About
Downtown Los Angeles was essentially a small town when
Charles Von der Ahe opened his 20-foot wide Groceteria on
the corner of 7th and Figueroa in 1906 with $1,200 in savings.
It was a neighborhood store that catered to the needs of local
families, where Von der Ahe pioneered "cash and carry" as an
alternative to "charge and delivery". His formula proved so
successful that by 1928 Vons had expanded to 87 stores.
Charles Von der Ahe sold his chain the following year, but four
years later, despite the Depression, two of his sons, Ted and
Will re-started Vons. Its growth and innovation over the next
70 years was non-stop. In 1948 the brothers opened their
most ambitious store at the corner of Santa Barbara and
Crenshaw. Thanks to the introduction of pre-packaged
perishables, they were able to offer some of the first self-
service produce, meat and deli departments. This milestone
marked the advent of the first true supermarkets as we know
them today. The most explosive growth occurred during the
1970's when Vons branched out to 159 stores with 16,000
employees, making it firmly the #1 grocery retailer in Southern
California. Today the Vons operation, which includes Pavilions
stores, is now a part of the Safeway family of companies. Vons
stretches from San Diego to Fresno, from Clark County, Nevada
to the Pacific. Its 325 stores serve millions of Southern
Californians and Nevadans.
Keeping Up with the Neighborhood
The marketing area which Vons covers comprises some of the
most affluent, forward thinking, culturally mixed communities
in the U.S. The Vons business strategy has always been to
provide for the needs of these communities with the highest
quality meat and produce at competitive prices. Equally
important, Vons has been changing as Southern California
changes. Capital spending insures a continuing pace of
replacemement stores and remodels.
Enhancing the Shopper Experience Enhancing the Shopper
Experience
Vons has introduced shoppers to full-service banks within its
stores, one-hour photo centers, professional pharmacies, dry
cleaners and customer service centers which offer copying and
faxing. Vons has never forgotten its commitment to quality.
Most stores now contain full-service delis, scratch bakeries and
complete floral departments. The company is particulary
pleased to offer the Safeway SELECT line of premium quality
products, encompassing over 1200 private label items.
Good Neighbor Policy Good Neighbor Policy
Vons has always taken its community responsibilties seriously.
The company and its employees raise millions of dollars
annually for their local Easter Seals Society. Employees are also
able to earmark funds for specific charities through the Vons
Foundation. The range of recipients has been broad, from
teacher training to local food banks. It has always been the
policy of Vons to support their communities at the local,
personal level.
Environmental Leadership Environmental Leadership
Vons has a continuing history of environmental responsibility,
starting with cardboard recycling in 1960. Our enviromental
policy has included replacing ozone-depleting CFC's in our
store refrigeration systems. In addition our customers have
helped us recycle several million pounds of shopping bags.
Even more remarkable than the community leadership and
growth of Vons to one of the largest food and drug retailers in
North America is that it has not come at the expense of M.B.
Skagg's vision. His strong sense of customer value that proved
so innovative in American Falls in 1915, continues to work
successfully in a new century.