🠈 Skaggs / American Stores 🠊
Skaggs Companies / American Stores
Skaggs Companies was a Salt Lake based chain of grocery and drug stores that acquired American Stores to become a leading grocery retailer in the United States.
The evolution of this company took place in several parts. So I will follows corporate activities of the Skaggs family and the businesses that they acquired.
- 1907-1910: S.M. Skaggs leaves Missouri. He appears on the 1910 census in American Falls, Id.
- 1915: Samuel M. Skaggs bought his father's store and created Skaggs' Cash Store to emphasize the store did not take credit.
- 1919: Skaggs brothers form a partnership called Skaggs United Stores.
- 1919: L.J. Skaggs formed a separate company called Pay-n-TakIt stores.
- 1920" Skaggs had grown to 191 stores
- 1926: Merrill Lynch approached MB Skaggs with plans to consolidate grocery stores in the West. The company, which had 673 stores, merged with Sam Seelig Company to create Safeway.
- 1928: Safeway acquired Pay-N-TakIt.
- 1932 L. J. Skaggs opened Pay Less drugstore in Tacoma, Washington.
- 1939 Leonard S., Sr. created Skaggs Drug Center and acquired Pay Less.
- ~1939: L. L. Skaggs founded Osco Drug.
- 1956-1957: General Electric sued Skaggs (and others) for selling products below marked price, but lost.
- 1965 The Skaggs family incorporates Skaggs Drug Centers, Inc..
- 1965: Skaggs acquired 30 Super-S general merchandise stores from Safeway.
- 1978-1979: Skaggs (which had 241 drug stores) acquired American Stores (which had 758 supermarkets, 139 drugstores, 53 restaurants, and 9 general merchandise stores)
History of American Stores
- 1917 Five Stores in Philadelphia merged to create American Stores. These were: Acme Tea, Childs, George Dunlap, Bell Company, and A House That Quality Built.
- 1925: AS had about 1,800 stores.
- 1961: AS acquired Alpha Beta.
- 1979: Skaggs changed its name to American Stores and moved its headquarters to Salt Lake City.
- 1978: Skaggs attempted a friendly acquisition of Jewel Companies, which was skuttled by managers at Skaggs.
- 1984: Skaggs engaged in hostile take over of Jewel Companies.