Haggen Closing California Stores

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Pacific Northwest grocery chain Haggen announced Thursday it plans to close all of its California stores as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Haggen purchased 146 Albertsons, Pavilions and Vons stores last year, a huge expansion for what had been a small, regional chain. Now, after just a few months troubled by poor performance and litigation, the company has announced it will close 66 stores statewide, including 16 stores in the Los Angeles area.

The company now plans to focus on its Pacific Northwest stores. It needs approval from a bankruptcy court for the store closures. Should the plan be approved, Southern California employees will receive 60-days notice before stores close, according to Haggen officials.

After former Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions locations reopened as Haggen stores, consumers immediately complained the new grocery was charging higher prices than they were used to. In July, Albertsons sued Haggen, accusing the company of fraud in failing to pay for more than $36 million of inventory when the stores were purchased.

Haggen later sued Albertsons for $1 billion, accusing the grocer of sabotaging its efforts to succeed in California and four other states.

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