Albertsons is an American supermarket chain founded in 1946. The company is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Albertsons operates stores under 20 different banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Express, United and Carrs. As of February 2015, Albertsons ranked second among food retailers in North America with 2,200 stores.
The Albertsons store brand includes a wide range of products, including dairy, bakery goods, grocery items, health and beauty products and household cleaning supplies. The company also offers a variety of private label brands under the “Albertsons” name. These products are typically lower in price than comparable national brands.
In addition to its retail operations, Albertsons also owns and operates a number of distribution centers and food-manufacturing facilities. The company’s distribution center network includes locations in Idaho, California, Texas, Colorado and Illinois. Albertsons’ food-manufacturing facilities produce a variety of items for the company’s store brand products as well as for other retailers.
Albertsons is owned by a consortium of private equity firms led by Cerberus Capital Management. Other shareholders include Kimco Realty Corporation, Schottenstein Stores Corporation and Schwan’s Company.
According to recent reports, Albertsons is in talks to buy the struggling grocery chain Kings Food Markets. If the deal goes through, it would be the latest in a series of acquisitions by Albertsons aimed at consolidating the grocery industry.
No definitive answer has been given as of yet as to whether or not Albertsons will indeed purchase Kings Food Markets. However, given the company’s history of acquisitions in the grocery sector, it seems likely that this is a move that Albertsons is seriously considering.
