99 Ranch Market
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99 Ranch Market logo |
99 Ranch Market (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 (大統華) chain, which operates mainly in the
Vancouver area and also
Edmonton,
Calgary and
Toronto.
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.
Although most of its customers are ethnic
Chinese Americans, especially serving affluent immigrants from Taiwan 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,
Mainland China, Province of
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 sweepstakes as well.
Although the customer base is primarily Asian-Americans, non-Asians can also be found shopping at 99 Ranch Markets.
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. Most are company-owned. The only franchised locations include those in the Honolulu, Las Vegas, and Atlanta areas.
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.
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
$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. 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.
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.
Active 99 Ranch Market stores
Opening years are according to various newspaper sources.
California
*
Anaheim*
Arcadia*
Artesia*Cupertino Village -
Cupertino*
Daly City*
Foster City (opened 2003 - replaced
PW Markets)
*
Fremont*
Gardena*Hacienda Center -
Hacienda Heights (replaced a
Lucky's)
*Culver Plaza -
Irvine*Irvine Center -
Irvine (opened 2001)
*
Los Angeles (
Van Nuys neighborhood)
*Milpitas Square,
Milpitas, (newly built)
*Unnamed strip mall -
Monterey Park (opened 1996 - replaced previous Chinese supermarket, which replaced
Safeway)
*
Newark (replaced the defunct Lido Supermarket, which replaced
Safeway)
*
Richmond (opened 1998)
*Diamond Square -
Rosemead (opened 1996 - newly built on site of former
K-Mart)
*
Rowland Heights (opened 1989 - replaced
Gemco)
*
San Diego (opened 1995)
*San Gabriel Square -
San Gabriel (opened 1992 - newly built on site of former
drive-in theater)
*
San Jose (opened 1995)
Other states
*Asia Square Shopping Center -
Doraville,
Georgia (Suburb of
Atlanta,
Georgia)
*Chinatown Square Mall -
Doraville,
Georgia (replaced a
Winn-Dixie)
*
Edmonds,
Washington (opened 2003 - replaced a
K-Mart)
*
Honolulu,
Hawaii*Great Wall Shopping Mall -
Kent,
Washington (opened 1998 - newly built)
*Chinatown Plaza -
Las Vegas,
Nevada (
Chinatown,
Las Vegas) (opened 1995 - newly built)
*Chinese Cultural Center -
Phoenix,
Arizona (opened 1997 - newly built)
Defunct stores
*Diamond Plaza,
City of Industry,
California - abandoned storefront in a popular Taiwanese strip mall
*Bamboo Plaza,
Los Angeles,
California (
Chinatown,
Los Angeles) - opened in 1994
*Blossom Valley (Corner of Blossom Hill and Snell),
San Jose,
California*
Montbello,
California - opened in 1987, a largely abandoned building
*
Westminster,
California - first store opened in 1984, replaced by a Vietnamese supermarket
Proposed stores
*
Chino Hills,
California (failed approval)
*
99 Ranch Market*
T & T Supermarket*
AsianWeek article: The Malls of Asian America"covers the immense popularity of a 99 Ranch Market shopping center in
Milpitas, California*
"Grass Jelly, Anyone? 99 Ranch Brings Asian Flavor to East Bay" " article from
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
