Front Page  »  

Haggens closing Los Osos store

August 14, 2015

Haggen 2Haggens, a Washington-based chain of grocery stores, announced Friday plans to close 27 stores – including the Haggens located in Los Osos. The stores are slated to close in 60 days.

Earlier this year, Haggen bought 146 Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Safeway stores. As part of its business strategy, Haggens may sell or close additional stores in the future, according to the press release.

Through the acquisition, Haggen expanded from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies and 2,000 employees in the Pacific Northwest to 164 stores and 106 pharmacies employing more than 10,000 people in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona.

“Haggen’s goal going forward is to ensure a stable, healthy company that will benefit our customers, associates, vendors, creditors, stakeholders as well as the communities we serve,” said Haggen CEO Pacific Southwest, Bill Shaner. “By making the tough choice to close and sell some stores, we will be able to invest in stores that have the potential to thrive under the Haggen banner.”

The company has not yet determined how many jobs will be affected as a result of the closures and sales.

Last month, Haggens laid off dozens of Central Coast workers while other employees were moved from full-time to part-time hours.

Shaner blames competition from other grocery retailers for Haggen’s failures to retain customers.

“As we introduce Haggen throughout Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, our challenge is to establish and grow the brand in new markets, while transitioning former Albertsons/Vons customers,” Shaner said. “The competitive activity launched in response to our entry into the marketplace – while expected – has been unprecedented.”

However, some former customers said they changed grocery stores after Haggen increased pricing significantly. The customer base has fallen by almost 50 percent in some stores, one clerk said.


Loading...
Subjects:             
Related:


51 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

The other stores response? How stupid does this man think we are? It is your prices!!!!!


0

Honestly I think this has been their plan all along. Consolidate, downsize, fire a bunch of workers and try to increase profits.


I’m a capitalist and think it’s just fine to make $$$ but this whole Haggens fiasco has been awful. Their treatment of employees, their gouging of customers…just awful.


0

Too bad the government doesn’t have the same plan, consolidate, downsize, fire a bunch of workers and try to save the taxpayers some money, theirs is the complete opposite, expand, increase size, boards, districts, hire more and more and more and spend as much taxpayer money as possible and if the taxpayers complain threaten to cuts services.


0

Capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.


Now, where does it say anything about ethics? Nowhere.


Companies everyday do exactly what Haggens is doing to improve their bottom line. Consolidate…downsize…fire the dead weight to increase the bottom line.


But have they broken any laws or regulations? Nope.


You can regulate the system…but you can never regulate greed.


So people need to quit their bitchin’ about businesses exploiting their way to profitability…it comes with the capitalistic territory. You want capitalism…then you get the baggage that comes along with it.


God bless American capitalism!


0

The spin doctoring by Haggen management is really something: “The competitive activity launched in response to our entry into the marketplace – while expected – has been unprecedented.” Oh, so it’s all someone else’s fault….


Does anyone think the reasons for failure of this venture were anything other than inadequate market research? If these people had done their homework, they would have understood that they could not charge such high prices in this area.


:Now, because of this management foul-up, a lot of good, hardworking people are going to be out of work..


0

“Haggen’s goal going forward…” Mr. Shaner, WHY, OH WHY, didn’t you and your board of directors take more care, do more research, give more thought, and adjust Haggen’s pricing stragegy [down] BEFORE taking over the Los Osos Von’s? Your actions, or lack thereof, are outrageous! Los Osos was, until a few months, a small community with two (2) grocery stores. Soon, there will be just one.


0

Gee, it wpuld be nice if Vons could pick their locations back up- at a discount!…

Discount, what a concept, that’ll baffle them a Haggen!


0

Stores were spun off as a result of FTC decision.

The FTC would prohibit repurchase.


0

Good bye HAG, after you laid off the disabled and started screwing with the employees hours I stopped shopping there.


You are only looking out for yourself and your investors, you will cherry pick the best.


I thought it would take a year for you to leave, maybe some of the Independent grocers can buy your stores and do the right thing with them.


0

Dog, you had no skin in their game, why be so hard on them? Before they laid off the “challenged”‘ they were in their employ, a good thing that they obviously couldn’t afford. I feel bad for em, they got in over their head. Why not condemn our government, they are the ones who forced the sale of these markets.


0

There was a grocery store in Osos?


0

That’s what I was thinking! I assume it must be the Vons (former Williams Brothers). Too bad– it’s always been a friendly little store, the people are especially nice


0

update: I see on Google Earth that the name on the storefront was indeed changed to Haggen’s at some point. It’s been a while since I’ve been there. That will leave only the Ralphs with no competition– you don’t suppose they’ll raise prices as a result? Naw, that would never happen ;)


0

And so are we Happy that Haggen had some hurt (which we heaped on it due to our displeasure with their business practices)?


Or are we sad, because now they’re not paying anyone (developmentally disabled or otherwise), and we no longer have a grocery choice?


Actions have consequences. There are no vagaries in the capitalistic model — lose your customers, lose your company, lose your payroll.


0

I suppose one of the SLO stores will probably close, especially since they’re relatively close to one another.


This is too bad for everyone, really.


0

The one on Foot Hill in that half empty shopping center is likely to go. I could see Atascadero closing too because the people are dirt poor. Literally dirt poor.


0

bit off a little more than they could chew?


0

If you were forced to sell some of your assets, would you cherry pick the best ones?


0

They shouldn’t have agreed to purchase all the stores in the first place. Does anyone know if they had to purchase all or nothing or if they could have purchased say 100 instead of 146? If the last is the case, then WAY POOR management on Haggen’s part.


0

that’s the other strategy. have a plan going in, cherry pick and dump the rest.


0
1 2 3