Retailer of the Year/Food Industry Hall of Fame

West Retailer of the Year Albertsons Rising

Since Joe Albertson partnered with L.S. Skaggs to open the first Albertsons store on 16th and State Streets in Boise, Idaho, in 1939, the company has been through more than its fair share of transitions, especially since the turn of the century.

The biggest came in 2006, when Albertsons was sold off—for $17.4 billion—to three buyers.

Supervalu picked up 1,124 stores to become the second-largest supermarket company in the U.S. It gained the Acme Markets, Bristol Farms, JewelOsco, Shaw’s and Star Markets banners, as well as all the Albertsons stores in Idaho, Southern Nevada,

Utah, Southern California and the Northwest. Also included were the combo-store pharmacies that operated under the Osco and Sav-on banners.

CVS Corp. acquired the company’s stand-alone drugstores—about 700 of them—as well as a distribution center.

And a consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management acquired 655 stores and their related distribution centers and offices in the Dallas/ Fort Worth, Florida, Northern California, Rocky Mountain and Southwestern regions. These stores would operate as Albertsons LLC.

Larry Johnston, who was chairman, CEO and president of Albertsons at the time, said the deals represented a “successful conclusion” to the company’s search for strategic alternatives.

But Albertsons would rise again.

By 2013, Supervalu had decided that retail food stores was not where its focus should be, so it sold 877 retail stores back to Albertsons LLC, as it was known at the time. That would give Albertsons LLC 1,069 stores, 12 distribution centers and about 110,000 associates.

Bob Miller—who today is chairman of Albertsons Cos.— had been tapped by Cerberus to lead Albertsons LLC, and he was pleased to get the stores back, some of which he had helped open during his previous 30-year career with Albertsons.

Miller said at the time, “We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire Acme, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, and Shaw’s and Star Market. We see great potential to improve operations, drive new energy and create a ‘winning attitude’ with our store-level associates, and earn back our customers’ trust and business.

“In 2006, we acquired a set of stores that lacked investment and were in tough shape, but with our great associates taking care of our customers every day

Mancini Sales and Marketing and our valued manufacturers congratulate Albertson’s Companies being named “Retailer of the Year“ and Bob Miller being inducted into the Food Industry Hall of Fame