History of Albertsons in Timeline
Albertsons Companies, Inc., is a prominent American grocery company. Its headquarters are located in Boise, Idaho. Founded in the United States, Albertsons operates a chain of retail grocery stores across the country.
1906: Joe Albertson's Birth
In 1906, Joe Albertson, the founder of Albertsons, was born.
1939: Albertsons Founded
In 1939, Joe Albertson founded Albertsons on July 21 in Boise, Idaho, marketing it as "Idaho's largest and finest food store" with innovative perks like free parking, a money-back guarantee, and an ice cream shop.
1941: Expansion Interrupted by World War II
Before America's entry into World War II in late 1941, Albertsons had expanded with new stores in neighboring towns west of Boise: Nampa, Caldwell, and Emmett.
1959: Became a Public Company
In 1959, Albertson's, Inc. became a public company.
1963: Hundredth Store Opened
In 1963, Albertsons opened its hundredth store in Seattle.
1964: Expansion to Southern California
In 1964, Albertsons expanded to southern California by acquiring All American Markets, a small chain based in Orange County.
1967: Expansion into Colorado
In 1967, Albertsons expanded into Colorado, acquiring eight stores from Furr's Supermarkets.
1969: Partnership with Skaggs Drug Centers
In 1969, Albertsons partnered with Skaggs Drug Centers to create the first combination food/drug stores, starting in Texas.
1973: First Distribution Center Opened
In 1973, Albertsons opened its first distribution center in Brea, California.
1974: Acquisition of Monte Mart Chain
In 1974, Albertsons bought the four-store Monte Mart chain in northern California.
1977: Dissolution of Skaggs Partnership
In 1977, the partnership between Albertsons and Skaggs Drug Centers ended amicably due to increasing difficulties in control, with Skaggs retaining stores in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, while Albertsons kept stores in Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, as well as some Texas stores.
1978: Acquisition of Fazio's Shopping Bag
In 1978, Albertsons bought Fazio's Shopping Bag from Fisher Foods, adding 46 stores in Southern California.
1979: Original Store Demolished
In 1979, the original Albertsons store was demolished, and a replacement store was built on the same property, with a brick monument commemorating the original store at 16th and State Streets in downtown Boise.
1981: Entered Nebraska and South Dakota
In 1981, Albertsons expanded its reach by entering the states of Nebraska and South Dakota.
1982: Management Reorganization
In 1982, Albertsons reorganized its management into four regions: California, Northwest, Intermountain, and South.
1988: First Fully Mechanized Distribution Center
In 1988, Albertsons built its first fully mechanized distribution center in Portland, Oregon.
1989: 500th Store Opened
In 1989, Albertsons opened its 500th store, located in Temecula, California.
1989: Expansion in Austin
In early 1989, Albertsons entered the Austin market by acquiring six Tom Thumb stores and added three Skaggs-Alpha Beta stores shortly after.
1991: Rebranding as Jewel-Osco
In 1991, many stores that had been opened as Skaggs Albertsons originally (later turning into "Skaggs Alpha Beta" under American Stores ownership) were rebranded as Jewel-Osco.
1993: Joe Albertson's Death
In 1993, Joe Albertson, the founder of Albertsons, passed away.
1994: Acquisition of Big Bear Markets Stores
In 1994, Albertsons acquired four stores from the San Diego County chain Big Bear Markets.
1997: Launch of Albertsons Express
In 1997, Albertsons launched Albertsons Express, a new branch featuring fuel centers and convenience stores, with the first location opening in Eagle, Idaho.
1998: Acquisition of American Stores Company
In 1998, Albertsons made its biggest acquisition yet with the American Stores Company, including chains like ACME, Lucky, Jewel, Jewel-Osco, Osco Drug, and Sav-on Drugs, briefly making Albertsons the largest American food and drug operator.
1998: Purchase of American Stores
Most of the Albertsons locations had originally been branded as Lucky before Albertson's 1998 purchase of American Stores.
November 1999: Lucky Stores Converted to Albertsons
In November 1999, Albertsons converted 508 Lucky stores to the Albertsons banner in California, Nevada, and New Mexico, retiring the Lucky brand name.
January 2001: Restructuring to Divisional Structure
In January 2001, Albertsons restructured its "districts" to a divisional structure mostly based around distribution centers, with a drug store division and 18 regional division offices.
July 18, 2001: Store Closures Announced
On July 18, 2001, Larry Johnston, Albertsons' new chairman and CEO, announced the closure of 165 "underperforming" stores across 25 states, along with job cuts and reduction of operating divisions.
