Haggen closing Arlington, and Top in Edmonds

[storewanderer]

They are saying they could not renegotiate leases on these stores, and 150 employees are impacted in the closures. Based on the employee count, it does not sound like the stores were especially struggling (employee count would have been down below 50 each in that case).

It was my observation the one in Arlington did well and was a great operation, especially compared to the Safeways there which were the usual poor service and high prices that have become routine at Safeway.

Arlington Haggen would make a great Fred Meyer Marketplace or even a larger QFC.

[Super S]

The comments about lease renewal seem to be used often with struggling chains. A good example of this is Sears/Kmart.

[storewanderer]

I went into the Edmonds Store yesterday and aside from the pharmacy being closed it was a fully functioning store. Fully stocked and perimeter was operating 100%. The staff did not seem happy, to say the least.