Lucky Stores

Infobox_Company
company_name = Lucky Stores
company_
company_type = Subsidiary of Supervalu and Save Mart
key_people =
foundation = 1935 (San Leandro, California)
num_employees =
location = Modesto, California
slogan = A Tradition of Quality, Service and Value
industry = Retail
products = Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor
revenue =
homepage = [http://www.luckysupermarkets.com www.luckysupermarkets.com]

Lucky Stores (frequently referred to as "Lucky's") is an American grocery chain founded in Alameda County, California in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by Supervalu in Southern California and Nevada and by Save Mart in Northern California and Nevada.

In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, was taken over by Albertsons, and by 1999 the Lucky brand had disappeared. On January 23, 2006, Supervalu, CVS/pharmacy, and an investment group led by Cerberus Capital Management announced they had agreed to acquire Albertsons for $17.4 billion. Existing Albertsons stores were divided between Supervalu and the Cerberus-led group; the Cerberus-acquired stores became Albertsons LLC, which then sold its northern California and northern Nevada stores to Save Mart.

In 2006, both Supervalu and Save Mart began rebranding some Albertsons locations as Lucky stores, using the old logo. However, the same year, Grocery Outlet, an unrelated Northern California retailer, also began branding some of its stores as Lucky, claiming that Albertsons had given up rights to the Lucky trademark when it had retired the brand in 1999. [ [http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070719006204&newsLang=en Grocery Outlet Disputes Save Mart Use of LUCKY Name] , "Business Wire", July 20, 2007.] The issue is working its way through litigation.

Supervalu positioned Lucky as "'true neighborhood stores,' meaning they meet the unique needs of communities by providing the right products and assortment at the right price." [ [http://www.supervalu.com/sv-webapp/retail/banners/lucky.jsp Lucky: SUPERVALU ] ]

History

Beginning

Lucky Stores first began in Alameda County, California, when Charles Crouch expanded his "lucky stores" to the East Bay in 1935. Stores were first grouped in Oakland and surrounding areas. Lucky had a big influence in transitioning from small store to supermarket.

Its first flagship store opened in 1947 in San Leandro, California. It featured a coffee shop and other conveniences. It was the last Lucky Store to be rebranded after the takeover by Albertsons. It later closed in 2005.

Through the years Lucky acquired Cardinal Stores, Jim Dandy, and Food Basket among others.

ubsidiaries

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Lucky Stores operated the Gemco department stores in California, Nevada, Phoenix, Tucson, and Houston and Memco in the Chicago and Washington, D.C. areas. In 1983 Lucky closed five Houston-area Gemco discount stores. [ [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1985_2071 Eagle's 21 stores here may change hands soon] , "Houston Chronicle", March 2, 1985.] The Memco stores in the Chicago metropolitan area were converted to Eagle Food Centers and subsequently closed. Lucky acquired Hancock Fabrics in 1972. Due to a 1986 hostile takeover bid by Asher Edelman, many Gemco stores were sold to Dayton Hudson (now Target Corporation) or closed, while Hancock Fabrics was sold as a public company and Kragen Auto Parts was sold to form CSK Auto.

Lucky Stores operated 22 Houston-area Eagle Supermarkets until March 1985, when it was decided to exit the market altogether. Twenty stores were sold to competitors and two were closed. Eagle Supermarkets had a 6 percent share of supermarket sales in Houston one year earlier. That put it behind Kroger, Safeway, Randall's Food Markets and Fiesta Mart, but ahead of Rice Food Markets and Gerland's Food Fair.

Acquisition by American Stores and Albertsons

By 1988, Lucky became a part of American Stores Company, along with Jewel, Jewel-Osco, Acme Markets, Alpha Beta, Food Basket, and Sav-On Drugs. The Alpha Beta stores in Northern California became Lucky Stores. A number of Southern California branches were either sold or merged with Ralphs. Some Lucky Stores with combined food and drug changed their name to Lucky-Sav-On as part of the merger.

In 1998, American Stores was bought out by Albertsons, which became the second largest grocery retailer in the United States. In the year that followed, all Lucky Stores took the Albertsons name, and the Lucky brand was phased out. In Central California, many Lucky Stores were bought by Save Mart Supermarkets and now operate as Save Mart.

Return

Grocery Outlet return

In 2006, Berkeley, California-based Grocery Outlet closed its Rocklin, California, location, only to re-open the store with the Lucky name and the classic Lucky logo. On April 1, 2005, the Sacramento Bee, interviewing Grocery Outlet President and COO Bob Tiernan, reported that the "company believes the Lucky brand has value. And the new store format, with an 'every day low pricing' strategy, 'reminds us of Lucky,'". Grocery Outlet lawyer Peter Craigie noted that Albertsons has indicated its belief that it continues to own the Lucky brand. However, Grocery Outlet believes that Albertsons’ failure to utilize the brand means the company has effectively surrendered the trademark. Grocery Outlet has preemptively filed a lawsuit against Albertsons seeking a declaration from Albertsons that the company has surrendered the brand. [http://www.sacbee.com/content/community_news/placer/story/14237683p-15058324c.html]

On the next day, April 2, Albertsons filed a request for a temporary restraining order for Grocery Outlet's usage of the Lucky mark. [ [http://www.sacbee.com/content/breakingnews/story/14238396p-15058837c.html Breaking News - Name's not so Lucky for Grocery Outlets - sacbee.com ] ] At the same time, on the Albertsons homepage, the Lucky trademark reappeared, seemingly as evidence for the mark's use.

