There's no doubt that the success achieved by Safeway in the past four years is connected to the development of the chain's Lifestyle format. This year the company anticipates opening 20 new stores and remodeling 240 others to turn them into Lifestyle units.
"By the end of the year, we will have 1,286 stores in that format," Steve Burd, chairman, president and CEO of Safeway, told GlobeSt.com. "Seventy-six percent of our stores will have gone through a major transformation in just four years."
Safeway plans to eventually convert all of its larger stores to the Lifestyle format. Over 80 percent of Safeway's stores are 35,000-square-feet or larger.
The chain has also begun testing a 15,000-square-foot small store concept known as The Market By Vons, et al. The Market's focus is on fresh and prepared foods.
Mr. Burd said the chain's experience with the Lifestyle format has taught it to understand "what might be possible in a conventional store."
Discussion Questions: What role has the change to the Lifestyle format played in Safeway's performance over the past four years? Is it the right format for all of Safeway's larger locations? What will Safeway's two major formats, Lifestyle and Market By..., be able to teach one another?