Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

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marshd1000
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by marshd1000 »

Looks like 4 years after the last post in this thread, Haggen is getting fully integrated into the Albertsons/Safeway “for U” universe. I had known for awhile that the Haggen locality card could be used at Safeway for discounts and to earn fuel rewards. In fact I had my Haggen card linked to my Safeway account. But at that time you could not use your Haggen card at a Haggen and earn gas points! That was ironic as the Oak Harbor Haggen is a former Safeway and in the parking lot is a Safeway fuel station. The story on that situation is that when Safeway re-emerged in Oak Harbor in the remodeled Albertsons and Haggen was on their expansion fiasco, the Safeway fuel station became a 76. When Haggen became a Albertsons banner, the fuel station became Safeway fuel again! So it was ironic that the Haggen shoppers at Oak Harbor couldn’t earn fuel rewards for the station in the parking lot! Another thing happening at Haggen is the introduction of the “DriveUp & Go” service. Also the Haggen stores FINALLY starting using the Albertsons/Safeway template for their website! It is crazy that it has taken them so long to do this! But I am wondering if Haggen will be a part of Kroger if the FTC allows the Albertsons acquisition? So will all this integration be undone? Also, if Albertsons or Kroger/Albertsons brings back Monopoly, will Haggen finally participate? Years ago, Haggen offered the Monopoly game before Albertsons or Safeway ever did!

Anyway, here’s the links to the Haggen changes!

https://www.haggen.com/foru-guest.html

https://www.haggen.com/coming-soon.html
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by storewanderer »

That Haggen in Oak Harbor was brought onto Haggen's legacy systems for some reason. So the Safeway fuel points system was not linked to that system. The situation with the gas stations that Haggen was divested was they were sold to Convenience Retailers, LLC (also known as Time Oil, Pacific Convenience and Fuels, My Goods, or various debranded Circle Ks with no branding) who rebranded them as 76 stations. CRLLC was a bit shaky over the years and seemed to add stations and sell off stations somewhat randomly. As Albertsons got some stores back, they also tried to get some gas stations back, and CRLLC was willing to sell back some stations. In the midst of that, CRLLC was bought by United Oil. After United Oil took over, they were no longer interested in shedding stations as the investment group backing them wants growth.

I notice Haggen's weekly ad still looks- exactly the same as their weekly ad looked when they had the CA Stores. Pretty funny.

It would be nice to see Haggen somehow revert back to private/family ownership as Kroger will outright destroy that high quality perimeter with how it does things, but I think the prospect of family ownership again is very wishful thinking. I wish the same for United-TX.
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by SamSpade »

Off Topic
storewanderer wrote: October 23rd, 2022, 6:25 pm I notice Haggen's weekly ad still looks- exactly the same as their weekly ad looked when they had the CA Stores. Pretty funny.
It certainly made me long for the days of their (still beloved to me) scratch bakery and lovely produce. It does seem under Albertsons - Seattle they gave up Double R beef products though, sad. Intermountain still has that (as far as I know) and it is some of the better beef I've had from grocers over the years.
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by storewanderer »

SamSpade wrote: October 24th, 2022, 9:20 am
Off Topic
storewanderer wrote: October 23rd, 2022, 6:25 pm I notice Haggen's weekly ad still looks- exactly the same as their weekly ad looked when they had the CA Stores. Pretty funny.
It certainly made me long for the days of their (still beloved to me) scratch bakery and lovely produce. It does seem under Albertsons - Seattle they gave up Double R beef products though, sad. Intermountain still has that (as far as I know) and it is some of the better beef I've had from grocers over the years.
Haggen sure did great with produce and bakery. Have they moved to Safeway's programs for bakery? For some reason I thought the old Haggen programs had been retained in those stores. It is interesting Intermountain still has that Double R Beef and they couldn't figure out a way to keep it at Haggen.
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by marshd1000 »

storewanderer wrote: October 24th, 2022, 10:17 pm
SamSpade wrote: October 24th, 2022, 9:20 am
Off Topic
storewanderer wrote: October 23rd, 2022, 6:25 pm I notice Haggen's weekly ad still looks- exactly the same as their weekly ad looked when they had the CA Stores. Pretty funny.
It certainly made me long for the days of their (still beloved to me) scratch bakery and lovely produce. It does seem under Albertsons - Seattle they gave up Double R beef products though, sad. Intermountain still has that (as far as I know) and it is some of the better beef I've had from grocers over the years.
Haggen sure did great with produce and bakery. Have they moved to Safeway's programs for bakery? For some reason I thought the old Haggen programs had been retained in those stores. It is interesting Intermountain still has that Double R Beef and they couldn't figure out a way to keep it at Haggen.
The Haggen bakery program seems to be intact. Also gallon milk is still Haggen bannered as is apple juice!
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by storewanderer »

marshd1000 wrote: October 25th, 2022, 8:13 am
The Haggen bakery program seems to be intact. Also gallon milk is still Haggen bannered as is apple juice!
That is great news. My understanding was they maintained a very small office and Haggen still gets to do a little bit of its own buying. Albertsons absolutely knew Haggen's original stores had a lot of top tier products.
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by VibeGuy »