January 2002: Sale of Osco Drug Stores
In January 2002, Albertsons sold its freestanding Osco Drug stores in the northeastern states to Jean Coutu Group, which rebranded them as Brooks Pharmacy.
2002: Name Change
In 2002, the company's corporate name was changed from Albertson's Inc. to Albertsons Inc. with the removal of the apostrophe.
2003: Albertsons introduces Essensia brand
In 2003, Albertsons introduced an upscale private label brand, "Essensia", which was later renamed by SuperValu as Culinary Circle.
2004: Acquisitions of Shaw's and Bristol Farms
In 2004, Albertsons acquired Shaw's Supermarkets and Star Market from Sainsbury's for $2.5 billion and also purchased Bristol Farms for $135 million. Albertsons also exited the Omaha and New Orleans markets.
January 23, 2006: Sale to Consortium Announced
On January 23, 2006, it was announced that Albertsons, Inc. would be sold to a consortium of companies, with SuperValu acquiring the stronger divisions and brand names, including Albertsons divisions in Southern California, Northwest, and Intermountain, as well as ACME, Bristol Farms, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's Supermarkets and Star Market brands. SuperValu would also gain access to over 100 Albertsons Express fuel centers.
June 2, 2006: Acquisition by Cerberus-led Group Completed
On June 2, 2006, the acquisition of Albertsons Inc. was completed, with what was left of the company becoming Albertsons, LLC, purchased by a Cerberus-led group of investors and CVS Pharmacy under the name AB Acquisition LLC. Albertsons LLC included 661 stores and the distribution centers and offices from five of Albertsons divisions.
June 6, 2006: Store Closures Announced
On June 6, 2006, Albertsons LLC announced its intent to close 100 Albertsons stores by August 2006, including all but two Super Saver stores, spread across all five divisions.
July 21, 2006: Online Delivery Service Shut Down
On July 21, 2006, Albertsons LLC announced that it would be shutting down its online delivery service.
August 2006: Closure of 100 Stores
By August 2006, Albertsons LLC closed 100 Albertsons stores, including all but two Super Saver stores, across all five divisions.
November 2006: Sale of Northern California Division
In November 2006, it was announced that the Northern California division of Albertsons, consisting of stores in northern California and northern Nevada, would be sold to Save Mart.
February 2007: Sale to Save Mart Closed
In late February 2007, the deal to sell Albertsons' Northern California division to Save Mart closed.
April 2007: Rocky Mountain division store count declines
By April 2007, the Rocky Mountain division of Albertsons had only 32 stores left in the state of Colorado.
June 12, 2007: Acquisition of Raley's locations in New Mexico
On June 12, 2007, Albertsons LLC agreed to acquire all Raley's locations in New Mexico, including one closed and eight operating stores in Albuquerque and one store in Taos, doubling Albertsons' store base in the Albuquerque metro.
June 2007: Discontinuation of Preferred Savings Card Program
In June 2007, Albertson's LLC decided to discontinue its Preferred Savings Card Program, opting to offer discounted items to all customers instead.
September 2007: Collection of Albertsons Preferred Savings Cards begins
In September 2007, Albertsons stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and Florida markets began collecting their Albertsons Preferred Savings Cards.
December 2007: SuperValu acquires Wyoming locations
In December 2007, SuperValu acquired the eight remaining Wyoming locations from Albertson's LLC that were not already owned by the company. These stores continued to operate under the Albertsons banner.
2007: Discontinuation of Preferred Savings Card Program
Albertsons LLC did away with the Preferred Savings Card in 2007.
2007: Downscaling in Dallas–Fort Worth division
In 2007, the Dallas–Fort Worth division of Albertsons sold its distribution center and outsourced it to Associated Wholesale Grocers. Albertsons also exited both Oklahoma and Austin during 2007, selling the Oklahoma stores to Associated Wholesale Grocers members and the Austin stores to H-E-B.
2008: Exit from fuel business begins
Beginning in 2008, Albertsons began exiting the fuel business, selling 72 of over one hundred Albertsons Express gas stations to Valero Energy, which converted most of them to Corner Store locations.
2008: Sale of South Dakota and Nebraska stores
In 2008, Albertsons sold its lone South Dakota and Nebraska stores to Nash Finch.
August 2009: Closure of distribution center and division office
In August 2009, Albertsons closed the distribution center and division office of the Rocky Mountain division, and the 26 remaining stores moved to the Southwest division.
