PORT ANGELES — The only Haggen store on the North Olympic Peninsula will be auctioned Feb. 5.
Bellingham-based grocer Haggen has gained approval to sell its remaining 33 stores in Washington and Oregon as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross signed the order Friday.
Darrel Chard, manager of the store at 114 E. Lauridsen Blvd. in Port Angeles, confirmed the store will be sold at auction.
He had no information about plans for the some 65 employees of the store.
“We’re not closing, so I don’t know why any arrangements have to be made,” he said.
Auction format
The company will actively market the stores and negotiate a deal with a potential buyer beforehand in what is called a stalking horse auction format, The Bellingham Herald said.
A stalking horse deal can be used to establish a baseline for the auction, the Herald said. Other qualified bidders can then come in and offer more for the stores.
The company has until Thursday, Jan. 21, to establish a stalking horse purchaser, according to court documents, the newspaper reported.
The Herald said court documents show the auction process will be similar to the auction of about 100 non-core stores held in November.
The remaining stores are what Haggen considers its core stores.
Sell in one block
The intention is to sell the group of stores in one block, the Herald said, in comparison to the November auction, when stores were sold to different buyers.
Whether the Haggen name disappears will be up to investors or buyers who could keep the brand, which is well-known in the Pacific Northwest.
Haggen officials said in a statement the stores should attract buyers because they are well-established and profitable.
The sales are part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed earlier this year after Haggen purchased 146 stores from Albertsons and Safeway.
The sale of the stores was to satisfy a Federal Trade Commission requirement of shedding stores before a Safeway-Albertsons merger.
The Haggen banner went up on the former Albertsons in Port Angeles on Feb. 16.
The Bellingham-based company failed to convert the stores, many of which have been auctioned, and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Set back date
The date of the February auction is about a month later than the first proposed auction date of Jan. 8, the Herald said.
The court received several objections, including one from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents Haggen workers.
The union said that to have the process take place during the holiday season simply didn’t make sense and would “diminish the value for the estate,” the Herald said.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Jim Casey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
