I would go across the 101 freeway to Albertsons to shop while on my lunch from work. It is about a mile away.
Early this year they switched to Haggen’s. The prices were higher right away. The first day I talked with another customer who noticed this too and he says they are known for high prices.
I noticed the same employees but in a different employer shirt. Months go by and those same employees are gone. Haggen’s cut their hours to 29/hr to cut costs and of course obamacare. You cannot make a living on 29 hour work week!
The store was nearly empty when I would go every a week at noon. Haggen’s also made sure the employees who quit could not work at any other grocery chain as they had them sign a 1 year non compete clause. The union abandoned them.
Last week I overheard a group talking and one asked when their layoff date was. It was 2nd week of October.
The shelves were half empty for bread and several other aisles for other items like chips and soda. I notice today that in the meat dept, under the glass, it was half empty.
Haggen’s bit off more then they could chew and thousands of people are losing their jobs because of very poor management.
There are 6 other grocery stores within 3 to 5 miles I could drive to with a range of prices. Gelson’s is the most expensive while Ralph’s and Vons the least. Not counting Target a half mile away.
Also: Government meddling led to empty Haggen stores, laid-off grocery workers
http://www.dailynews.com/government-and-politics/20150828/government-meddling-led-to-empty-haggen-stores-laid-off-grocery-workers
I live in a town with one of the original 16 Haggen stores. The prices have always been way higher than Fred Meyer. Haggens is always almost empty with 1 or 2 checkers on duty. They have a much better deli than Fred’s though. I shop at Fred’s which is owned by Kroger. Only the rich can afford Haggens.
What a great article you linked. The writer has a keen sense of humor.
From the article....
The FTC’s Bureau of Competition concluded that the $9.2 billion merger of Safeway and Albertsons would hurt consumers in 130 local markets, including Los Angeles. The government said it would block the deal unless the companies sold 168 stores in Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
And that’s where Haggen came in. The FTC gave its approval for the 18-store chain based in Bellingham, Wash., to buy 146 Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores.
The problems began immediately. Sales were sluggish and employees were laid off. The union representing retail workers in Los Angeles and Central California, United Food & Commercial Workers Local 770, filed a grievance, alleging that employees were misled into staying with Haggen when they could have transferred to another Vons or Albertsons store.
Meanwhile, Albertsons filed a $41.1 million lawsuit alleging that Haggen failed to pay for the inventory in 38 of the stores it acquired.
Soon Haggen announced it was closing 27 stores, including two in Simi Valley, one in Santa Clarita, one in Newbury Park and 12 others in California.
That was too much for Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, who wrote Assembly Bill 359 to protect workers at large grocery stores from being fired during a change of ownership.
“Wall Street mergers and acquisitions that make big money for corporations and private equity firms should not jeopardize jobs of the grocery workers who live and work in our communities,” Gonzalez said in a news release.
The president of UFCW Local 135 in San Diego, Mickey Kasparian, said he was “ecstatic” when Gov. Brown signed the bill. “It’s important that workers have a fair chance to keep their jobs,” he said.
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None of this would have happened if the federal government had not interfered in a business deal that didn’t need any government interference. Albertsons and Safeway were not going to monopolize the grocery business and gouge consumers like some 19th-century general store selling gold-panning supplies to Forty-Niners. What planet is the FTC living on? Do they know that Amazon will deliver groceries to your house?
The FTC’s decision to forcibly rearrange the ownership of 168 stores has disrupted the lives of hundreds of grocery workers and needlessly diverted business resources from store operations to regulatory compliance.
Maybe Haggen would like to take over the FTC’s “Bureau of Competition.” The faster they close it, the better.
The whole article is great. My question is....who, at Haggen’s got this govt *deal*? Why Haggen’s? Follow the $$.
Thank you for telling me your own personal experience with the chain, and for the link.