Haggen may be in worse trouble than originally thought.
Not only has Haggen cut employee hours along with actually their work force (see re-blogged story), but now it appears they can’t make payments on the initial sale of the stores (source: L.A. Times).
Albertsons claims Haggen reneged on payment for inventory. However, Haggen states they were never going to make that payment to begin with. Therefore Albertsons has filed suit and it appears the courts will have to decide. Haggen denies any wrongdoing and instead, says Albertsons was at fault.
In Haggens own words, they admit unprecedented competition for the Washington based companies battle to enter the Southwest. Whether this is another sign the originally tiny store chain can make the leap to regional supermarket remains to be seen.
Here on the Central Coast, we have had some good markets come and go including my favorite Scolari’s, which folded up after a 60 year reign and left the Golden State in 2012 due in part to being over-taxed and over-regulated by Sacramento. Then came some news this past year that seemed positive when Washington based Haggen bought up nearly a hundred Albertsons and Vons in California. It was thought that Haggen would bring better customer service and a more fresh set of products to market, somewhat along the lines of Whole Foods. It sounded promising, but only three months into their endeavor, it appears the concept isn’t working.
Cuts
Based in Bellingham, Washington, Haggen announced this week that there would be layoffs throughout the Southwest. No exact numbers we’re given and the store says they are “temporary layoffs”. The layoffs aren’t a big surprise as employees have already had their…
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