Supermarket shoppers in the greater Valley should prepare for new competitors at old, familiar locations. The 13 Albertson’s, Vons and Pavilions stores in the greater San Fernando Valley will be rebranded by Haggen Food & Pharmacy, the Bellingham, Wash.-based supermarket chain that bought the stores. And Bill Shaner, Haggen’s chief executive for the Pacific Southwest region, believes customers will adjust well to the switchover. “Many people are skeptical about change, but in our case we’re not turning the stores upside down,” Shaner said. “Our ultimate objective is to help customers (who) might be going to two or three stores … to only have to come to Haggen and find everything they’re looking for under one roof.” In the San Fernando Valley, Haggen will replace Albertson’s stores in Burbank and Tujunga, and the Vons in Woodland Hills. In the Conejo Valley, the change will affect Albertson’s in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village, as well as a Vons in Newberry Park and an Albertson’s in Camarillo. In Simi Valley, two Albertson’s and a Vons will be rebranded. Elsewhere, a Vons in Saugus and an Albertson’s in Palmdale will soon be Haggens. The only Pavilion making the switch is in Santa Clarita at 27095 McBean Parkway. The stores’ ownership change comes as the result of the merger of Albertson’s LLC and Safeway Inc., announced in March. All outstanding shares of Safeway were acquired by AB Acquisitions, owner of Albertson’s LLC and controlled by Cerebus Capital Management LP. The deal was valued at approximately $7.6 billion. To win approval for the deal, Safeway and Albertson’s agreed to sell more than 250 stores and pharmacies, as required by the Federal Trade Commission. Haggen entered an agreement to purchase 146 stores in Nevada, Washington, California, Oregon and Arizona. Of the stores acquired, 83 are in California, and 26 of those are within the greater Los Angeles region. The transaction will transform Haggen from 18 stores and 16 pharmacies in Washington and Oregon, to 164 stores and 106 pharmacies in five states. It will also expand its employee count from 2,000 to 10,000 team members. Shaner said store management and team members at the acquired locations will remain on staff after the stores transition. Brent Howell, senior vice president of real estate brokerage CBRE Inc., said expanding into California could be difficult for the grocer. “It’s been a challenge for any of the out-of-state supermarkets and grocery stores to come to California. We have our own idiosyncrasies in California, with fragmented markets that are all different,” said Howell. “(But) as far as taking over existing stores, the supermarkets have been doing this for years and most succeed.” Comvest Partners, a private investment firm in West Palm Beach, Fla., that owns Haggen, is known to emphasize produce and seafood. The Haggen chain started in 1933 and has marketed itself as sourcing food from regional farms, ranches and fisheries. According to Shaner, each Albertson’s, Vons and Pavilions store will close for approximately 24 to 48 hours, depending on the amount of work needed to complete the conversion. On average the company aims to convert eight stores a week. “The branding, look and feel of the store will be different, as well as the decor and design. But the customers will still be able to find all of their favorite national and regional brands, but will see an increase in variety of natural and organic products,” he said. All stores in California will be converted between March and July. Macy’s Closures In one moment, Westfield Promenade lost two of its long-term tenants – its main anchor Macy’s Inc. department store, as well as Macy’s furniture gallery. And filling them could be doubly difficult. The closures were announced earlier this month, leaving 192,000 and 81,000-square-foot store vacancies in the shopping center. Westfield Group, the Australian owner of the mall, is now in search of new tenants. Complicating efforts to fill the space is the Village at Westfield Topanga, a $350 million project under construction that will connect the Westfield Topanga and the Westfield Promenade malls. The 550,000-square-foot project will have nearly 100 shops and restaurants and feature outdoor landscaping with amenities such as fire pits, hanging plants and chairs and tables. But until the retail mix is announced, new tenants may be leary of leasing up the Macy’s space. Macy’s, based in Cincinnati, is closing 14 stores nationwide and plans to funnel more resources into its online operation. The closures will save $140 million a year, which the company will invest in technology. Jim Sluzewski, senior vice president of communications for Macy’s, said there was simply no need to have so many stores so close. “In the case of Promenade in Woodland Hills, customers have shown a preference to shop Macy’s at Topanga, which is only 1.2 miles away,” he said. The stores will close in the spring and clearance sales have already begun. Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].
