ILE to buy Safeway

Lixi ownz all our asses on this thread.

Is it just that they all thought 'Hey - great idea, why didn't we think of that?' of is just that they don't want Morrison's to have it?

Advice to all: Do not buy Safeway - it is a crappy shop. The only good things are the loss-leading multipack crisp offers.

Pretty much, yes. I don't think anyone had really considered it before. Also, when Safeways is taken over the chances are it will cease to exist and all the stores will turn into Asda or Morrisons or whoever. With most of the bidders, it's the actual store portfolio they want, not the chain itself.

Is disillusionment a word?

This is all academic anyway as most of the bids will be SLAPPED DOWN by the Monopolies and Mergers commission before long.

It's the word. Word.

what trust fund? (I've been away)

That's what I call TALENT.

this thread was UK centric when started but I have to use it to say: I fucking hate Safeway (in the US). I rarely have to go there, but when I do I feel like I'm about to fucking panic and need to get out as fast as possible. The garish yellow colors, and every Safeway has a particular smell. It's not a bad smell, it just smells like Safeway. Also it's more expensive than almost every other place for absolutely no reason considering it stocks primiarily garbage large brand shit.

The Safeway bakery in particular makes me want to kill myself.

Yeah ime most items there are cheaper elsewhere, and often not just by 20c--some things that might be, say, $2 at Fred Meyer could be a dollar or two more expensive at Safeway.

The USA-based Safeway's business model rested on providing small towns in rural areas with their first and only 'supermarket'. That's where WalMart started, too, but Safeway used their monopoly position to increase their margins on the pricing side, while WalMart chose a different path and grew by pricing low, while Safeway plateaued and stagnated as all the easy rural pickings were taken. They still price high.

The thing is to have the club card and only buy the stuff on sale. Safeway also has a lot of quantity discounts. It doesn’t make as much sense for me as a person who lives alone in an apartment as it does for someone who lives in a suburban house who can store the quantities.

Yeah I live basically three blocks from a Safeway, and a mile from a Whole Foods and two other local specialty markets priced even higher.

It's clear that especially since Albertsons acquired Safeway ~10 years ago that capital investment, maintenance and staffing (= not enough at peak times, sometimes no one to restock certain departments) has been very poor.

But I still shop there since also I don't have the space for Sam's Club portions, and also the alternatives have mostly higher prices (for higher quality, for sure)

I wish that the overall quality/value balance was different, but I mostly fret that the store will go away and not be replaced (which has happened elsewhere in San Francisco)

Combine this w/ the closure of Walgreens and CVS locations, I certainly understand why Mamdami is proposing city-run grocery stores in New York.

it's worth noting that Safeway is not as reflexively anti-union as other chains

Guy at Canadian Safeway proudly (but politely) informed me of their secession and independence from Safeway US and that my old roommate's club card will not work here.

it's worth noting that Safeway is not as reflexively anti-union as other chains

― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, June 29, 2026 1:23 PM (one hour ago)

Yeah but their union _sucks_.

perhaps, but it's not their union.. it's United Fruit Handlers Local 109 or whatever

Off topic sort of but had a recent trip to the Bay Area and capitol region and was surprised to see Lucky still exists, all the socal stores were bought out 20+ years ago by Albertsons I think. Never a great store tbh but seeing the logo sort of gave me a little nostalgia buzz

Reading now the logo isn’t quite the same and it’s more of a revival than continuation but weird time warp nonetheless

surprised to see Lucky still exists

there's one down the road from me and it pretty much sucks, I'll go there once in awhile for milk or beer or whatever

They're bummed (and I'm stoked) because a new Grocery Outlet is moving into the empty walgreens literally next door