[Geraldine Moyle supposes: Same staff. Same union contract (I asked). Prices probably creeping upwards (see bold below).]
Daily Breeze, 30 March 2015
Grocery chain Haggen will convert 7 Albertsons' stores in South Bay, Harbor Area by late April
Jordan England-Nelson and Neil Nisperos
A small grocery chain from the Pacific Northwest will take over seven Albertsons' locations in the South Bay and Harbor Area by late April as it continues its march into the Southern California supermarket landscape.
Haggen is making a huge expansion into California, Nevada and Arizona after Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Albertsons, purchased Vons parent company Safeway in a $9.4 billion deal last year. The Federal Trade Commission required the merger partners to sell off some of their stores and Haggen jumped at the chance to increase its store footprint by 811 percent. Haggen Inc., which has 18 stores in Washington and Oregon, purchased 146 Albertons, Pavillions, Vons and Safeway stores, including 83 in California.
Bill Shaner, Haggen’s new regional CEO for the Southwest, emphasized that Haggen is a full-service grocery store and not a boutique store. Shaner said Haggen stores blend elements of traditional stores like Albertsons and Vons with aspects of higher-end stores like Whole Foods and Gelson’s. “Customers don’t have the hassle of going to have to go to two or three stores to get the products they want,” he said.
Shaner said the new stores will be priced competitively with Albertsons and Vons stores already in the region. In addition to big brand-name products, the stores will feature fresh, organically grown produce, and locally produced products. “We think our position is unique in the marketplace because we are combining, we think, the best of all worlds, from conventional to specialty, natural and organic supermarkets,” Shaner said. “Haggen combines the best of all worlds under one roof.”
Haggen began converting stores in late March and will continue through May. All seven South Bay and Harbor Area Albertsons — three in Redondo Beach, two in San Pedro and one each in Torrance and Lomita — will be converted by the end of April. Stores in Culver City and Mar Vista also will change over in late April. Haggen officials said once an Albertsons closes, it will reopen two days later as a Haggen supermarket.
Jordan England-Nelson and Neil Nisperos Grocery chain Haggen will convert 7 Albertsons' stores in South Bay, Harbor Area by late April Daily Breeze, 30 March 2015.