Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded in 1915. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and as of November 2019, it operates 1,387 stores across the United States.
Safeway was founded by M.B. Skaggs in 1915 as a small grocery store in American Falls, Idaho.
He later acquired a number of other small grocery stores in the Northwest, and by 1926, Skaggs had 31 stores in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. In 1929, Skaggs merged his company with a Seattle-based grocery chain called Sam Seelig Company, creating Safeway Stores Incorporated. The newly created Safeway chain had 206 stores and annual sales of $78 million.
Safeway expanded rapidly during the 1930s and 1940s, opening new stores across the United States. By 1946, the company operated 1,395 stores in the United States and Canada. In 1952, Safeway was listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time.
The company continued to grow throughout the second half of the 20th century. In 1968, Safeway acquired a controlling interest in Vons Companies Inc., a California-based supermarket chain.
The acquisition made Safeway the largest food retailer in America. In 1978, Safeway opened its first international store in Vancouver, Canada. In 1987, Safeway completed its $4 billion purchase of Pak ‘n Save Foods, making it the third largest food retailer in America.
In 2015, Safeway was acquired by Albertsons for $9 billion. The acquisition created the second largest supermarket chain in America with 2,230 stores and annual sales of $60 billion.
Safeway still exists as a subsidiary of Albertsons but is no longer an independent company.
