BELLINGHAM — Haggen counts its Port Angeles store as among its core group of successful 37 stores and has no plans to close it as it asks the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for permission to close 100 stores.
The company said Thursday it is asking for approval to conduct a second phase of store closing sales.
It seeks to close all of its stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, which could result in more than 5,000 jobs lost in the Southwest alone, and realign its operations around 37 core stores and one stand-alone pharmacy in the Pacific Northwest as part of the Chapter 11 process.
Fourteen stores are slated for closure in Washington state.
They are in Aberdeen, Liberty Lake, Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Tacoma, Monroe, Silverdale, Burien, Bremerton, Milton, Everett and Shoreline, and two in Renton.
The Port Angeles store at 114 E. Lauridsen Blvd., a former Albertsons, is the only North Olympic Peninsula store Haggen acquired earlier this year when it bought Safeway and Albertsons stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona.
The purchase ballooned Haggen from a small chain with 18 stores, 16 pharmacies and 2,000 employees to one with 164 stores, 106 pharmacies and more than 10,000 employees.
In August, Haggen announced it would close 27 stores. The only Washington state store on the list was in Spanaway, near Tacoma.
Chapter 11
Haggen filed Sept. 8 for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it restructures. The filing said the company owes its creditors more than $55 million.
On Thursday, Haggen said it will rebuild its operations around a core group of 37 successful stores in the Pacific Northwest.
The core stores include 21 stores acquired earlier this year as well as 16 Haggen owned before expanding and one stand-alone pharmacy.
“Haggen’s historical stores have seen strong sales growth over the past year,” Haggen said in a news release.
“The 21 newly acquired stores have proven successful under the Haggen banner, and the company anticipates they will continue to see increased customer counts and sales growth.”
John Clougher, chief executive officer of Haggen Pacific Northwest, said the company plans to “remain concentrated in the Pacific Northwest where we began.
“Haggen has a long record of success in the Pacific Northwest, and these identified stores will have the best prospect for ongoing excellence,” he said.
Haggen said in court documents that no third party is likely to make an offer for the outlets.
All employees of the stores slated for closure will receive 60-day notices, the company said. During the process, all will remain open, and employees will continue to receive their pay and benefits.
The grocer wants to close the 100 stores as soon as possible because the sites are currently losing $400,000 a day, according to court documents, The Seattle Times said.
Documents also show liquidating the stores would raise $125.6 million, which Haggen could use to help pay its debt.
The company spent more than $300 million to acquire 146 stores earlier this year, according to The Bellingham Herald.
Haggen recently sued Albertsons for $1 billion, claiming it did not fulfill terms of the purchase agreement.
Haggen was also sued for $41.1 million by Albertsons, which alleges that Haggen didn’t pay for part of the inventory that came with the stores.
Hilco Merchant Resources has been hired to handle the liquidation sale of the 100 stores, which is expected to conclude in mid-November, The Bellingham Herald said.
