Albertsons owner to buy Safeway

[labboy]

Futurama Bowl and Zanotto's

Although I moved to San Diego in 1998, I grew up in West San Jose and remember the Futurama Bowl well. We moved to Sacramento in high school then I came back and, when in college at Santa Clara University, they converted it to the Safeway. I lived in Santa Clara about two miles from Zanotto's and would often ride my bike there. Loved that neighborhood and have so many great memories of my time there when in college and the years after until I moved.

 

[kenmorebd]

I work for a company who was taken over by Cerberus, RUN DO NOT WALK.......

I feel sorry for any who works at Safeway, lots of good folks will get the axe.

 

[appnut]

When I moved here in 1986, there were 2 HEB stores, an Albertsons, a Piggly Wiggly, a Safeway, and a couple of mom & pop small independents and a MiniMax 15 minutes away. Walmart built a Super Center in 1990, a Sam's Club opened in 1992. The Piggly Wiggly burned down in 1989 or 1990. I did go to Safeway some because they tripled and quadrupled coupons. I found their prices to be very high. What really upset me when looking at many of the customers, they looked like they really couldn't afford the stores prices. I watched most customers get into their own vehicles. I couldn't understand why they didn't go to HEB where there was a better selection, better pricing, and a cleaner store. Safeway was taken over by AppleTree (and also in Houston). Albertsons closed in like 2005 or 2006 as did MiniMax. Now all that's left are 2 HEB stores, Walmart Supercenter; Target has some groceries but I find them expensive and an Aldi opened up last summer, which I don't intend to patronize. I shop at HEB, Target, and Sam's.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Here in Florida, most of our Albertsons are gone as far as I know. Publix bought ours out and didn't make any drastic changes, pretty much the same layout. I remember the Albertsons seemed like a huge store and were a bit expensive. They had a great package-to-order meat and seafood case though, something no one else here had. They were around for about 10 years. Publix seemed to buy most of them, although I heard Winn Dixie had been considering some locations.

 

[arbilab]

Apple Tree WAS Safeway. And another failed intermediate in Austin, Randalls. Albertson's, whoever they were, closed all but a couple stores. HEB and Walmart ruled with homespun HEB ahead and Kroger nowhere to be seen.

HEB has little penetration in DFW but Kroger's pricing/quality/selection is comparable and they are EVERYwhere. And there's the 10% geezer discount plus price adjustments for the asking. That is, if the store brand is out of stock and you ask, they will sell you the national brand equivalent for the same price.

Or as just happened, they were out of 5/$1 small limes and sold me 79C ea large limes for the same price. Today the deli custom made me a fresh fish sandwich with double cheese and deluxe bun for 50C off. Then there was the half-price Boar's Head ham over the holidays.

I like Kroger. They are union, paying a competitive wage and benefits, and VERY competitive in the market.

The supermarket--umm, market--is not that different from the appliance market. Brands fall in and out of ownership umbrellas and corporate acquisitors.

 

[whirlcool]

AppleTree was what was left of Safeway after they sold the Safeway stores to the employees. AppleTree was an employee owned chain, and like Safeway in this region it fell apart too after a few years. Safeway stores here were very nice and clean, but usually had very few customers. Limited selection and high prices is what killed them.

Kroger in Houston is very high priced. The only place I have seen a pound of Land O Lakes butter "on sale" for $4.99 per pound. The same item is $2.89 at H-E-B. But they do stock quite a selection. It's the only store in Houston I know of that sells peanut oil in a quart sized container. Most everyone else sells it by the gallon only.

H-E-B is giving Walmart a real run for the money here price wise. I think the selection at HEB is better and in a lot of cases so are the prices too.

Aldi reminds me too much of a public food pantry. We've been in there a few times and there are some deals, but a lot of stuff is just a few cents cheaper than HEB or Walmart. I do like the fact that a lot of the stuff sold at Aldi is or European orgin.

 

[washman]

So far

I have yet to see anything Cerberus Capital Management LP has taken over and made a success of.

Perhaps I missed something but these so called vulture capital firms are just that, vultures picking over a carcass.

And one wonders why American business can't seem to put out a good product or service. The answer is obvious, too much attention paid to shareholder value and not enough to the customer. That is a recipe for failure each and every time.

Funny thing is, neither Honda or Toyota crow about unlocking monetary assets or boosting shareholder value. Yet both companies are flush with cash and don't have to resort to the feast or famine tactics that Detroit uses on a regular basis. And I noticed that they never seem to deal with "shareholder revolts" because the stock price is not doing well.

What I do see is both companies with a long track record of success; taking away market share from Detroit and driving every European import save Volkswagen back to France, Italy, Sweden, et al. Customer loyalty for their products is highest in the industry.

This story will pan out like so many other "merger of equals". In other words it will lay a giant egg. Lawyers, bean counters, and incompetent corrupt management will get their share of rewards. Joe worker bee will get the shaft. And customers will suffer too. I imagine there will be gobs of "retention" bonuses paid out to "maintain continuity in the management suite".

Business as usual in America.

 

[lotsosudz]

Freebies

Hey guy's,
was cleaning out some stuff taken out of an elderly lady's house, I helped with, and thought somebody might have some use for it. If you are interested in any of the items, let me know, and I will try to make the arrangements to get them to you. Being as I am currently unemmployed, I will have to send them COD. If I could do differently, I would, however it is what it is.
Hugs,
David

 

[whirlcool]

The link leads to a good article about this merger. Anyway you look at it this is wishful thinking all by itself. Sure by merging Albertson's & Safeway you have a huge company that can dictate low purchase pricing similar to Walmart, but Safeway will continue to offer limited selection at sky high prices. It has never nor will it ever occur to the management that this may be the problem with the store. They will end up like A&P did eventually.