2011: SuperValu announces elimination of Flavorite and chain-named brands
In 2011, SuperValu announced it would eliminate Flavorite and all brands named after the chains it operates (such as Albertsons, Jewel, and Shaw's) and would replace those labels with a new label, Essential Everyday.
2011: Divestment of Albertsons Express locations
In 2011, most of the Albertsons Express locations were divested under the Supervalu company.
April 2012: Closure of most Florida stores
In April 2012, Albertsons closed most of its stores in Florida. The Plant City distribution center was sold to Gordon Food Service, though the Florida Division continued to be located there. By April 2012, only four stores remained in the entire state of Florida.
January 10, 2013: SuperValu to sell New Albertsons to Cerberus Capital Management
On January 10, 2013, it was announced that SuperValu was selling New Albertsons (Albertsons, ACME, Shaw's/Star Market, and Jewel-Osco, though they had previously sold off Bristol Farms in 2010) to Cerberus Capital Management.
February 23, 2013: AB Acquisition announces division split
On February 23, 2013, AB Acquisition announced it would split operations of the newly combined company into eight divisions: Northwestern, Intermountain, Southern California, Southern, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw's, and Southwestern.
March 2013: Deal closure with Cerberus Capital Management
In March 2013, the deal between SuperValu and Cerberus Capital Management was officially closed. On paper, Albertsons LLC controlled the Albertsons-branded stores and New Albertsons Inc. controlled ACME, Shaw's/Star Market, and Jewel-Osco, but it was operated as one company.
June 11, 2013: Plans to merge websites, social media, and mobile apps
On June 11, 2013, Albertsons announced its plans to merge its duplicate websites, social media accounts and mobile apps onto one of each kind, ending the use of the Albertsons Market branding and AlbertsonsMarket.com. While its website consolidation appeared to take place as expected, its applications received bad reviews—but the biggest consequence was the mistaken deletion of their previous Facebook page and loss of over 200,000 fans.
July 2013: Discontinuation of Preferred Savings Card in Southern California
In July 2013, Albertsons discontinued the Preferred Savings Card in Southern California stores, after doing away with it in the former SuperValu stores that Albertsons LLC had dispensed with in 2007.
September 9, 2013: Acquisition of United Supermarkets LLC
On September 9, 2013, Albertsons acquired Lubbock-based supermarket United Supermarkets LLC.
2013: Store count shrinks under SuperValu
By 2013, of the 1100+ stores SuperValu acquired in 2006, fewer than 900 remained. Under SuperValu, Bristol Farms had been sold off, 36 Utah stores were sold to Associated Food Stores, the Wisconsin Jewel-Osco stores had been sold or closed, as well as the Shaw's stores in Connecticut. Additionally, most of the fuel stations had been shuttered or sold to other operators.
2013: Continued divestment of Albertsons Express locations
In 2013, the divestment of Albertsons Express locations continued under the Supervalu company.
February 4, 2014: FTC approves United Supermarkets acquisition
On February 4, 2014, the FTC voted 4–0 to approve the acquisition deal, which cost Albertsons $385 million and required Albertsons to sell its single stores in the Amarillo, Texas, and Wichita Falls, Texas, markets.
February 19, 2014: Safeway explores selling itself
On February 19, 2014, Safeway began to explore selling itself.
February 21, 2014: Advanced negotiations with Cerberus Capital Management
By February 21, 2014, Safeway was in advanced negotiations with Cerberus Capital Management.
March 6, 2014: Cerberus to purchase Safeway
On March 6, 2014, Cerberus Capital Management (parent company of Albertsons) announced it would purchase Safeway for $9.4 billion in a deal expected to close in the 4th quarter of the year.
July 25, 2014: Safeway stockholders approve merger with Albertsons
On July 25, 2014, Safeway stockholders approved the merger with Albertsons.
December 2014: Haggen purchases West Coast stores
At the time of the Albertsons-Safeway merger in December 2014, Haggen purchased 146 West Coast Vons, Pavilions, Albertsons, and Safeway locations that had to be sold due to anti-trust concerns, paying $300 million, plus spending $100 million to rebrand the stores.
December 2014: Sale of stores to Haggen Company
In December 2014, Albertsons announced that the Haggen Company, a Bellingham, Washington, based grocery chain, was buying 146 Safeway, Albertsons and Vons stores, as required by the antitrust review of the merger.
January 2015: Merger with Safeway Inc.
