Safeway’s Been Acquired By Albertson’s

One little tidbit I missed earlier this year: Albertson’s is acquiring Safeway. In my humble borough of Lynnwood, we have one of each on opposite corners of the same intersection. With this M&A, I expect that one of the two will be shuttered, especially since part of the justification is the cut costs and improve our competitive position. Especially since they’re surrounded by competition: < 2 mile radius to two Krogers QFCs and a Walmart, with another of Kroger’s Fred Meyer stores just slightly further away.

Safeway always seems to be empty, whereas Albertson’s seems pretty active (now that is completely subjective, so take that into consideration). However, I’ve lived around the area for years, and both stores have maintained continuous presences. So I guess they’re both fine sales-wise, but I anticipate the Albertson’s is stronger. And the Jame’s Village Albertson’s has been in the same location for ages. Thus, if I were putting a wager, I’d lean towards Albertson’s winning out. As I haven’t seen a timeline for this being completed and through regulatory review, we’ll just need to wait for the future to get here.