deals: "The consumer is getting smarter, and they know they can get the exact same products for less money. Consumers are more value conscious."

Oliver touts SmartCo's competitive prices and says its commitment to value will help it succeed in Colorado. "The stores will have high-quality products at a very low price--as much as 70 percent...