In January 2015, Albertsons merged with Safeway Inc. for $9.2 billion and prior to the merger, Albertsons had 1,075 supermarkets located in 29 U.S. states under 12 different regional banners.
January 2015: Revival of Albertsons Market brand
In January 2015, after the United Supermarkets deal was finalized, the Albertsons Market brand was revived for Albertsons stores operated by United. The first to be branded as such opened in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
January 30, 2015: Acquisition of Safeway Inc.
On January 30, 2015, Albertsons officially acquired Safeway Inc. after being cleared by the FTC, giving it control of the Safeway store banners, including Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs Safeway, Vons, and Pavilions, plus Safeway's 49% share of Casa Ley, a Mexican grocery chain. Following the merger, Albertsons announced the new company would have 14 divisions led by three regional offices.
September 1, 2015: Haggen files lawsuit against Albertsons
On September 1, 2015, Haggen announced that the company had filed a lawsuit against Albertsons LLC and Albertsons Holdings LLC seeking more than $1 billion in damages. The complaint alleged that following Haggen's December 2014 purchase of 146 Albertsons and Safeway stores, Albertsons engaged in "coordinated and systematic efforts to eliminate competition and Haggen as a viable competitor".
October 14, 2015: Postponement of IPO
Albertsons attempted to IPO with the ticker ABS on October 14, 2015, planning to raise as much as $1.7 billion, selling 65.3 million shares with a range of $23 - $26 per share. However, the company postponed the listing due to market conditions.
October 2015: IPO postponed indefinitely
As of October 2015, Albertsons has reportedly postponed the IPO indefinitely due to market conditions. During this time, Albertsons continued to expand, purchasing 70 stores owned by the bankrupt Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company.
2015: Albertsons replaces brands with Safeway's brands
After its purchase of Safeway, Albertsons began replacing some of its brands with Safeway's in 2015. 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".
January 11, 2016: Re-bannering of Florida stores as Safeway
On January 11, 2016, it was announced that the three remaining Albertsons stores in Florida, located in Largo, Altamonte Springs and Oakland Park, would be re-bannered as Safeway, marking the first time that the Safeway brand would exist on a supermarket operation in Florida.
January 2016: Settlement of lawsuit with Haggen
In January 2016, Albertsons settled the lawsuit with Haggen, agreeing to pay $5.75 million to Haggen, and subsequently reached an agreement to acquire the remaining 29 'core' Haggen stores located in Washington and Oregon for $106 million.
March 29, 2016: Agreement to acquire remaining Haggen stores approved
On March 29, 2016, the deal to acquire the remaining 29 'core' Haggen stores located in Washington and Oregon for $106 million was approved. As part of the deal, 15 stores would still operate under the Haggen banner, with the rest converted to Albertsons locations.
February 2017: Reopening of Andronico's as Safeway Community Market
When the first Andronico's store reopened in February 2017 under the ownership of the Northern California division, it was still bannered as Andronico's due to an issue in obtaining local permits but the other stores were able to reopen as Safeway Community Markets.
February 17, 2017: Closure of Randalls store in Katy, Texas
On February 17, 2017, the Randalls store in south Katy, Texas, serving the Cinco Ranch area closed.
March 6, 2017: Closure of Houston-area distribution center
On March 6, 2017, shortly after the Katy Randalls closure, it was announced that the Houston-area distribution center near Cypress, Texas, would be closed and the operations consolidated in the Roanoke, Texas, Tom Thumb distribution center in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to supply the Houston- and Austin-area stores instead.
September 20, 2017: Acquisition of Plated
On September 20, 2017, Albertsons acquired meal kit company Plated for $200 million.
February 20, 2018: Albertsons announces plans to acquire Rite Aid
On February 20, 2018, Albertsons announced its plans to acquire Rite Aid, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. The acquisition would involve replacing Osco and Sav-on pharmacies in Albertsons stores with Rite Aid pharmacies, while retaining stand-alone Rite Aid locations.
August 8, 2018: Albertsons acquisition of Rite Aid canceled
On August 8, 2018, Rite Aid announced the cancellation of the proposed acquisition by Albertsons due to shareholder disapproval.
2018: Albertsons reenters fuel market
In 2018, Albertsons began reentering the fuel market by opening a new Albertsons Express in Boise, ID, at the site of a former Pizza Hut. This location introduced chip-credit-card enabled pumps to Idaho's gas stations. An Albertsons Express from the original fuel centers in Hillsboro, Oregon, also remained open.
2018: Fortune 500 Ranking
In 2018, Albertsons ranked 53rd on the Fortune 500 list, which ranks the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
2019: Employee Count
As of fiscal year 2019, Albertsons had 270,000 employees.
