MARTIN SLOANE \ Supermarket Shopper Shopping is not plain in Spain

On a recent trip to Barcelona, Spain, I had the pleasure of shopping in SuperSol supermarket. The store is located in El Centre De La Vila, a small mall within a residential complex. Most shoppers live in nearby apartments and walk to the store.
SuperSol is about 40,000 square feet, slightly smaller than a typical U.S. supermarket. The aisles were wide and the store looked clean and well stocked. It carries about half the number of items found in a U.S. store.
The first department you find on entering SuperSol is produce. The department is brightly lit to show off the colorful displays. Most of the produce looked the same as produce in the United States, with a few exceptions: Unusually long green beans and huge red bell peppers (twice the size I buy in the United States).
I found very small artichokes sold in 6-packs at 69 cents a pound. Iceberg lettuce was 55 cents a head. Bananas were 75 cents a pound. The 3-kilogram bags of potatoes have handles to make it easier for shoppers to carry them home. On the day I shopped, a U.S. dollar was worth .816 of a euro (Spain uses Euros for currency) so one euro was worth $1.225 dollar (The prices mentioned in this column reflect the conversion from kilograms to pounds and euros to dollars). A loaf of white bread priced at 1.15 euro would cost $1.40 U.S.
Special offers
The cereal aisle has a familiar look, including many well-known Kellogg's varieties. Special K had a 15-day weight-loss plan as well as a mail-in offer for a pedometer. Cheerios and other cereals from General Mills use the Nestle label in Spain. Almost every box included some type of promotion for kids.
Finding what you are looking for in the store is relatively easy. First, you will recognize many brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Ajax, Kraft, Hellmann's, Old El Paso and Haagen-Dazs.
If the brand is not familiar, look at the picture on the label. The bald-headed muscular figure on the familiar bottle of cleaning liquid is named "Don Limpio." You would easily recognize him as Mr. Clean. The name on the canned vegetables is "Gigante Verde," although the towering figure is the Green Giant. I found hundreds of sale items on the SuperSol shelves. Just like supermarkets back home, the ends of the aisles are where shoppers find the best bargains.
Above each end-cap display were "Oferta" signs showing the price is a special offer. At one end-cap, I found 80-count paper napkins on sale for about 62 cents U.S.
Shelf signs announced a free T-shirt in return for buying two 2-liter containers of Tropicana Pure Premium. The 1-liter container was priced at $3.31 U.S. Manufacturer bonus packs are popular. The label on Don Limpio said, "1.5 L plus 20 percent Gratis." Bold detergent was marked "15 percent Mas Producto, GRATIS!" In the frozen section, I found San Jacobos Empanados marked ""Gratis 25 percent Mas!"
A relatively small number of grocery coupons are distributed in Spain, mostly on or inside product packages. An example is the large box of Skip detergent priced at 9.49 euros. On the box I noticed the banner, "2-Euro Cupon Descuento en el Interior."
I enjoy browsing the meat cases and making comparisons: A large whole chicken weighing about 5.5 pounds cost approximately $4.31 U.S. Skinless chicken breasts cost $3.48 a pound. Ground beef was priced at $4.70 a pound. Loin pork chops were priced at $3.83. Considering the high prices U.S. shoppers have been paying for these items, they did not seem out of line.
Checkout time
Checkout counters at SuperSol are uncluttered. A small assortment of bagged candies are positioned at the entrance to each lane; no razor blades, no ChapStick and no National Enquirer! The lines move quickly like express lines because most shoppers have just a handful of purchases. I am sure my readers would have no problem shopping in this SuperSol in Barcelona. It should be noted, however, that during my visit to the SuperSol, I did not see shoppers using coupons.
When I had a question, clerks who did not speak English directed me to those who did. All were courteous and cooperative. The prices were comparable to supermarket prices in the United States and I found many items on sale.
What might be difficult for my readers to get used to is having to walk to the store and shop for groceries five or six times a week. And Smart Shoppers would sorely miss the Sunday coupons, double coupons, Triple Plays savings and Home Runs.
I have shopped at supermarkets from Ketchikan to Shanghai and my readers are always curious whether they would feel comfortable shopping at a foreign supermarket. If you plan to travel overseas this spring or summer, I urge you to visit one. It will be a shopping adventure you'll remember. And, when you return, let me know how it compares to your favorite supermarket back home. Write to me, Martin Sloane, The Supermarket Shopper in care of The Vindicator. I will publish the most interesting letters.
XSend questions and comments to Martin Sloane in care of this newspaper. The volume of mail precludes individual replies to every letter, but Martin Sloane will respond to letters of general interest in the column.
United Feature Syndicate