Certified Grocers to Buy 15 Lucky, Alpha Beta Stores

By LINDA WILLIAMS

June 23, 1988 12 AM PT

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Times Staff Writer

American Stores Co., which recently won a bidding war to take over Lucky Stores, said Wednesday that it will sell 15 Alpha Beta and Lucky supermarkets in California to Certified Grocers of California.

American Stores, which is moving its headquarters to Irvine from Salt Lake City, announced the proposed sale in identifying the 37 stores it will divest to meet requirements on the merger set by the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC earlier this month required American Stores to sell between 32 and 38 stores as a condition of its approval of the $2.5-billion merger of American’s 1,600 stores, including 240 Alpha Beta stores in California, and the 481-store Lucky chain. Similarly, the FTC in May required Vons Cos. to sell 12 locations in order to proceed with its purchase of 172 Southern California Safeway Stores.

Certified, Southern California’s largest wholesale grocery company, said it doesn’t intend to operate the stores it will buy.

“It is Certified’s plan to be able to sell these stores to our membership and to place independent regional operators into the stores,” Certified President and Chief Executive William O. Christy said in a statement. Los Angeles-based Certified, a cooperative owned by several retail grocers, has sales of about $1.7 billion and 3,000 employees.

Huge Chain to Be Created

American Stores declined to disclose terms of the proposed sale. The remaining 22 stores will be sold under a bidding process currently under way, the company said.

The merger of American Stores and the Lucky chain is expected to create perhaps the nation’s largest grocery store chain with annual revenue of about $21 billion. American operates in 39 states with 130,000 employees. Lucky has 39,000 workers in three Western states and Florida.

Among the stores to be sold to Certified is a Newhall Alpha Beta market and a Lucky store in La Mesa. Two Alpha Beta markets in San Jose and one Lucky store in San Jose are also included in the proposed transaction.

Among stores to be divested later are four Alpha Beta stores and two Lucky stores in San Jose.

STORES AMERICAN WILL SELL

The Federal Trade Commission has demanded that American Stores divest itself of 37 Alpha Beta and Lucky stores in California. Certified Grocers of Los Angeles has agreed in principle to buy 15 of them. The remaining 22 stores are still up for sale.

Sold to Certified Grocers

Alpha Beta 27451 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward

Alpha Beta 31840 Alvarado Blvd., Union City

Alpha Beta 3171 Walnut Ave., Fremont

Alpha Beta 2812 S. White Road, San Jose

Alpha Beta 2115 Morrill Ave., San Jose

Alpha Beta 1535 S. Novato Blvd., Novato

Alpha Beta 340 3rd St., San Rafael

Alpha Beta 80 E. Washington St., Petaluma

Alpha Beta 23640 W. Lyons Ave., Newhall

Alpha Beta 19340 W. Soledad, Saugus

Alpha Beta 3770 Voltaire St., Point Loma