2019: Albertsons opens flagship Market Street store and new Andronico's
In 2019, Albertsons opened a 110,000 square feet Albertsons Market Street store in Meridian, Idaho, based on the Market Street brand of United Supermarkets. Also in 2019, a new Andronico's Community Markets opened in Monterey, California.
June 2020: Albertsons goes public
In June 2020, Albertsons finally went public after years of delays. The potential IPO for the company was valued at around $19 billion. Also in June 2020, the Mid-Atlantic Division was created by combining Eastern and ACME Markets.
October 2020: Albertsons bids for Kings Food Markets/Balducci's chain
In October 2020, Albertsons submitted a winning bid for the Kings Food Markets/Balducci's chain, with plans to merge them into the Mid-Atlantic Division.
2020: Store Count
As of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, Albertsons operated 2,253 stores.
October 14, 2022: Acquisition Announcement
On October 14, 2022, Albertsons announced it would be acquired by rival Kroger for $25 billion.
November 1, 2022: Lawsuit filed to halt dividend payment
On November 1, 2022, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Albertsons and Kroger seeking to halt the payment of a $4 billion dividend to Albertsons shareholders to prevent Albertsons from winding down operations and preparing store closures during regulator review of the merger.
November 30, 2023: FTC Requirements Satisfied
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 was expected to close in early 2024.
January 2024: Lawsuit to Block Merger
In January 2024, Washington state sued to block the proposed $25 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons, citing concerns about raised prices and harm to consumers.
February 2024: Colorado Lawsuit Filed
In February 2024, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit against the merger between Kroger and Albertsons due to concerns from consumers about potential store closures, higher prices, job losses, poor customer service, and vulnerable supply chains.
February 2024: FTC Sues to Block Acquisition
In February 2024, the FTC sued to block the acquisition stating that the deal would negatively impact consumer prices and workers' wages.
February 2024: Anti-trust lawsuit filed to stop Kroger and Albertsons merger
In February 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorney generals in eight states filed an anti-trust lawsuit to stop the merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
August 2024: Trial for Kroger and Albertsons merger case
The case regarding the Kroger and Albertsons merger went to trial in August 2024.
October 2024: Albertsons settles lawsuit in California
In October 2024, Albertsons settled a lawsuit filed by prosecutors in five California counties regarding allegations including price overcharging and false weight advertising.
December 11, 2024: Merger Termination
On December 11, 2024, Kroger and Albertsons terminated their merger attempt following its block by a federal and a state judge.
December 2024: Federal court issues preliminary injunction against Kroger and Albertsons merger
In December 2024, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the proposed merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, siding with the Biden administration.
2024: Kroger to acquire Albertsons
On October 14, 2022, Kroger announced its intent to merge with Albertsons, with Kroger acquiring all Albertsons shares and divesting some stores to secure regulatory approval. The $24.6 billion transaction was expected to close in early 2024. The announcement was met with criticism due to the potential for monopolies to form in some U.S. cities that have few other grocery chains, as well as food deserts that would form from store closures.
Mentioned in this timeline
Kroger is an American retail corporation that runs supermarkets and...
Facebook is a social media and networking service created in...
Publix Super Markets Inc an employee-owned American supermarket chain was...
The United States of America is a federal republic located...
California is a U S state on the Pacific Coast...
H-E-B is a privately held supermarket chain headquartered in San...
Trending
42 minutes ago Sal Stewart's Miami Homecoming: Strong Reds Start Against Hometown Marlins
43 minutes ago Howie Mandel's Surprise Appearance: Desmond Bane's Interview Interrupted, Creating Viral Moment
43 minutes ago Outer Banks Beach Closed Due to Collapsing Homes; Cape Hatteras Issues Warning
44 minutes ago Dominic Fike of 'Euphoria' Confirms He's a Dad, Announces Son Rocket
44 minutes ago Oliver Platt's character underutilized in Chicago Med Season 11; Dr. Charles' storyline.
44 minutes ago Sinitta reveals past relationship with Brad Pitt, Courtney Love's dating history surfaces.
Popular
Paula White-Cain is a prominent American televangelist and key figure...
William Franklin Graham III commonly known as Franklin Graham is...
XXXTentacion born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy was a controversial yet...
Pam Bondi is an American attorney and politician She served...
Melania Trump a Slovenian-American former model has served as First...
Steve Hilton is a British-American conservative political commentator and former...