uWest Cost Grocery Chain Haggen Sues Albertsons For $1B Over Misrepresentations In Acquired Storesr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Patrick)

  Nine months ago, when Albertsons and Safeway had to sell off a bunch of stores to make their $9.2 billion merger more palatable, the Washington-based Haggen supermarket chain agreed to snap up nearly 150 of those locations. Now Haggen, in a $1 billion lawsuit, says the sale of these stores was really a calculated effort on Albertsons’ part to eliminate competition.

  Haggen, which operates primarily in the Pacific Northwest, claims that since it agreed late last year to acquire 146 Albertsons and Safeway stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, the company has been forced to close 26 of the stores because the larger chain interfered with its ability to successfully operate the stores.

  According to the lawsuit [PDF], which was filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, Albertsons engaged in “coordinated and systematic efforts to eliminate competition and Haggen as a viable competitor in over 130 local grocery markets in five states.”

  Among other things, Haggen accuses Albertsons of pushing it to acquire the store under an aggressive time frame, misusing Haggen’s confidential information to draw customers away from the newly-acquired stores, providing inaccurate data about transferred inventory, providing misleading price information of transferred products and “sabotaging the quantity, assortment and quality of inventory transferred to Haggen.”

  The larger chain also allegedly removed store fixtures and inventory that Haggen had paid for, strategically cut off Haggen stores from advertising and failed to perform routine maintenance on stores and equipment prior to signing over the stores.

  Haggen claims that problems began early on when Albertsons made false representations in order to convince the smaller chain to purchase the 146 stores for $300 million.

  Albertsons allegedly made false representations to both the company and the Federal Trade Commission about the larger chains’ commitment to the seamless transformation of the stores into viable competitors under the Haggen banner.

  “During the transfer process, Albertsons launched its plan to gain market power and/or monopoly power in the [purchased market areas], acting in a manner that was designed to (and did) hamstring Haggen’s ability to successfully operate the stores after taking ownership,” the lawsuit states. “In all of the relevant markets, Haggen was a new entrant, and Albertsons’ improper conduct destroyed Haggen’s ability to build essential goodwill among consumers in those markets.”

  As a result of these actions by Albertsons, Haggen claims it was forced to close 26 of the acquired stores and “faces the potential closure of additional stores.”

  “Haggen never intended to close any of the Stores it acquired,” the lawsuit states. “To the contrary, Haggen saw these Stores as an exciting opportunity to transform itself into a super-regional grocer with a presence up and down the west coast.”

  A spokesperson for Albertsons tells The Oregonian that the company did not engage in anti-competitive or inappropriate practices, and maintains that the divestiture followed the process set out by the FTC.

  “The allegations contained in the Haggen complaint are completely without merit and we will vigorously defend ourselves in court,” the company said. “Like the process followed by Albertsons in prior divestitures, our process with Haggen was the subject of regular reports to the FTC and review by the Monitor Trustee appointed by the FTC.”

  A spokesperson for the FTC, which granted the Albertsons and Safeway merger after Haggen and other retailers bought the divested stores, said the agency is not liable for the store closures or any lost jobs that may result.

  “Obviously, our expectation was and remains that Haggen will become a successful competitor to Albertson’s/Safeway, and we are disappointed in the current situation, which we are following closely,” the agency wrote in an email to The Oregonian.

  This isn’t the first time that Albertsons and Haggen have sparred since the store acquisition occurred.

  Earlier this year, Albertsons filed a lawsuit against Haggen accusing the grocer of fraud for failing to pay for $41 million in inventory.

  At that time, The Oregonian reports that Haggen claimed Albertsons had breached the purchase agreement and had notified Albertsons of those violations before Albertsons sued.

  The two companies also face legal action from a Southern California union over allegations they violated union contracts.

  [via The Oregonian]

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWant A Clean-Cut Lawn? A Robot Mower Might Not Be For Your

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Consumer Reports on YouTube)

  While your inner child might thrill at the idea of having robots do stuff around the home, if you want to save a bunch of money and have a lawn with that clean-cut, green look, you could be better off sticking with a self-propelled lawnmower instead of the robotic kind.

  Much like one of those robotic vacuum cleaners that cats love to ride on, at first glance it looks like a robotic mower would be just the thing for someone who wants to sit back and relax while a device does the hard work. But it’s not quite a “set it and forget it” situation with these somewhat pricy robo-mowers, as our esteemed colleagues at Consumer Reports found out when they recently tested a few models.

