Asian grocery store chain 99 Ranch Market, owned by Buena Park-based Tawa Supermarkets Inc., is looking to the golden boar to be a cash cow.
The grocery store expects to see sales rise about 5% with people looking for traditional foods to celebrate the Chinese, or Lunar, New Year. Privately held Tawa’s sales are estimated at about $210 million a year.
“This year it’s the golden pig,a very special year for the Chinese,” 99 Ranch spokeswoman Jennifer Tsao said.
The Chinese New Year is like Christmas for 99 Ranch, according to Tsao.
99 Ranch is the biggest Asian supermarket operator in California, with about 20 stores. It also has stores in Washington, Hawaii and Las Vegas.
Founded in 1984 by Taiwanese expatriate Roger Chen, 99 Ranch caters to immigrants who crave food from back home.
The new year started Sunday and lasts for two weeks with feasts, family visits, remembering the dead and decorating homes with symbols of wealth and luck.
2007 is the year of the golden boar, an especially lucky zodiac sign that only comes around every 60 years or so.
For more on this story, see the Feb. 19 edition of the Business Journal.
