Safeway Inc. is an American supermarket chain founded in 1915. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons, having been acquired by the latter company in January 2015.
Safeway’s primary base of operations is in the western and central United States, with some stores located in the Mid-Atlantic states, the Northeastern states, and Southern California. The subsidiary is headquartered in Pleasanton, California with its parent company headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Safeway was founded by Marion B. Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. Skaggs purchased a number of small grocery stores in the area before opening his first Safeway store on August 1, 1915. He later moved the company’s headquarters to Oakland, California.
The original slogan was “an admonition and an invitation” to “Drive the Safeway; buy the Safeway.” The point of the name was that the grocery operated on a cash-and-carry basis — it did not offer credit, as grocers traditionally had done.
Safeway stores were built larger than other stores of their time because Skaggs designed them so only one person at a time could go down each aisle. He meant for customers to have all the space they needed so they would not feel rushed while shopping. Additionally, all Safeway branded products had a common theme: they all had yellow packaging with a black S logo.
In 1926, Skaggs issued a series of trade coupons which he called “Blue Chip Stamps”. Customers presenting these coupons along with cash were given a “Blue Chip” card which could be used like cash at any Safeway store. Blue Chip Stamps were issued until 1932 when Safeway replaced them with trading stamps called “Gold Bell Certificates”.
Are there any Safeway stores left?
Yes, there are still Safeway stores operating across the United States.
