Grocery store chain Haggen, Bellingham, Wash., announced plans to exit from the Pacific Southwest market and realign its operations around 37 core stores and one stand-alone pharmacy in the Pacific Northwest as part of the Chapter 11 process. During this process, all stores will remain open.

Moving forward, Haggen intends to rebuild its operations around a core group of successful stores made up of 37 stores in the Pacific Northwest. The core stores include 16 of Haggen’s historical stores, one stand-alone pharmacy and 21 stores acquired in the 2015 Albertson’s transaction. 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, as Haggen continues its original mission of adding more fresh, local and exclusive items and expanding on its successful Pacific Northwest strategy. 

“Haggen plans to continue to build its brand in partnership with its dedicated corporate support and store teams. Haggen has a long record of success in the Pacific Northwest and these identified stores will have the best prospect for ongoing excellence,” says John Clougher, chief executive officer of Haggen Pacific Northwest. “Although this has been a difficult process and experience, we will remain concentrated in the Pacific Northwest where we began, focusing on fresh Northwest products and continuing our support and involvement in the communities we serve.”