Unified Grocers Named Primary Supplier for Haggen in California, Nevada and Arizona
COMMERCE, CA - Unified Grocers has entered into an agreement with Haggen to become the retailer's primary and preferred supplier for all of the new California, Nevada and Arizona locations acquired from Safeway and Albertsons last week.
"Haggen was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Over the past 80 years we've grown to become one of the region's leading grocery chains," shared Bill Shaner, CEO, Pacific Southwest, Haggen, Inc. "This is a great opportunity to not only grow our presence in our home region but to take the Haggen commitment to quality and in-store guest experience to shoppers in the vibrant California, Nevada and Arizona marketplaces. In partnership with Unified — the West's largest wholesale grocery cooperative — we will continue to focus on something that has been central to our business all along: buying locally."
"This is an exciting opportunity for Unified to partner with a flourishing, dynamic member of the Unified cooperative, build on our already strong relationship and help Haggen grow its business," agreed Unified President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Ling. "It's great news for consumers, creating additional choice in the marketplace, and puts Unified in position to add significant business to the cooperative. The agreement will enable us to lower our costs of operation as the company benefits from economies of scale and ultimately provide better pricing for all our customers."
"Everything we do is designed to strengthen the trust and confidence our owners place in us every day, and the best way to accomplish that is to grow the business," Ling continued. "The fact we were able to agree to a deal of this size and scope demonstrates the company's strong fundamentals, flexibility and agility."
Together with Supervalu, Unified will also act as a key supplier of Haggen's new Oregon and Washington store locations. Its Market Centre subsidiary will be charged with supplying specialty products for all of these locations.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for additional updates on Haggen and the Safeway/Albertsons sale.
