Haggen a harsh lesson in expanding too quickly
A year ago, Haggen was an 18-store grocer virtually unknown outside of Western Washington and Oregon.
Today, after a botched expansion that added 146 former Albertsons and Safeway stores in five states, the Bellingham company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. It has sued Albertsons, which had previously filed a claim against Haggen for nonpayment of inventory.