Safeway history

In 1919, Davis purchases the George C. Shaw Company of Portland, Maine, and operates the two companies independently.

By 1921, M.B. Skaggs owned multiple stores in Idaho and Montana.

The chain had grown to over one hundred stores by 1922, and Seelig had established a real estate concern to handle the growing company’s needs.

The rapid growth proved problematic for Seelig over the next three years, however, and in 1925, control of the company (and it’s 270 stores) passed to its distributor and largest creditor, W.R.H. Weldon.

In 1926, Charles E. Merrill, the founder of the Merrill Lynch brokerage firm, saw an opportunity to consolidate the West Coast grocery industry.

By 1928 Safeway had expanded to 2,020 stores and its stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Safeway expands into Canada 1929 with 127 stores.

Through the 1930’s Safeway becomes the second largest grocer in the US.

In 1931, with both the MacMarr and Safeway chains hurt by sliding profits, a deal was brokered to unite the two chains, and Lingan Warren became a part of Safeway.

Safeway again opens stores in Hawaii, having exited this market in 1934.

1939: Joe Albertson, with partners L.S. Skaggs and Tom Cuthbert, opens his first one-stop shopping market, called Albertson's Food Center, in Boise, Idaho.

Sales remained constant during the war years, and in 1945 Joe Albertson dissolved the partnership and Albertson's was incorporated.

By 1947, the chain had six stores operating in Idaho and had established a complete poultry processing operation.

The first Tom Thumb store opens in August 1948 at 6909 Preston Road in Dallas.

In 1949 the Dutch Girl ice cream plant opened in Boise, and Albertson's adopted the Dutch Girl as its early trademark.

Warren McCain, who began his career with Albertson's as a merchandising supervisor in 1951, became chairman of the board and CEO. In the same year, Albertson's began to build superstores, which would carry an even higher ratio of nonfood items.

The famous “S” insignia, adopted in 1952, could be seen on vast new warehouses in most western states.

In 1954 Safeway joined the list of firms that offered their employees major medical coverage, a move that helped cement good labor relations.

In 1955 an era ended at Safeway when Lingan Warren retired from his posts as president, general manager, and director of the company.

In 1957 the company built its first frozen foods distribution house, which served its southern Idaho and eastern Oregon stores.

The company also went public in 1959 and with that capital began to expand its markets aggressively.

In 1960 the company opened operations in Louisiana.

Safeway’s first overseas expansion campaign came in 1962, when the company bought a string of 11 stores in England.

In 1964 the company broke into the California market by acquiring Greater All American Markets, based in Los Angeles.

When the company reached its 40th anniversary in 1966 it proudly announced that it had achieved $3 billion a year in sales--and had paid a dividend through the Great Depression, World War II, and ten years of material shortages and price controls.

In 1967 the company purchased eight Colorado supermarkets from Fury's Inc., a Lubbock, Texas concern.

Banking on the higher profit margin of nonfood items as well as on an aggressive five-year plan, Scott also predicted in 1969 that Albertson's sales would double within five years.

In 1970, however, the company pioneered a unique and exceptionally profitable concept in supermarket design.

In 1971 Safeway was among the first to adopt the now-common practice of labeling ground beef by fat content rather than by weight alone, continuing the firm’s tradition of supplying consumers with all the facts they needed to make a purchasing decision.

In 1972 Albertson's had acquired Mountain States Wholesale of Idaho, a subsidiary of DiGiorgio Corporation.

Bolinder still claimed that the Justice Department had misunderstood Albertson's reasons for buying the wholesaler, noting that the subsidiary was not financially integral to the company but accounted for only 3.4 percent of its total sales in 1973.

By 1974, sales reached $852.3 million, with net earnings of $8.9 million.

It was during 1976 that the corporation slowly began to phase out its conventional markets.

1977: Albertson's and Skaggs dissolve their partnership, evenly splitting the assets.

In 1978 Albertson's strengthened its stronghold in southern California by acquiring 46 supermarkets located in the Los Angeles area from Fisher Foods, Inc.

In 1979 Albertson's took the "bigger is better" concept to the drawing boards again and introduced its first warehouse stores.

In 1980 Peter Magowan, Robert Magowan’s son, succeeded William Mitchell as chairman and CEO of the firm.

In 1981 Albertson's was operating in 17 of the fastest-growing standard metropolitan areas, as identified by the United States Department of Commerce.

In 1982 retail management was reorganized into four operating units/regions: California, Northwest, Intermountain, and South.

In 1983 these units accounted for only one-third of the chain's 423 stores but were the source of 65 percent of its profits.

In 1987, a 230,000 square foot expansion is added to the building.

1988: Company completes its first fully mechanized distribution center, in Portland, Oregon.

Safeway provides full array of grocery items, food and general merchandise and feature a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops and fuel centers. It changed its name from Safeway Stores, Inc. to Safeway, Inc. in February 1990.

Gary Michael became chairman of the board and CEO of Albertson's on February 1, 1991, and initiated the "Service First" employee award program.

By January 1992, Albertson's ran 562 grocery stores in 17 western and southern states, employing 60,000 workers.

Sales surpassed the $10 billion mark in 1993, the year that Joe Albertson died at age 86.

The company continued building its distribution system, with a new, one-million-square-foot center in Plant City, Florida--a facility dedicated to reviving its struggling 74-unit Florida operation--opening in early 1994.

By mid-1996, with the opening of a center in Houston, Albertson's had a total of 12 distribution centers.

Safeway Inc. acquired a 35% stake in Vons, and the two companies fully merged in 1997.

At the end of the fiscal year ending in January 1998, Albertson's operated 878 stores in 20 states and had revenues of $14.69 billion.

Around the time of the completion of the merger, King resigned his executive positions to "pursue other opportunities," with Michael initially assuming his responsibilities; in March 2000 Peter L. Lynch, who had been a senior executive at American Stores, was named the new president and COO.

In April 2001 Lawrence R. Johnston was named chairman and CEO, becoming the first outsider to lead the company.

In early 2002 the company exited from the New England drugstore market by selling its 80 Osco outlets in that region to Maxi Drug Inc., operator of the Brooks Pharmacy chain, for about $240 million.

Another new development, launched in the fall of 2003, was a store-within-a-store initiative designed to make the company's stores more of a one-stop shopping destination.

All told, these moves were aimed at paring annual operating costs by $750 million by the end of 2004.

Albertsons LLC successfully acquires all of the remaining assets purchased by SUPERVALU in 2006, re-establishes the corporate headquarters in Boise, and brings a fresh approach to Boise’s favorite hometown grocery store.

In 2017 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the company gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support.

© 2021 Albertsons Companies.