Kroger buys Albertson’s

[tvguy]

Nah - they completely shut down two years ago. I remember when their processing/distribution point was in Emeryville up until maybe 2000. Quite a bit of what they sold was Dean Foods packaging.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/berkeley-farms-in-hayward-shutting-down-after-being-in-business-since-1910

They were just one of Dean Foods brands. When I looked up the plant codes on Trader Joe's milk in my area, it seemed to be either Berkeley Farms for conventional or Clover-Stornetta for organic label. But now I think it's probably Producer's or Foster Farms. It seems that Producer's bought out the Berkeley Farms trademark from Dean during their bankruptcy proceedings, but I haven't seen them come back in any form yet.

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https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...r-the-Sale-of-Substantially-All-of-Its-Assets​

The Court also approved Producers Dairy Foods’ purchase of Dean Foods’ Reno, Nevada facility for $3.7 million and its purchase of the “Berkeley Farms” trademark and related intellectual property for $3 million.​

Ah, so the Berkeley Farms brand is still out there, Producer's Dairy bought the rights to the name but it is Producer's dairy products.
That's the same thing here with Crystal Creamery. Hood foods bought the Crystal plants but not the Crystal brand or recipies. Then Foster Farms bought the rights to use the Crystal brand, and stopped selling Foster Farm brand dairy products. But nobody bought the Crystal recipes. I bought some Crystal Egg Nog yesterday, but it isn't made the way Crystal did. Crystal made their own Egg Nog flavoring, Foster Farms buys Egg Nog base from another company and adds milk to it. Crystal egg nogs recipe included buttermilk, the current Crystal Egg Nog does not.

 

[bcla]

Ah, so the Berkeley Farms brand is still out there, Producer's Dairy bought the rights to the name but it is Producer's dairy products.
That's the same thing here with Crystal Creamery. Hood foods bought the Crystal plants but not the Crystal brand or recipies. Then Foster Farms bought the rights to use the Crystal brand, and stopped selling Foster Farm brand dairy products. But nobody bought the Crystal recipes. I bought some Crystal Egg Nog yesterday, but it isn't made the way Crystal did. Crystal made their own Egg Nog flavoring, Foster Farms buys Egg Nog base from another company and adds milk to it. Crystal egg nogs recipe included buttermilk, the current Crystal Egg Nog does not.

One company buying a better known brand and abandoning its own brand isn't that unusual. The one I can think of was the NationsBank and Bank of America "merger". That was

Dean Foods going bankrupt was huge. They where the largest dairy processor in the US and they went crazy buying all sorts of regional dairies including Berkeley Farms and Alta Dena. I'm not sure why, but Alta Dena was found in my area for a few years back in the 80s but it didn't stick around. Since it was found in the LA area, I remember seeing it a few times on TV when a production just used whatever they could find in the area rather than make up some fake brand name.

I don't remember that much about Crystal other than they sponsored dollar night when I was at a River Cats game. I wasn't even sure what they were since the brand wasn't that common in the Bay Area, except maybe in some convenience stores.

 

[EricLaurie]

In the Chicago area, Albertsons own Jewel stores. I've been shopping at Jewel my whole life and am used to their deli, their brands, etc. I would really hate it if all my favorites changed. I'm on the IL / WI state line. Kroger took over Pick N Save in WI a few years ago and brought in all of their own stuff - not surprised, it's how this works. I'm dreading seeing that happen to the Jewel.

 

[tvguy]

One company buying a better known brand and abandoning its own brand isn't that unusual. The one I can think of was the NationsBank and Bank of America "merger". That was

Dean Foods going bankrupt was huge. They where the largest dairy processor in the US and they went crazy buying all sorts of regional dairies including Berkeley Farms and Alta Dena. I'm not sure why, but Alta Dena was found in my area for a few years back in the 80s but it didn't stick around. Since it was found in the LA area, I remember seeing it a few times on TV when a production just used whatever they could find in the area rather than make up some fake brand name.

I don't remember that much about Crystal other than they sponsored dollar night when I was at a River Cats game. I wasn't even sure what they were since the brand wasn't that common in the Bay Area, except maybe in some convenience stores.

Crystal was a Sacramento based dairy that operated from 1901 to 2007. 106 years and the family decided to sell. When I was a kid (1950-60s) that was the dairy that delivered milk and dairy products to your home. I worked across the street from their dairy for 12 years. Hood Dairy bought them for their dairy processing plant to make coffee creamer. They sold the Crystal Brand name to Foster Farms a few months later.
https://www.dairyfoods.com/articles/84105-hood-selling-crystal-brand-keeping-plant

 

[DodgerGirl]

Where I grew up, Lucky and Safeway were the big ones, although there were also a few independent and semi-independent supermarkets. I even recall the old Berkeley Co-Op. I don't remember the name of it, but I distinctly remember one store that was more or less independent, but tapped into a larger network for things like house brands.

