Albertsons
Albertsons Companies, Inc.[1][2] is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Formerly
Albertson's Inc. (until 2006 sale to Supervalu, Cerberus)
- NYSE: ACI (Class A)
- Russell 1000 component
July 21, 1939
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
- Jim Donald
- (Co-Chairman)
- Leonard Laufer
- (Co-Chairman)
- B. Kevin Turner
- (Vice Chairman)
- Vivek Sankaran
- (President & CEO)
Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor
US$71.9 billion (2021)
US$2.4 billion (2021)
US$1.6 billion (2021)
US$28.1 billion (2021)
US$3.0 billion (2021)
325,000 (May 2020)
With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019,[3][8][6] the company is the second-largest supermarket chain in North America after Kroger.[9][10] Albertsons ranked 53rd in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[11] Prior to its January 2015 merger with Safeway Inc. for $9.2 billion,[12] it had 1,075 supermarkets located in 29 U.S. states under 12 different banners. Its predecessor company, Albertsons, Inc., was reorganized as Albertsons LLC and sold to AB Acquisition LLC, a Cerberus Capital Management–led consortium. After buying back the majority of its former stores it sold to SuperValu in 2006, AB Acquisition announced it would change its name to Albertsons Companies Inc. in 2015.[13] The company's corporate name was Albertson's Inc. until 2002, when the apostrophe was removed.[14]
On October 14, 2022, Albertsons announced it would be acquired by Kroger for $25 billion.[15] On November 30, 2023, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen announced that the companies had satisfied the informational requirements of the Federal Trade Commission, and the deal is expected to close in early-2024.[16] However, in January 2024, Washington state sued to block the proposed $25 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons, warning that if approved it could raise prices and harm consumers.[17] In February 2024, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also filed a lawsuit, saying consumers told him they feared it "would lead to stores closing, higher prices, fewer jobs, worse customer service, and less resilient supply chains.”[18]
History[edit]
Beginnings[edit]
Albertsons was founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson (1906–1993) on July 21 in Boise, Idaho.[19] An ad in Boise's Idaho Statesman newspaper touted Albertson's first store as "Idaho's largest and finest food store." The store was filled with perks that, at the time, were brand new: free parking, a money-back guarantee, and even an ice cream shop. The original store was built onto several times, but it was demolished in 1979, and a replacement store was built on the same property. A brick monument stands on the northwest corner of 16th and State Streets in downtown Boise, commemorating the original store.
Albertsons operates stores under the following banners:[142]
Former banners/chains/names:
Albertsons once owned several store brands ("private label" brands), often bearing the name of the chain sold under, e.g. "Jewel" brand products in the Jewel and Jewel-Osco locations. Other Albertsons brands over the years have included A+, Good Day, Janet Lee (named after the executive vice-president's daughter), Master's Choice, and Village Market. The drug store brands (used for health and beauty aids, over-the-counter medications, and intimate paper goods) were consolidated under the name "Equaline", rather than the previous "Sav-On Osco by Albertsons" brand. Albertsons introduced an upscale private label brand, "Essensia", in 2003, which was later renamed by SuperValu as Culinary Circle.
Store brand items in Albertsons stores included Albertsons (national brand quality food), Arctic Shores (frozen seafood), Baby Basics (diapers and infant care items), Culinary Circle ("gourmet" foods and ready-made meals), Equaline (health and beauty products), Farm Fresh (fresh produce), Flavorite (national brand quality foods, used throughout Supervalu stores), Homelife (national brand quality non-foods), Java Delight (coffee), Shoppers Value (value-priced items), Stockman & Dakota (high-quality beef), Stone Ridge (ice cream and sherbet), Super Chill (soft drinks and mixers), Whole Care Pet (pet foods and supplies), and Wild Harvest (natural and organic foods). In 2011, SuperValu announced it would eliminate Flavorite and all brands named after the chains it operates (such as Albertsons, Jewel, Shaw's, etc.) and would replace those labels with a new label, Essential Everyday.
After its purchase of Safeway, Albertsons began replacing some of its brands with Safeway's. O Organics and Open Nature replaced Wild Harvest, Pantry Essentials replaced Shoppers Value, and Refreshe replaced Super Chill. By late 2015, the remaining store brands were replaced with "Signature" (formerly Safeway Care, Farms, Home, and Kitchens). Albertsons started selling Lucerne dairy products, Mom To Mom baby products, and Priority Pet Food as well.
Albertsons Companies line of Own Brands [169] products launches 1,100 brand new items a year, making it one of the most diverse in-house brands in the country. Albertsons Companies' O Organics line is one of the nation's largest brand of USDA-certified organic products, with annual sales over $1 billion; it offers a wide array of products, for a variety of customers.
Some of the brands in use are:
Operations[edit]
On average, stores in the Albertsons Companies range between 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) and 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2)[171] and almost universally feature a bakery, deli, meat counter, produce department, and seafood counter; many of the stores also feature in-store banks and pharmacies. Larger and newer stores may also offer enhanced amenities, including Starbucks coffee counters, prepared foods, in-store pizza, salad bars, and juice bars.[172]
