A Pacific Northwest grocery chain will take over seven Albertsons and three Safeway stores in Arizona — including three stores in Tucson — bringing a new brand into the state.
One Albertsons and two Safeways in Tucson are among the stores being sold to Haggen, which for 80 years has operated grocery stores in Washington and Oregon. The Albertsons is at 1350 N. Silverbell Road and the Safeway stores are at 8740 E. Broadway and 10380 E. Broadway.
The sale, announced Friday, was prompted by Albertsons’ $9.2 billion acquisition of Safeway, which was announced in March. To secure federal approval of next month’s proposed merger, the two stores agreed jointly to divest 168 locations in eight states.
Haggen bought 146 of the stores, instantly changing its profile from a local market with 18 stores to a major national chain with 164 stores and 106 pharmacies in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
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The stores operate under the Haggen Northwest Fresh banner and buy food from regional farms, ranches, fisheries and other businesses.
Haggen’s officials said that they will convert all of the acquired Albertsons and Safeway stores to the Haggen banner in phases during the first half of 2015.
Albertsons and Safeway store employees will be given a chance to work for Haggen as part of the transition. Haggen officials said they plan to retain current store management teams.
“We warmly welcome these new employees and stores into the Haggen family. The stores are well-run and very successful,” Haggen CEO John Clougher said in a written statement. “We plan to adopt the best practices of our new stores to offer a superior shopping experience for our valued customers.”
In addition to the Tucson stores, Haggen bought two Albertsons in Scottsdale, a Safeway in Anthem, and Albertsons stores in Lake Havasu City, Flagstaff, Prescott and Prescott Valley.
All of the purchase agreements are subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission.
The acquisition will add an estimated $750 million in sales to Haggen’s current $400 million, according to Supermarket News, a national trade magazine covering the food industry.
Haggen will expand to more than 10,000 employees from 2,000.
Online reviews show Haggen’s has received strong marks from customers and employees over the past several years.
“Management is wonderful, store is clean, co-workers are great teammates almost like family; I love going to work,” an Arlington, Washington, employee wrote in June on the career site Indeed.com.
On other sites, some employees recently complained restructuring had changed the stores’ operational dynamic. “You will not be trained on several key tasks, including using hazardous equipment, opening/closing, etc.,” a former employee wrote on the Glassdoor career Website.
Customers praised the stores in reviews on Yelp, which gave it a 3.5 rating.
“What I like about this store was how (it) seems to have lots of little stores within it — multiple cuisine style choices, from sandwiches to sushi, they have it all,” a Fort. Lewis, Washington, customer wrote.
A Bellingham, Washington, man wrote that he was disappointed when the store cut back on the number of registers open in the evening. But he described Haggen as “the nicest, most happening, grocery store in town.”
Haggen was founded in 1933 and is based in Bellingham.
Haggen is controlled by Comvest Partners, a private investment firm that owns a majority of the company’s stock. Comvest provides equity and debt capital to businesses across the country. It has invested more than $2 billion in more than 140 public and private companies and has assets of more than $1.8 billion.