The Haggen at Sehome Village in Bellingham is dire. They’ve eliminated service meat and bakery, nearly eliminated deli (if there’s a sliced deli counter, it’s around a weird corner where the dining area was) and given it a Safeway-grade kitchen/GM mix. It’s sad, as that store was once nearly as nice as their Tanasbourne store outside Portland.
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by storewanderer »

VibeGuy wrote: October 30th, 2022, 3:56 pm The Haggen at Sehome Village in Bellingham is dire. They’ve eliminated service meat and bakery, nearly eliminated deli (if there’s a sliced deli counter, it’s around a weird corner where the dining area was) and given it a Safeway-grade kitchen/GM mix. It’s sad, as that store was once nearly as nice as their Tanasbourne store outside Portland.
What did they do with the service meat counter space, and the multiple counters in the service deli area (would have had a sliced meat case straight ahead as you walked in the store and turned right, along with a couple food counters you passed on the way)? I highly doubt they moved the counter around the corner into the dining area, that would require demolishing a wall and ripping some plumbing out. Did Haggen have service bakery in all stores or just some stores (I seem to recall very extensive self serve bakery offerings but not always a service case)?

Some of the long closed Top Foods had closed certain perimeter areas (didn't have as many of them as the Haggens to begin with) and covered the old counters with cardboard displays, chips, soda, water, and such and it really brought down the store.

Not surprised they dumbed down the nicer Kitchen/GM assortment, Albertsons/Safeway's non food program is poorly assorted and overpriced, but Kroger can easily fix that!
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by VibeGuy »

The “entry hall” now has merchandisers of prepackaged RTE salads and soups on one side and heat and serve entrees on the other. There’s a grab and go 5’ hot case for rotisserie chickens at the end, to the side of a beverage merchandiser at the “end” of the “hall”. A staffed position remains in the corner leading to the seating area but I didn’t see what their role might be. The prep area for the hot case seems to extend back towards the entry door from there.

Half of the back wall has been filled in with meat merchandisers and the area above the lowboy bakery ones filled in with drywall. There’s no visibility to bakery prep or meat cutter work areas. I don’t recall if that location ever had a pharmacy, but there’s not one there now. Mere shadow of former excellence.

An interesting data point about Albertsons/Safeway integration : their ice cream is now labeled as being Made in Oregon, which means it’s no longer coming from Edaleen Dairy (their historical supplier) nor from the Safeway ice cream plant in Bellevue. The only reason I can think of is that it comes in trapezoidal “loaf” cartons a la Breyers, and the Bellevue plant has a very sophisticated capacity to handle cylindrical cartons and none of their own-brand or contract production is in this format.

As for the family - the matriarch is long dead, the generation who shrank it before the PE buyout is retired and doing god knows what. It’s Haggen in name only, aside from a relatively preserved scratch baking program.
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Re: Acquisition and Integration of Haggen into Albertsons

Post by storewanderer »

VibeGuy wrote: October 31st, 2022, 12:23 am The “entry hall” now has merchandisers of prepackaged RTE salads and soups on one side and heat and serve entrees on the other. There’s a grab and go 5’ hot case for rotisserie chickens at the end, to the side of a beverage merchandiser at the “end” of the “hall”. A staffed position remains in the corner leading to the seating area but I didn’t see what their role might be. The prep area for the hot case seems to extend back towards the entry door from there.

Half of the back wall has been filled in with meat merchandisers and the area above the lowboy bakery ones filled in with drywall. There’s no visibility to bakery prep or meat cutter work areas. I don’t recall if that location ever had a pharmacy, but there’s not one there now. Mere shadow of former excellence.

An interesting data point about Albertsons/Safeway integration : their ice cream is now labeled as being Made in Oregon, which means it’s no longer coming from Edaleen Dairy (their historical supplier) nor from the Safeway ice cream plant in Bellevue. The only reason I can think of is that it comes in trapezoidal “loaf” cartons a la Breyers, and the Bellevue plant has a very sophisticated capacity to handle cylindrical cartons and none of their own-brand or contract production is in this format.

As for the family - the matriarch is long dead, the generation who shrank it before the PE buyout is retired and doing god knows what. It’s Haggen in name only, aside from a relatively preserved scratch baking program.
Sounds like they are going for the type of experience previously offered by the closed Bellingham Albertsons at that Haggen...

What is interesting is they actually paid for drywall work to put walls up. This would imply they plan to retain the store. I wonder if they are not doing bakery prep in that store at all and just bring stuff in from another store.

I wonder what Oregon supplier makes the ice cream. Umpqua and Tillamook use the cylinder containers too.
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