Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded in 1915. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Safeway operates stores in the United States and Canada.
Safeway was founded in 1915 by M.B. Skaggs in American Falls, Idaho.
He opened the first Safeway store on August 1, 1915, in American Falls. Skaggs is credited with bringing the modern self-serve grocery store to America.
In 1926, Safeway opened its first store outside of Idaho, in Elko, Nevada. In 1927, Skaggs merged his company with a competitor, Sam Seelig Company, which operated stores in California under the name Piggly Wiggly.
The new company was called Safeway Stores Incorporated, and Skaggs became its first president. In 1928, the company expanded into Oregon with the purchase of a chain of stores called Quality Stores.
Safeway continued to grow throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In 1946, it became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1959, Safeway acquired grocery chain Vons.
In 1968, Safeway moved its headquarters from American Falls to Oakland, California.
In 1979, Safeway acquired a controlling interest in Grocery Company Ltd., a Canadian supermarket chain.
In 1986, Safeway was bought by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR).
In January 2015, Safeway was acquired by Albertsons for $9 billion.
Safeway is now owned by Albertsons after being bought for $9 billion in 2015.
