Vons Grocery Stores
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Vons is a
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
and
Southern Nevada Southern Nevada (SNV) is a region and the southern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada which includes the Las Vegas Valley. It also includes the areas in and around Pahrump and Pioche. Tonopah and Hawthorne are sometimes also referred to as part ...
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
chain owned by
Albertsons Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...
. It is headquartered in Fullerton,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and operates stores under the Vons and
Pavilions In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
banners. It was owned by
Safeway Inc. Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, del ...
and headquartered in
Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, before that company was acquired by and folded into Albertsons along with all of their subsidiaries, including Vons.


History


Beginning

Charles Von der Ahe Charles Theodore Von der Ahe (August 29, 1882 – June 4, 1973) was a Danish-American businessman, best known as an early innovator in the grocery business in Southern California, and founder of Vons supermarket chain in Southern California along ...
opened a 20-foot wide store named Von's Groceteria in
downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, in 1906. The business had grown to 87 stores by 1928, when he sold the operation to MacMarr Stores. MacMarr was acquired by M.B. Skaggs' Safeway in 1930. In 1932, his sons Theodore and
Wilfred Wilfred may refer to: * Wilfred (given name), a given name and list of people (and fictional characters) with the name * Wilfred, Indiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * ''Wilfred'' (Australian TV series), a comedy series * ' ...
Von der Ahe restarted the Von's Grocery Company. In 1948, Von's opened a pioneering store which offered self-service, pre-packaged produce, meat, and deli items. By 1958, it had doubled in size to 27 stores, the third-largest grocery chain in the
Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
In 1960 it acquired the sixth-largest, competitor
Shopping Bag Shopping bags are medium-sized bags, typically around 10–20 litres (2.5–5 gallons) in volume (though much larger versions exist, especially for non-grocery shopping), that are used by shoppers to carry home their purchases. Some are intended ...
, a merger that was challenged by the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
on
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
grounds. In 1966 the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled against Von's in ''United States v. Von's Grocery Co.'' (384 U.S. 270), forcing a re-divestiture of the stores, which were eventually sold to
Fisher Foods Fisher Foods, later known as Fazio's, was an American supermarket chain based in Cleveland. History Beginning Fisher Foods, Cleveland’s largest supermarket chain for its 80-year history, was founded in 1907 as Fisher Brothers Company. The Fi ...
. The Von der Ahe family sold the chain to
Household Finance Corporation HSBC Finance Corporation is a financial services company and a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings. It is the sixth-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the United States. HSBC Finance Corporation was formed from the legal entity that ...
in 1969.Alternate Link
via
ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
.
In 1970, Vons had 128 stores, making it the second largest supermarket chain in southern California behind Safeway.


1980s–present

In 1984, Vons was named official supermarket of the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
. In 1985,
William Davila William "Bill" Davila (born Guillermo Davila; April 25, 1931 – February 14, 2014) was an American soldier and businessman. He was involved with many nationally known companies in the United States, including Vons Supermarkets, which he presided ...
was named president and CEO of Vons, the first
Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
to be CEO of an American supermarket chain. Prior to his appointment, Davila worked for 37 years at Vons before becoming CEO. He opened Tianguis in 1986, catering to
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
consumers, and was well received as the company's television spokesman, starring in commercials in both English and Spanish during his tenure. He retired in 1999. In 1986, Household spun off Vons Companies in a
leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...
. To recapitalize itself, Vons merged with
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
-based Allied Supermarkets and sold off its assets outside California. Vons was listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
in 1987. In October 1985, Vons introduced
Pavilions In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
, a "combination store" concept which offered a wider variety of upscale products as well as pharmacy and other non-food products and services. Some stores that were smaller were branded Pavilions Place. In 1988,
Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...
sold all of its stores in southern California and southern Nevada to Vons in exchange for an ownership stake. On April 8, 1997, Safeway acquired Vons for stock and Vons became a subsidiary of Safeway. In March 2014,
Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
(which also owns rival grocery chain
Albertsons Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...
) agreed to terms to purchase Vons' parent, Safeway. Cerberus' plans to merge the chains would likely result in store closures, especially with both Vons and Albertsons having a significant presence in Southern California. In late 2014, the FTC mandated that the new Albertson's/Safeway merger sell off almost 200 stores to allow for sufficient competition in markets where both Safeway and Albertson's stores had existed in price rivalry. One of the key buyers was Bellingham, Washington-based
Haggen Haggen Food & Pharmacy is a grocery retailer in Washington State. Haggen is headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, where it started in 1933 when Ben Haggen, Dorothy Haggen, and Doug Clark opened the first store on Bay Street in Bellingham. Fo ...
grocers which rebranded the newly purchased stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Nevada in early 2015 only to sell back the affected stores just months later after Haggen was forced into bankruptcy as a result of purchasing the new stores. Haggen was soon after acquired by Albertson's.


Lifestyle branding

On April 18, 2005, Safeway began a $100 million brand re-positioning campaign labeled "Ingredients for life." This was done in an attempt to differentiate itself from its competitors, and to increase brand involvement.
Steve Burd Steven A. Burd (born 1949) is an American businessman. He served as chairman, president and CEO of Safeway Inc. from October 26, 1992, to May 14, 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early life Burd received a Bachelor of Science degre ...
described it as "branding the shopping experience." The launch included a redesigned logo, a new slogan "Ingredients for life" alongside a four-panel life icon to be used throughout stores and advertising, and a web application called "FoodFlex" to improve consumer nutrition. Many locations are being converted to the "Lifestyle" format. The new look was designed by Michigan-based PPC Design. In addition to the "inviting decor with warm ambiance and subdued lighting," the move required heavy redesign of store layout, new employee uniforms, sushi and olive bars, and the addition of in-store
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
kiosks (with cupholders on grocery carts). The change also involved differentiating the company from competitors with promotions based on the company's extensive loyalty card database. At the end of 2004, there were 142 "Lifestyle" format stores in the United States and Canada, with plans to open or remodel another 300 stores with this type of theme the following year. "Lifestyle format" stores have seen significantly higher average weekly sales than their other stores. By the end of 2006, shares were up proving that this rebranding campaign had a major impact on sale figures.


Slogans

* ''Vons is Value'' (mid-to-late 1990s) * ''Delivering Our Best'' (late 1990s-2005) * ''Ingredients for life'' (2005–2015) * ''It's Just Better'' (2015–present)


References


External links

* {{Supermarkets of the United States Supermarkets of the United States Superstores in the United States Companies based in Fullerton, California Companies based in Los Angeles American companies established in 1906 Retail companies established in 1906 1906 establishments in California Safeway Inc. Supermarkets based in California 1997 mergers and acquisitions