Supervalu Converts Three Albertsons Stores to Lucky Banner
MINNEAPOLIS -- In yet another twist to the Lucky brand debacle, Supervalu re-opened three of its Southern California Albertsons stores under the Lucky banner yesterday, and said it plans to open more using the banner in the near future.
In keeping with history, the new Lucky stores will open as an ELDP format, Supervalu c.e.o. Jeff Noddle said yesterday during an earnings conference call. "This reinforces our multiformat strategy," he said.
The announcement came just days after Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons LLC, which was purchased by the Cerberus-led consortium, had won a ruling in the legal battle against Berkeley, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet for the Lucky brand. District Judge Jeffrey S. White of San Francisco granted Albertson's request for a preliminary injunction blocking Grocery Outlet from using the name.
Grocery Outlet rebranded its Rocklin, Calif.-store Lucky in April, arguing in court that Albertson's abandoned the trademark when it converted all its Lucky stores to Albertsons in 1999, a year after it bought the chain.
In keeping with history, the new Lucky stores will open as an ELDP format, Supervalu c.e.o. Jeff Noddle said yesterday during an earnings conference call. "This reinforces our multiformat strategy," he said.
The announcement came just days after Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons LLC, which was purchased by the Cerberus-led consortium, had won a ruling in the legal battle against Berkeley, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet for the Lucky brand. District Judge Jeffrey S. White of San Francisco granted Albertson's request for a preliminary injunction blocking Grocery Outlet from using the name.
Grocery Outlet rebranded its Rocklin, Calif.-store Lucky in April, arguing in court that Albertson's abandoned the trademark when it converted all its Lucky stores to Albertsons in 1999, a year after it bought the chain.