The Safeway (NYSE: SWY) headquarters are located in Pleasanton, California, and their stable of stores comes in fifth place among grocery retailers in the U.S., with Walmart coming in as number one. Safeway controls more than 1,516 stores located in the U.S. and more than 200 stores in Canada. More than half of the 1,500 stores in the U.S. are in the western half of the country, with 34% in California alone: the other percentage is spread between 20 other states.

To support its stores in the U.S. and Canada, Safeway operates a widespread network of 17 distribution centers (DCs). In addition, they control 32 food processing and manufacturing facilities.

Safeway also has 49% concern in Casa Ley. They are a retailer in Western Mexico with 161 stores.

Safeway Stores by State (those without stores are not listed)

Alaska 33 Nevada 23
Arizona 116 New Jersey 5
California 557 New Mexico 4
Colorado 119 Oregon 102
Delaware 16 Pennsylvania 32
Dist. of Columbia 6 South Dakota 3
Idaho 16 Texas 112
Illinois 79 Virginia 43
Maryland 73 Washington 168
Montana 12 Wyoming 11
Nebraska 5

In fiscal year ending January 2010 (the last year for which data is available), Safeway had a total U.S. sales of $34.98 billion. Food related sales contributed 90% of that with $31.5 billion.

Safeway operates under 10 different store names, nearly each one specific to the area it serves. Only Safeway Food and Drug are in more then one market.

  •  Carrs-Safeway – Alaska
  •  Dominick’s Finer Foods – Illinois
  •  Genuardi’s Family Markets – Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
  •  Pak’n Save – California
  •  Safeway Food and Drug – Arizona, Colorado, DC, Delaware, Idaho, Hawaii,    Maryland, Montana, California, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Virginia, and Wyoming.
  •  Randall’s Food Markets, Simon David, Tom Thumb Food & Pharmacy – Texas
  •  Vons Food and Drug, Pavilions – California, Nevada

Many Safeway stores include gas stations. By using their customer club card or telephone number, customers receive a discount on gas purchases.

Safeway produces and sells its own branded products. Safeway Select is its signature private label for upscale products with a sub-label Primo Taglio for upscale deli choices. The Lucerne name has been and remains the name of their diary products. In addition, O Organics provides organically grown and processed products. Some other private label products include:

Basic Red/Value Red: paper products

Bright Green: Environmentally friendly cleaning products

Butcher’s Cut: brand used for prepackaged cold cuts and raw meat

Captains Choice: Seafood

Dairy Glen: Ice cream

Eating Right: a line aimed at healthier eating with labels for low fat, low sodium, etc.

In Kind: hygiene products

Manor House: frozen meats

Mom to Mom: baby products

Open Nature: 100% natural foods

Priority: pet care products

Ranchers Reserve: upscale meat products

Refreshe: bottled water and soft drinks

Signature Café: line of deli side dishes, salads, and soups

The Safeway name was the result of contest held in 1925 and it denoted the cash-and-carry basis of the store. At that time, many stores offered credit to patrons, leaving them in debt. The cash-and-carry, the ‘safe way’ to buy groceries.

Banners: Safeway, Basic Red, Bright Green, Butcher’s Cut, Captain’s Choice, Dairy Glen, Lucerne, Eating Right, In Kind, Manor House, Mom to Mom, Open Nature, Priority, Ranchers Reserve, Refreshe, Signature Café