  One of the big considerations shoppers will have to take into account is the price of robotic mowers — the four models Consumer Reports tested this summer ran from $1,000 to $2,400. That’s in comparison to the $400 price tag on a self-propelled Honda model that Consumer Reports has rated highly.

  There’s also the question of installation time: you need to first set a perimeter wire for the robot mowers, driving a stake about every 18 inches into the ground to set boundaries, and then install the docking station and program the mower. All of that setting up can take several hours.

  And once it’s going, there’s no guarantee the battery-powered mowers will keep going all by themselves, as they can get stuck on uneven surfaces on your lawn and need human hands to free them.

  Another advantage of self-propelled mowers that shoppers should consider is the clean, even cut and straight lines Consumer Reports testers got with the self-propelled model. The robo mowers wander randomly, clipping the grass as they go, which results in an even cut, but a less smooth surface. That rougher cut can cause stress to the grass, drying it out and making it more susceptible to disease.

  Check out the video from Consumer Reports below for more information on how robo mowers stack up to traditional self-propelled models:

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uNorth Carolina City Is First To Offer Internet Service That’s 10 Times Faster Than Google Fiberr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Courtesy: Fibrant)

  While Google is in the process of deploying high-speed gigabit Internet service in North Carolina’s major metro areas of Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, the folks in the much smaller city of Salisbury, NC, are being offered access to broadband that’s several times faster.

  Salisbury, a city of around 34,000 residents located along the I-85 corridor between Charlotte and Greensboro, announced today that it has become “America’s first 10 gigabit city,” as it turns on the city-owned “Fibrant” network running tech developed by a company called Calix.

  The city spent five years building its network and has been selling gigabit broadband access since 2014. But it now claims that the Fibrant system will deliver speeds of up to 10Gbps.

  The first folks in Salisbury to get the higher-speed service will be at small Catawba College, a liberal arts college with around 1,200 students. The school’s Hoke Hall, which houses Catawba’s IT center, will debut Fibrant, with other campus buildings set to receive the necessary infrastructure improvements in the future.

  “Broadband services are essential to our daily operations and the quality of the educational experience our students receive,” said Joanna L. Jasper, chief information officer at Catawba College. “By moving to Fibrant’s 10 Gbps speeds, the College is in a better position to differentiate itself. We can bring world-class broadband services to our campus community to support the next generation of educational applications.”

  For now, Fibrant will use point-to-point ethernet to directly connect Fibrant users, but the plan is to use next generation tech, like the NG-PON2 setup that Verizon says could someday provide speeds anywhere from 40-80Gbps.

  Verizon isn’t the only major ISP in the race for next-gen super-fast broadband. Comcast has already begun deploying 2Gbps fiber service in a few markets (though it’s not cheap), while simultaneously beginning tests on DOCSIS 3.1 technology that could allow the company to deliver up to 10Gbps over existing cable lines.

  As DSLreport’s Karl Bode points out, no one currently needs 10Gbps broadband, but North Carolina is full of high-tech research firms and networks capable of providing tons of data that quickly may attract businesses to the Salisbury area that want to take advantage of the high-speed connection.

  One thing that Fibrant may not be able to do is sell high-speed service outside of its home county. a 2011 state law, heavily backed by Time Warner Cable, forbids municipal Internet providers from selling service to municipalities in other counties that may be in need. The city of Wilson, which has its own muni broadband service, successfully petitioned the FCC to void this law, but the state has filed suit to overturn the FCC’s decision.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uElon Musk: Tesla Will Be Taking Orders For The Cheaper Model 3 By Marchr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Courtesy of Consumer Reports)

  Have a hankering for a Tesla electric car but don’t have anywhere in the neighborhood of $127,000? If you don’t need insanity mode or the other high-priced options included in the Model S P85D or even the regular Model S at around $69,000, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he’s got a deal for you — well, in March, that is, when the company starts taking preorders for its cheaper Model 3 car.

  As he often does with company news, Musk made the Model 3 announcement on Twitter, saying the Model 3, a smaller and lower-cost sedan at $35,000, will be available for preorders in March. It’ll be a while before customers can get their hands on the steering wheel however, as Tesla still needs to finish its $5 billion Gigafactory outside of Reno to make a cheaper lithium-ion battery to put into the vehicles.

  @elonmusk $35k price, unveil in March, preorders start then.

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2015

  This isn’t a huge surprise, as Musk told Tesla shareholders [PDF] in a second-quarter letter in August that the company was planning to reveal the Model 3 design in early 2016, with deliveries following by late 2017.