The request was denied by the District Court on April 5. Albertsons had argued that it did not intend to abandon the Lucky brand and that Lucky shopping carts still remained at some of its stores. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled that Albertsons failed to demonstrate that the use of the Lucky brand demonstrated unfair competition and that the burden to prove otherwise was wholly the responsibility of Albertsons. [http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/060406/1269137.html?.v=1] On July 20, the District Court ruled in Albertsons favor, granting a preliminary injunction preventing Grocery Outlet from using the Lucky name. Grocery Outlet asked the judge to put the order on hold and appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. [ [http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/07/17/daily47.html Judge bars Lucky name on Rocklin store - Sacramento Business Journal: ] ] However, the appeals court upheld the ruling in favor of Albertsons on August 9, 2007. [ [http://vlex.com/vid/29315152 GROCERY OUTLET INC. V ALBERTSON'S INC. - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 09 Août 2007, Federal Circuits, Docket 06-16380 - vLex ] ]

Supervalu return

Lucky returned in the summer of 2006. The new stores do not have loyalty cards, do not advertise specials, and do not offer delivery, emphasizing consistently low prices instead. The stores target the budget minded home cook. [http://www.lvrj.com/business/7840002.html ReviewJournal.com - Business - This may be your Lucky day ] ]

In July 2006, Max Foods stores in Alhambra, El Centro, and San Ysidro were rebranded as Lucky by Supervalu. The Max Foods store in Montebello, California, has been renovated and re-opened as Albertsons. The Albertsons store one block away has closed.

By October 2006, one Albertsons in North Las Vegas, Nevada, had been rebranded as a Lucky, as well as another in Las Vegas.

On June 13, 2007, two additional Albertsons in southern Nevada will be converted to Lucky stores, one in North Las Vegas, and another in Las Vegas. According to company officials, no additional changeovers are planned in the next few months, but depending on how the stores do, there may be a "handful" of additional changeovers. [ [http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2007/06/08/news/iq_14797701.txt Las Vegas Business Press :: News : Albertson's rebrands some stores as 'Lucky' ] ]

Save Mart return

Save Mart acquired the Northern California division of Albertsons LLC on November 27, 2006 [ [http://www.savemart.com/pdfs/06_Purchase_Release_FINAL2.pdf Save Mart press release on the acquisition] , assessed 10 June 2007.] . Included in the deal is the right to use the Lucky brand in the areas Albertsons LLC operated, and there may be plans to remodel at least part of the stores acquired using the Lucky name [ [http://supermarketnews.com/retail_financial/save_mart_to_rebrand_most_albertsons_with_flagship_banner_206/index.html Elliot Zwiebach, "Save Mart to Rebrand Most Albertsons with Flagship Banner", "Supermarket News" 29 November 2006.] Accessed 10 June 2007.] . On July 18, 2007, Save Mart said they would convert 72 of the acquired Albertsons stores to the Lucky banner in the San Francisco Bay Area, [ [http://supermarketnews.com/retail_financial/save_mart_lucky/ Elliot Zwiebach, "Save Mart Brings Back Lucky Name in San Francisco", "Supermarket News" 18 July 2007.] Accessed 18 July 2007.] at the speed of about 8 stores a week [ [http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_6401748?nclick_check=1 Mark Schwanhausser, "Lucky return: Save Mart gambles on revival of storied name: Chain Hopes to Win Customers by Reviving Name at 72 Bay Area Stores", "San Jose Mercury News", 18 July 2007] accessed 18 July 2007.] . Soon after on July 19, 2007, Grocery Outlet disputed Save Mart's use of the Lucky name claiming Save Mart has no rights to the name. [ [http://www.groceryoutlets.com/pressreleases/LUCKY_NAME.doc "Grocery Outlet Disputes Save Mart Use of Lucky Name", "Grocery Outlet press release"] Accessed 26 July 2007.]

As of October 1, 2007, all 72 Bay Area Albertsons stores have been remodeled and converted into Lucky. [ [http://www.luckysupermarkets.com/luckylocator.php :: Welcome to Lucky Supermarkets :: ] ]

References

Sources

*cite news|url=http://www.retailnet.com/story.cfm?ID=30199|title=Supervalu resurrects Lucky brand in California|publisher=retailnet.com|date=July 28, 2006|
*cite news|url=http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002914265|title=Supervalu to Get Lucky in Vegas|publisher=progressivegrocer.com|date=July 28, 2006|

External links

* [http://www.luckysupermarkets.com Save Mart's Lucky Homepage]
* [http://www.supervalu.com/sv-webapp/retail/banners/lucky.jsp Supervalu's Lucky webpage]
* [http://www.groceteria.com/lucky/ Groceteria.com's History of Lucky]