Lucky was definitely an entrenched brand in Northern California. If there was any new entry, it would have been into the Southern California market. But there were Albertson's stores around here before the sale of Lucky. And when Albertson's bought out Lucky's parent company, I do remember how they seemed to either close or rebrand before Albertson's sold off to Save Mart and they rebranded back to Lucky California. Save Mart had a tough time breaking the market. I remember some locations that just called themselves "S-Mart". But there was still a lot of goodwill over the name.

It is weird with the local house brands though. Lucky used to have several house brands like "Lady Lee" but that wasn't brought back. They seem to tap into the Bayview Farms and Sunnyside Farms brands that are distributed to a number of different unreleased chains like Save Mart and Raley's.

I do remember Lucky's house brand Lady Lee a lot because sometimes when my mom shopped at Lucky sometimes our house was full of Lady Lee products and they had the best tasting soda and even when I went to school when I was a little girl my teachers would give me Lady Lee crackers to eat and those were great too. I thought the name Lady Lee was pretty cool because it sounded like a name for a Disney princess character and Lady Lee also sounds like a name for a female Marvel superhero with magical powers. S-Mart Foods I believe is found in Stockton and is still in business today. But what I wish Kroger and Albertson's and Safeway would do is have a store and make it like Target with groceries but also have a clothing section home decor toys and even an electronics section with a music and movies department and a video games section and it would be a hit. I am an expert with supermarkets because from watching Supermarket Sweep as a kid and shopping with my parents and grandfather at the supermarket as a little girl and it's still a hobby I enjoy today
Dodger

 

[bcla]

I do remember Lucky's house brand Lady Lee a lot because sometimes when my mom shopped at Lucky sometimes our house was full of Lady Lee products and they had the best tasting soda and even when I went to school when I was a little girl my teachers would give me Lady Lee crackers to eat and those were great too. I thought the name Lady Lee was pretty cool because it sounded like a name for a Disney princess character and Lady Lee also sounds like a name for a female Marvel superhero with magical powers. S-Mart Foods I believe is found in Stockton and is still in business today. But what I wish Kroger and Albertson's and Safeway would do is have a store and make it like Target with groceries but also have a clothing section home decor toys and even an electronics section with a music and movies department and a video games section and it would be a hit. I am an expert with supermarkets because from watching Supermarket Sweep as a kid and shopping with my parents and grandfather at the supermarket as a little girl and it's still a hobby I enjoy today
Dodger

Sounds like you’d like Kroger to expand with more Fred Meyer stores. Buy I’ve also seen what you're describing with Super KMart and Super Walmart.

 

[Kirby]

But what I wish Kroger and Albertson's and Safeway would do is have a store and make it like Target with groceries but also have a clothing section home decor toys and even an electronics section with a music and movies department and a video games section and it would be a hit.

Kroger does have a similar store called Kroger Marketplace where they sell more than just groceries. I don't know how many of them there are, there is one in the next county from me that I have been to a couple of years ago.

 

[tcufrog]

I think you might be my neighbor, or in my neighborhood. I go to the Tom thumb for quick runs. Or Burleson for my big runs.

We are! I live southwest of the mall.

We don’t have Kroger here, but we did have Albertsons. They all closed cause they couldn’t compete with H-E-B. We do have Randall’s which I had no idea was also owned by Albertsons. I knew they were a Safeway brand though. Randall’s is higher priced than H-E-B unless you are buying stuff on sale.

I'm so jealous. I would love to have an HEB closer than 25 minutes. There are lots of new developments just south of us because of a tollway expansion and it would be a perfect place for an HEB. My husband prefers Tom Thumb and I don't understand why. The only thing I prefer is the floral department. I get most of my floral gifts there because the selection is wonderful.

 

[fly girl]

Kroger does have a similar store called Kroger Marketplace where they sell more than just groceries. I don't know how many of them there are, there is one in the next county from me that I have been to a couple of years ago.

Out of their 2700+ stores, only 184 of them are Kroger Marketplace. Being in Cincinnati, I have 3 relatively close to my house, with another 3 that are just regular Kroger stores. Much prefer the Marketplace.

 

[Skippy918]

We are! I live southwest of the mall.

I'm so jealous. I would love to have an HEB closer than 25 minutes. There are lots of new developments just south of us because of a tollway expansion and it would be a perfect place for an HEB. My husband prefers Tom Thumb and I don't understand why. The only thing I prefer is the floral department. I get most of my floral gifts there because the selection is wonderful.

Bummer. I have 3 within 4 miles from my house. Their store brand is the best.

