Save Mart Buys Albertson's Northern California 132-Store Division

- Advertisement - Save Mart buys Albertson's northern California 132-store division December 3, 2006 Modesto, CA-based Save Mart Supermarkets announced Monday, Nov. 27, that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Albertson's LLC Northern California division. The transaction includes 132 Albertson's stores spread over northern California and northern Nevada, the Roseville, CA, and Vacaville, CA, distribution centers, as well as the Albertson's division office in Dublin, CA. Of the 132 stores, two of the California stores are closed and 10 of the stores are in the Nevada cities of Reno, Sparks and Carson City. Alicia Rockwell, spokesperson for Save Mart, said that the deal between the privately held companies is expected to close in February. The purchase price was not disclosed. Following closure of the deal in February, there will be "six to eight months" during which the stores will operate under the Albertson's name, Ms. Rockwell said. Customers and store employees should expect to see few, if any, changes in the coming months, she added. Any changes would come once the transaction is completed in February, at which time the two companies will begin merging operations, she said. Jen Vroman, spokesperson for Albertson's, said that the Albertson's chain entertained an unsolicited offer from Save Mart but that it was not shopping the division around and is not shopping around any of its other divisions. The sale leaves Albertson's with 390 stores, she said. 1 / 3 Under terms of the stock transaction, at present Albertson's workers will operate under the same union contract as they have been, and Save Mart employees separately will operate under the union contract under which they have been working. Bob Miller, chief executive officer of Albertson's, said in a statement that Albertson's "remains committed to making our stores the neighborhood supermarket of choice in our Southwest, Rocky Mountain, Dallas-Fort Worth and Florida divisions." Albertson's employs more than 60,000 associates and operates under the Albertson's banner in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming and Utah. Save Mart currently operates 124 stores. Eighty are full-service supermarkets with 75 stores operating under the banner Save Mart Supermarkets from Bakersfield, CA, in the south, throughout the Central Valley of California to Galt, CA, San Jose, CA, and the East Bay, CA, area. Five Stockton, CA, and Lodi, CA, full-service stores operate under the S-Mart Foods banner. Save Mart's 44 price-impact retail stores operate under the Food Maxx banner and are located in Bakersfield in the south, throughout the Central Valley of California to Redding, CA, in the north, as well as near the coast in Santa Maria, CA, and Salinas, CA. Issues such as which banners the newly acquired stores will carry will be decided later, Ms. Rockwell said. "We'll try to take the best practices from both" Save Mart and Albertson's, Ms. Rockwell said. "They are a good fit with us." Save Mart's hope entering the transaction was to become "something better than [it is] today," Ms. Rockwell said. Leadership for the transfer and continued operations of the Albertson's stores will be the responsibility of Steve Junqueiro, vice president of Save Mart operations, with oversight from Bob Spengler, president and chief operating officer, and Bob Piccinini, chairman and chief executive officer. Save Mart's purchase will grow the chain to 256 retail stores and will employ more than 20,000 associates. Save Mart will begin operating the new stores by the end of February 2007. Mr. Piccinini said in a statement that Albertson's associates "can look forward to joining this commitment to excellence" and that Save Mart "will embrace and learn from the current operations of these new stores, implementing the best practices of both organizations." Save Mart Supermarkets, an independently owned grocery chain, was founded Jan. 17, 1952, in Modesto, CA. Mr. Piccinini is the son and nephew of the original founders. Save Mart also owns and operates California operations Yosemite Wholesale, which is a distribution center in Merced, CA; Smart Refrigerated Transport trucking in Lathrop, CA; and is a partner in Superstore Industries located in Lathrop. SSI owns distribution centers and Sunnyside Farms manufacturing plants in California in Fairfield and Turlock. 2 / 3 Print Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) 3 / 3.

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