Haggen, a grocery store chain based in Washington, was scheduled to take ownership of an Albertsons store in Lompoc in mid-April, but the swap is now pushed out until mid-June.
The store at 1500 N. H Street in Lompoc is one of 146 Albertsons and Safeway stores located in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington that Haggen Holdings LLC acquired as a result of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission; 83 of those stores are in California.
In January, Albertsons and Safeway Inc. agreed to sell 168 supermarkets to settle the FTC’s charges that their proposed $9.2 billion merger would likely make markets anticompetitive in 130 localities.
“Consumers everywhere rely on local supermarkets for their weekly shopping needs,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a press release. “Absent a remedy, this acquisition would likely lead to higher prices and lower quality for supermarket shoppers in 130 communities. This settlement will ensure that consumers in those communities will continue to benefit from competition among their local supermarkets.”
Stores in Lompoc, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Paso Robles, and Los Osos have either already made the switch or will make the switch. Haggen took ownership of its first California store on March 9 in Carlsbad and reopened supermarket on March 11.
Moran Golan, director of communications for Haggen Pacific Southwest, said as each store is transformed into the Haggen brand, the store’s employees are invited to come along, honoring the same pay and union contracts in place before the conversion. She said the Lompoc store has 85 employees.
“These familiar faces will help ease the brand transition for our longtime customers,” she said.
Haggen will take ownership of the Lompoc Albertsons at 12:01 a.m. on June 15, and the store will reopen on the afternoon of June 16. In 40 hours, the new brand will make its impact on store décor, of course, and also offer enhanced options in the fresh departments such as produce, bakery, and meat/seafood.
This article appears in Apr 9-16, 2015.