Haggen's expansion into SoCal not going well (Seattle: to buy, bankrupt)

[southwestW]

Haggen's problem is some stores are in lower income areas or near more pricey but establstished store. For exempted on Aurora Ave N, in shoreline they converted it and it's a gost town. Never liked that Safeway back when I lived in Haller Lake ( use to drive to TJ in U District to shop) but Hagen does not look like an upgrade. Also people shopping there might just go to central market.

[Traxan]

I gotta wonder what Haggen you people are going to. The one near me is price competitive with the other stores and cheaper for some things. I'm beginning to think all these people whining about prices either went when it first opened and never went back to see the price drops or just repeating what the first group said.

[drshang]

Not all that surprising. LA grocery stores are far superior to Seattle ones. Not even close. Farmers markets in Seattle are also terrible - god awful overpriced Etsy stores - in LA you actually have really high quality, reasonably priced produce without hipsters selling keychains and other "artisan goods." Like, they have stuff that comes from real farms. Farmers markets shouldn't cost more than Whole Foods. And all the vendors sell the same 8 kinds of produce - little diversity. The whole point of the "farm-to-direct" model is to create value for the consumer, not a way of price gauging yuppies.

QFC is the same thing as Ralphs, Safeway is Vons. Very little difference. They are all how the last generation shopped for groceries - they are OK but basically pretty bleh overall. Main thing is LA has amazing ethnic markets from virtually very region, a lot more "warehouse" style ethnic stores that aren't all targeted to yuppies or hipsters that charge twice as much. Also has chains like Sprouts which are excellent.

Uwajimaya and Big John's PFI are both excellent Seattle stores though. There are also some great small butchers and fish mongers here. But overall it's a far crappier food market scene and I can see a delusional Seattle based chain thinking they could compete in a much more challenging and difficult market and falling flat really quickly.

[Xanathos]

^2/10. Obvious troll is obvious.

Oh, you're also wrong, which is the real crime.

[dubfan]

Originally Posted by drshang

Not all that surprising. LA grocery stores are far superior to Seattle ones. Not even close. Farmers markets in Seattle are also terrible - god awful overpriced Etsy stores - in LA you actually have really high quality, reasonably priced produce without hipsters selling keychains and other "artisan goods." Like, they have stuff that comes from real farms. Farmers markets shouldn't cost more than Whole Foods. And all the vendors sell the same 8 kinds of produce - little diversity. The whole point of the "farm-to-direct" model is to create value for the consumer, not a way of price gauging yuppies.

QFC is the same thing as Ralphs, Safeway is Vons. Very little difference. They are all how the last generation shopped for groceries - they are OK but basically pretty bleh overall. Main thing is LA has amazing ethnic markets from virtually very region, a lot more "warehouse" style ethnic stores that aren't all targeted to yuppies or hipsters that charge twice as much. Also has chains like Sprouts which are excellent.

Uwajimaya and Big John's PFI are both excellent Seattle stores though. There are also some great small butchers and fish mongers here. But overall it's a far crappier food market scene and I can see a delusional Seattle based chain thinking they could compete in a much more challenging and difficult market and falling flat really quickly.

As someone who has grown up in the Northwest and spent a lot of time in LA, I agree. The Seattle area, and western Washington in general, has low standards for grocery stores and farmers' markets compared to LA. Farmers' markets in Seattle suffer from the "big tent" approach where any "artisan" gets booth space and turns each market into a boring ex-hippy sideshow. Our grocery stores are generally out of date and have poor selection.

[northsea]

Grocer Haggen files for bankruptcy after failing to win over shoppers - LA Times

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Traxan

I gotta wonder what Haggen you people are going to. The one near me is price competitive with the other stores and cheaper for some things. I'm beginning to think all these people whining about prices either went when it first opened and never went back to see the price drops or just repeating what the first group said.

Having lived in Bellingham and shopped at Haggen as my main store, in the late 1970s, I enjoyed the wide selection they had, while not feeling that I was being overcharged on everyday (or everyweek) items, for which they were generally competitive with other markets. In reality, markets such as Larry's (defunct), Central Market, Metropolitan Market, etc., are all trying to apply the Haggen formula, except for generally higher prices at the low end.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Having lived in Bellingham and shopped at Haggen as my main store, in the late 1970s, I enjoyed the wide selection they had, while not feeling that I was being overcharged on everyday (or everyweek) items, for which they were generally competitive with other markets. In reality, markets such as Larry's (defunct), Central Market, Metropolitan Market, etc., are all trying to apply the Haggen formula, except for generally higher prices at the low end.

I remember Larry's having such delicious food, strawberries and mascarpone cream, blue cheese potato salad, it was all pretty good.

[CrazyDonkey]

Interesting:

The bankruptcy is one more dramatic turn in months of turmoil for the grocer.In a suit filed this month, Haggen accused Albertsons of engaging in “systematic efforts” to eliminate it as a competitor in five states. It said the rival chain started engaging in these efforts shortly after selling its stores to Haggen. Albertsons denied Haggen’s sabotage charges.

The lawsuit followed a legal salvo launched by Albertsons, which accused Haggen of fraud for failing to pay millions for the inventory it acquired in the new stores.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by northsea

Grocer Haggen files for bankruptcy after failing to win over shoppers - LA Times

This is sad, because Haggen was good at what it was - a small regional chain - before the expansion. I don't know what they were thinking expanding out of state. Their Woodinville store, re-named as Haggen after many years at Top Foods, has always been great. I love their brands, produce and bakery.