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| Aurora Safeway became Haggens and will again be a Safeway |
By Diane Hettrick
Haggen has not released any official press releases. However, The Seattle Times has reported that the Albertson's - Safeway conglomerate has successfully purchased at auction 12 of the stores that Haggen recently put up for sale, including the Shoreline store at 155th and Aurora.
They report that store will be a Safeway - again.
In the meantime, other reports are that Haggen's financial picture is still very vulnerable. They are attempting to drastically reduce their inventory to a core of the 32 best producing stores in Washington and Oregon, including the one in Lake Forest Park (formerly Albertson's).
However, there is some question as to whether they will be able to stay in business as a grocer. If their financial picture does not improve, they may be forced to sell some or all of those stores as well. They reportedly have been forced to explore selling their core stores.
A statement from Haggen was quoted in the online publication Coupons in the News.
“As part of the restructuring process, Haggen was required to explore potential outside opportunities for all of its operations, including the Core Stores which are performing well,” the statement reads.
“The bid procedures filed (Monday) comply with those terms. Despite the filing, Haggen does not anticipate any changes to continuing operations at the Core Stores including regular payments to suppliers and partners.”
The private equity firm that now owns the majority of Haggen and controls operations will be fine. They spun off the real estate associated with all of the stores in the chain and it is not for sale, they probably will be collecting a huge amount in lease payments for those who buy their store operations.
ReplyDeleteThe Bellingham Herald had a comprehensive story on the wheeling and dealing at Haggen.
The big losers are (and have been) the employees.