History of Safeway
Safeway, one of the largest supermarket chains in North America, was founded in 1915 by Marion Barton Skaggs in American Falls, Idaho. Skaggs purchased his father's small grocery store and expanded the business with a focus on self-service shopping and cash-and-carry policies, which helped lower prices for customers. The company grew rapidly, and by 1926, Skaggs merged his stores with other grocers, forming Safeway Inc. The name 'Safeway' was chosen to emphasize the store's policy of avoiding credit sales, ensuring customers shopped the 'safe way' without accumulating debt.
Throughout the 20th century, Safeway expanded across the United States and internationally, acquiring several regional chains and pioneering innovations such as unit pricing and nutritional labeling. The company changed ownership multiple times, with Albertsons acquiring it in 2015 for around $9.2 billion. Today, Safeway operates under the Albertsons umbrella, continuing to serve millions of customers with a strong presence in the grocery industry.