 

[bcla]

They're selling hundreds of stores to try and avoid antitrust concerns. I'm familiar with some of those brands that are being divested, as they're common at Safeway stores.

https://apnews.com/article/kroger-albertsons-merger-cs-wholesale-grocer-401520f2a25ea2ae5fd06be4973b7c48​

Kroger and Albertsons will sell more than 400 stores and other assets for about $1.9 billion, seeking to clear a path for a merger with antitrust regulators reviewing a deal that would unify two of the nation’s largest grocery chains.​

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The 413 stores, along with QFC, Mariano’s and Carrs brand names, are being sold to to C&S Wholesale Grocers. Kroger will also divest the Debi Lilly Design, Primo Taglio, Open Nature, ReadyMeals and Waterfront Bistro private label brands. In addition, C&S will get eight distribution centers and two offices.​

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Wait Kroger did take over Albertsons? I knew they were in talks last year. Ralph's (Kroger) out here is our go to store. We do secondary shopping at Pavilions (Albertsons/Safeway). Thanks Bcla for the updates.

 

[bcla]

Wait Kroger did take over Albertsons? I knew they were in talks last year. Ralph's (Kroger) out here is our go to store. We do secondary shopping at Pavilions (Albertsons/Safeway). Thanks Bcla for the updates.

The deal hasn't closed yet. It's expected to close in 2024. I suppose this announcement is a precursor to the final sale. If they didn't do it, regulators could probably cancel the sale.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thank you, Bcla

 

[NotUrsula]

Interesting. Background: After their parent company bought Schwegmann's in 1997, Albertson's started using their French bread recipe, so I would always stop in at Albertson's and get it when I passed one while traveling. (Being as how there are almost no local bakeries that make the good stuff further out than about 200 miles from NOLA.)

Anyway, it's interesting because two years ago while at a youth sports competition in Michigan, I stopped into a Kroger store to pick up some portable breakfast items for the team, and my nose started to twitch, leading me to their bakery and a display of actual crispy-shell French bread. I asked the bakery manager how long they had been selling it, and she told me, "a couple of months now, the recipe came from corporate; it's kind of weird to make but it sells really well." I told her it looked and smelled just like the recipe from Albertson's, and she said, "Kroger bought them not long ago, so it probably is." (Might have been a regional takeover at that point, I guess.)

Definitely tasted like the good stuff, too. (I said, as I put my other 4 loaves safely in the trunk of my car!)

 

[DodgerGirl]

So does that mean that Safeway will have a possible name change to Kroger in 2024? Or will Safeway close all of it's California stores once the deal is sealed next year? Because if Safeway becomes Kroger next year will the store have the same format as Safeway? I also have noticed that Smart And Final now has stores that are called Smart And Final Extra! and what is the difference between Smart And Final Extra! and the regular Smart And Final stores? Are they better than Smart And Final or do they have more stuff added to them? My mom still shops at Lucky's but everytime I hear about Lucky it makes me think of Hawkeye's dog of the same name. But my mom now shops Safeway and Walmart for our groceries often

 

[lovesmurfs]

Interesting. Our stores in Chicagoland are Jewel-Osco, currently owned by Albertsons. There are several smaller chains, like Mariano's, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods. But Jewel is the biggest.

 

[fla4fun]

I don’t think this will affect us much. We don’t have Albertsons stores anymore as they all closed about 20 years ago. We don’t have Kroger stores, although they have home delivery available. I used to really like Albertsons, but they were one of the pricier stores at the time.

 

[barkley]

we had 2 albertsons in our region but after all this stuff started happening 1 was turned into a safeway (raising the number to over a dozen locally). we have 2 fred meyer's which are owned by kroger. the safeways are terrible-frequently don't have what is in the ads (not supply chain issues just never carried many items in the first place/don't get it when it's in the ad). the fred meyers tend to have the better selection but they also tend to be more costly. it will be interesting to see what stores get sold off around us.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Kroger is trying to become supermarket king and be as big as the other supermarket chains and so they hope that this deal buying Safeway and Albertsons will help them gain more customers. Another well-known supermarket chain that was popular but you hardly see them anymore except in small towns was IGA and IGA was really amazing and they had great prices on items and were really big in California in the 90's. I know because my grandfather used to grocery shop at an IGA and it was everybody's favorite store until Safeway opened down the road in the 80's and I remember when I was a little girl my parents and I went at 3AM to that Safeway's grand opening and it was a huge madhouse but it caused the IGA supermarket to lose customers and money and so after being open for so long the IGA closed and now Grocery Outlet Bargain Market is in that building now. But in Arizona it seems that Arizona is becoming supermarket land because they seem to be opening new supermarkets everywhere you look in Phoenix to Tucson. My aunt goes to three grocery stores when she shops and her favorite store is Fry's and occasionally shops at Basha's but my aunt was the one that told my mom and me about Arizona's supermarket boom. Did you ever hear of a grocery store chain called Abco Foods? That was an Arizona store that was also owned by Kroger and it had a apple as a logo? I went into Abco Foods once and it was essentially Lucky with a different name but it was virtually the same as Lucky but the Arizona version of Lucky and they later became Abco Desert Market before closing in Arizona for good. But when it comes to grocery store chains Kroger is trying to become #1
Dodger