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99 Ranch Market (大華超級市場; Pinyin: Dàhuá Chāojíshìcháng; Cantonese: Dai wah tsiu kup see tseung, Taiwanese/Min: Dai Hwa Chau Kip Chih Dioh, Vietnamese: Sieu Thi 99 Ranch), also called Tawa Supermarket in its Chinese name, sometimes called Ranch 99 due to confusion based on its logo) is one of the largest Asian American supermarket chains in the United States. It operates mainly on the West Coast, especially in California. It also has stores in Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, and Washington. It also has a joint venture with the Chinese Canadian T & T Supermarket chain, which operates mainly in the Vancouver area and also Calgary and Toronto.

History

Roger H. Chen, a Taiwanese expatriate, opened the chain's first location in 1984 Little Saigon, a Vietnamese American community located in Westminster, California. In 1987, a market was opened in Montebello (now closed). The name was originally called 99 Price Market but was eventually renamed 99 Ranch Market to give the supermarket a somewhat trendier name. The chain is headquartered in Buena Park, California.

Offerings and customer base

Although most of its customers are ethnic Chinese Americans, especially serving affluent Taiwanese immigrants as well as working-class ethnic Vietnamese Chinese and others, the chain sells a wide range of imported food products and merchandise from Hong Kong, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (particularly Vietnam and Thailand). It also carries some domestic products made by Chinese American companies and mainstream American brands. The number 99 is a lucky number for many Taiwanese. The slogan is For 100 We Try Harder. In addition, it has also reached out to pan-Asian customers, especially Filipino Americans and Korean Americans, by opening locations in areas containing these two ethnicities.

Most 99 Ranch Market locations have a full-service take-out deli serving a combination of Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Szechuan fare. The stores also have a bakery with cakes and fresh Chinese pastries. Most of the bread products and pastries sold in the markets are made inside the store.

99 Ranch Market has a membership VIP card program as well as mail circulars with coupons. It also runs some sweeptakes as well.

Although the customer base is primarily Asian-Americans, non-Asians can also be found shopping at 99 Ranch Markets.

General locations

Generally, the chain often operates chiefly in the newer suburban Mandarin-speaking immigrant communities, including Milpitas (where the supermarket is strategically located near Taiwanese-dominated technology industries of the Silicon Valley) and Irvine (where wealthy Taiwanese Americans have settled in the city during much of the 1990s) in California.

In many cases, it has been the anchor tenant for other stores and restaurants in these developing suburban shopping areas. Other Chinese businesses such as Sam Woo Restaurant have been known to "follow" 99 Ranch Market to its new locations. However, 99 Ranch was less successful in Chinatown. After operating a market in LA Chinatown's Bamboo Plaza area for several years, it was forced to close, perhaps due to its obscure location, lack of parking space, and competition from local small grocers which are generally popular among lower-income elderly Chinese.

It is one of the very few Asian supermarkets operating in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, but the Van Nuys location remains popular among black, Mexican, and white customers, as well as Chinese-speaking customers.

Layout

In design, it is similar to mainstream American supermarkets, with aisles wider, cleaner, and less cluttered and a somewhat more relaxed feel than most other Chinese markets. The supermarket accepts credit cards for totals above States dollar|$" target="_blank" >*5 whereas many markets in old Chinatowns do not. Also, a handful of 99 Ranch Market locations have an in-store branch of East West Bank, a major Chinese American bank. Although the chain remains successful and popular, prices are on average generally more expensive when compared to some smaller Chinese grocers. In addition, given the market chain's premium locations the costs of rent for tenants are also generally higher. However, setting up in suburbia, 99 Ranch Market may be the only Asian American supermarket and shopping center for miles around. This is especially the case in San Diego, California and Kent, Washington.

Its annual sales are estimated to be at $150 million.

Because 99 Ranch Market serves a predominantly Taiwanese American base, Mandarin Chinese serves as the lingua franca of the supermarket and its adjacent businesses.

Competitors

In Southern California, its main competitors are the ever-expanding chains of Hong Kong Supermarket (established in 1981) and Shun Fat Supermarket (started in the mid-1990s). These two supermarket chains tend to be located within proximity of some 99 Ranch Market locations, especially in the Asian American-dominant region of southern California.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, 99 Ranch Market's main competitor is Marina Foods and Lion Supermarket. In the Silicon Valley, 99 Ranch Market and Marina are complemented by a number of other large Asian supermarkets with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese affiliations. These include Tin Tin (Chinese), Lion (Chinese), Mitsuwa (Japanese), and Han Kook (Korean) supermarkets.

Locations

Active 99 Ranch Market stores

Opening years are according to various newspaper sources.

California

Other states

Defunct stores

Proposed stores

External links

Food companies of the United States | Retail companies of the United States | Supermarkets of the United States | Companies based in Orange County

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "99 Ranch Market".

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