Haggen, the Bellingham, Wash.-based grocery chain whose failed expansion effort landed it in chapter 11 protection, now plans to offer for sale its 32 “core stores” in Washington and Oregon, the Seattle Times reported today. The company had hoped to retreat to those successful stores after selling or closing about 130 others across five Western states, nearly all acquired earlier this year in a bold acquisition of 146 locations from Albertsons and Safeway as those two giants merged. But in a court filing this week Haggen sought permission to take bids for those 32 locations in its home markets. A financing agreement “requires Haggen to explore potential outside opportunities for all of its operations, including the core stores,” the company said in a statement.