Loading…

www.sfgate.com

 

[twintubdexter]

Pavalions...

As ponted out by other members, Pavalions is owned by Safeway. The store near me looks exactly like a smaller Safeway Marketplace except for the non-packaged meat and fish area with it's pricey filet minion and Maine lobster tails. The store is in Rancho Mirage around the corner from Sunnylands where the President just stayed. Although the store is just a glorified Safeway the clientele thinks and behaves otherwise. There's always a Rolls or Bentley parked in front where the curb is painted red and marked NO PARKING-FIRE LANE. Customers walk around like they have a permanent smell up their nose. It's not uncommon for a checker to have finished scanning an entire order while the customer stands there, cell phone at ear, and waits until their conversation is completed before digging out their Vuitton wallet and paying. Needless to say I prefer to shop where the common folk do.

what do you mean I can't park there!

 

[hydralique]

Yup, Pavillions seems to be a silly excuse in marketing, but give Dame Edna a break: we know she loves her Whirlpools!

 

[davey7]

If Norm's Widow Shops there...

I'll shop there!

Did anybody in LA ever shop at Tesco's try at the American market, what was it called, Fresh & Easy or something?

 

[sudsmaster]

I believe Lucky's was also a Bay Area based chain, with a major distribution center in San Leandro as well as an iconic mid-century landmark store (since demolished to make way for a parking lot).

I used to shop at Lucky's before it became Albertson's. After the name changed back to Lucky's I went back and it was OK. Then I guess Cerberus reared its multi-headed devil dog crania and ruined Lucky's - I expect no less if they get their fangs sunk into Safeway.

I didn't care much for Safeway's makeover that took place about eight years ago. They put in dimmer (warmer?) lighting and brown tones. Then they crowded the checkout areas with overpriced boutique style soup stations etc. Big inconveniences. I still shop at Safeway, but at their Pak 'n Save subsidiary, which is more spacious with less nonsense. I keep the club card and load up on frozen entrees when they go on sale, for bringing to work for a quick lunch. Also use Pak N Save for fresh veggies when Costco doesn't have what I need (like radishes, cucumbers, etc).

Cerberus of course is a disaster. What can one expect from a company that promotes Dan Quayle to a high level executive position?

 

[rp2813]

Fresh and Easy is still around, although I think they have closed quite a few stores.  They're small-ish stores but have some decent deals.  A lot of their merchandising brings to mind Trader Joe's, but they also carry major brands. 

 

It's all self-checkout, which people may or may not like.

 

[davey7]

Fresh & Easy

Ah, I thought they had completely failed out of our market, much like Sainsbury's did some years ago.

 

[rp2813]

Lucky Stores

The revival of Lucky markets was facilitated by Save Mart stores, which I believe has its HQ in Modesto, CA.

 

Save Mart bought some or all of the northern California Albertsons that Cerberus sold off when they acquired that chain.  I tried the reincarnated Lucky's once, and that was enough.  Selection was lousy, as was the quality of their produce.  They're basically a low-brow and stripped-down Save Mart.

 

Just yesterday some circulars arrived in the mail, among them one for Save Mart and another for Lucky.  The front page on both of them had identical layouts and prices.  I didn't bother to check them out any further.

 

My area is so saturated with Safeways that it will take some driving to get to an alternative once the carnage begins.  I'm hoping I'll like the Sprouts supermarket that's scheduled to open within a reasonable distance later this year.  I've never been in one, but their prices appear to be fairly competitive.

 

[twintubdexter]

Seasoned Bay Area people like Ralph and I probably remember the Raymond Lowey designed old Lucky stores with their yellow and green tile exteriors. I recall one on Bascom Avenue and the one my parents shopped at on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Willow Glen. Who didn't appreciate markets with windows that allowed you to see in and out of?

 

[rp2813]

Joe, that picture captures the look of the Lucky on Bascom Avenue, although the layout was flipped around.

 

I loved the Loewy designed tile tower with its white neon back-lit logo on top.  It was a landmark that could be seen when passing over Bascom on the freeway.  I tried to get some traction for saving that store when it was up for demolition after the first sale of the Lucky chain back in the '80s and solicited the help of the San Jose Mercury's architectural critic Allan Hess (author of "Googie" and other such books) but he wasn't interested, which seemed odd to me.  I also thought it would be the perfect solution for the crowded little Zanotto's down the street.

 

A Burger King strip mall replaced the store.  How that could ever be seen as an improvement is beyond me.

 

I found a roll of blueprints for a Sacramento Lucky store many years ago.  I never did anything with them, and the store is long gone.  I brought them to Kevin's wash-in a couple of years ago and Greg took them off my hands. 

 

Here's a shot I lifted of a Lucky circa 1956.  It has the peaked roof like the one that was located on Alma Street in Palo Alto for many years.

 

 

 

[hydralique]

What a great looking store! My grandmother in Orange County always like to shop at Lucky. I don't remember what her store looked like but sure do recall heading down there in the '64 Ford wagon, white with the red interior ("we had to wait six weeks to get that red interior!").

 

[rp2813]

Veering further from Safeway . . .

Here's a picture-of-a-picture of the side/parking lot entrance of the Bascom Avenue Lucky taken in August of 1985.  I think the store was closed as part of the Albertsons buy-out less than a year later, as it was too small to be a viable "super" market anymore. 

 

A Canadian chain bought some of Albertson's discards, and this store was one of them.  The neon lit Lucky logo on the tower was replaced with your basic florescent lit plastic signage in yellow with "Quality Plus," the new chain's name.  It didn't last long, and once QP was out of there, the store was toast. 

 

In this shot, the original "Magic Carpet" doors were still in use.  I've seen some Lucky pix that show this same type of entrance updated with motion sensor sliders instead.