IN 2002 THE MANAGEMENT TEAM at Safeway Inc. got ice water splashed in its face. After boosting annual earnings at double-digit rates throughout the '90s, the third-largest U.S. supermarket chain reported its first annual loss since going public in 1990. "We needed some fundamental changes," says Steven A. Burd, chairman and CEO of the Pleasanton (Calif.) company. "We [needed to] differentiate our offering from other conventional supermarkets." Those supermarkets were fast becoming an endangered species. Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were preparing to invade the low end of the grocery market and win on price. Specialty stores such as Whole Foods Market Inc. were conquering the high end with quality and atmosphere. That left traditional grocers like Safeway getting squeezed in the middle.
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机译：2002年，Safeway Inc.的管理团队的脸上洒了冰水。美国第三大超市连锁店在整个90年代以两位数的速度提高了年收入之后，宣布自1990年上市以来首次出现年度亏损。“我们需要一些根本性的改变，”该公司董事长兼首席执行官史蒂文·阿伯德（Steven A. Burd）说。普莱森顿（加利福尼亚州）公司。 “我们（需要）将我们的产品与其他传统超市区分开。”这些超级市场迅速成为一种濒临灭绝的物种。大型零售商（例如沃尔玛商店公司）正准备进军杂货市场的低端市场并赢得价格。 Whole Foods Market Inc.等专卖店以品质和氛围征服了高端市场。这样一来，像Safeway这样的传统食品杂货商就陷入了困境。
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