  We’ve also known the $35,000 price tag and name since July 2014: originally, Musk had plans to call its $35,000 car the Model E, but that idea was scrapped after Ford got involved.

  “We had the model S for sedan and X for crossover SUV, then a friend asked what we were going to call the third car,” Musk said in an interview last summer when revealing the price. “So I said we had the model S and X, we might as well have the E… We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E – I thought this is crazy, Ford’s trying to kill sex!”

  Musk also dropped some more news on customers and the general public yesterday, revealing for the first time that deliveries of the Model X sports utility vehicles will begin Sept. 29.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

u90,000 Pounds Of Johnsonville Grillers Recalled Because Pieces Of Metal In Your Pork Can Ruin The Barbecuer

4 4 4 9

• 

  Johnsonville recalled nearly 90,000 pounds of Cheddar Cheese and Bacon flavored grillers over possible metal fragments.

  If your Labor Day plans included throwing a few pre-made pork burgers on the grill you might want to check your brand of choice. That’s because, just in time for the holiday weekend, Johnsonville announced a recall of pork patties that may contain decidedly untasty metal fragments.

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall of approximately 89,235 pounds of frozen Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Grillers under the Johnsonville brand.

  Kenosha Beef International and Johnsonville became aware of the issue after receiving several consumer complaints that small pieces of metal were being found in the pork products.

  “Although there have been just a handful of incidents reported to us, no injuries have occurred and we believe the risk to be minimal, we take no chances when it comes to protecting our consumers’ health and safety,” Johnsonville says on its website. “Because there’s the potential of this affected product being in the market, the voluntary recall was initiated.”

  The cheddar cheese and bacon flavored frozen patties were sold in 24-ounce cartons and 13.5-pound cases at retail stores in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin.

  The products can be identified by an establishment number “EST. 425B” and a “BEST FLAVOR BY” date of “12/29/15” on the end flap of the package.

  If you no longer have the carton and just the heat-sealed plastic bag containing the Grillers, you will see both these same numbers printed on the outside of the bag, but in a different format: 425B BFB122915.

  Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uThinkGeek Will Open First Real-Life Store On September 25r

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Mikey)

  Earlier this summer, GameStop acquired ThinkGeek in a $140 million transaction that observers thought might put great geeky collectibles inside GameStop stores. While the two companies have done that, there’s another phase to their plan: later this month, the first offline ThinkGeek store will open on September 25 at the Florida Mall in Orlando.

  It’s not clear why they chose Orlando: neither company is based in Florida. The store is described as a “concept store,” which may or may not lead to even more ThinkGeek stores spreading worldwide, in addition to the geeky-collectible merchandise that GameStop stores already stock. Brands mentioned in the press release are Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Nintendo, Marvel, and Minecraft, and the store will offer “collectibles, gadgets, and apparel.”

  “We are combining the power of the ThinkGeek brand with the retail expertise of GameStop to deliver a new store concept that will amaze and appeal to a broad range of customers from collectors to pop culture fans,” GameStop’s president of U.S. stores said in a statement in the announcement of this new team effort.

  ThinkGeek has been an online retailer since 1999, but this will be its first real-life retail venture. GameStop is best known for its stores under that name, but also operates mobile phone stores that are resellers of AT&T Wireless and of Apple products.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uHealth Group Challenges E-Cig Makers After Tests Find High Levels Of Toxic Chemicals In Most Productsr

4 4 4 9

• 

  (Mike Mozart)

  A health watchdog group took legal action against some of the country’s largest e-cigarette manufacturers for failing to properly warn consumers about the risk of such products after tests show that most produce high levels of toxic chemicals.

  The Center for Environmental Health conducted tests of 97 e-cigarettes and other “vaping” products from two dozen makers including Imperial Tobacco’s Vuse brand, NJoy, and RJ Reynolds’ blu brand for the report [PDF] titled “A Smoking Gun: Cancer Causing Chemicals in E-cigarettes.”

  The report – which the group claims is the first-ever large sampling of actual e-cigarettes and vaping products tested simulating real-world use – found that 50 out of the 97 e-cigarettes tested pose a serious cancer risk.

  The products used in the tests were purchased at easily accessible businesses such as 7-Eleven, Rite Aid, online retailers, and vape stores in the Bay Area.

  According to the report, 90% of the companies had at least one product that produced high levels of formaldehyde or acetaldehydeone or both, representing a violation of California safety standards.

  

  The two chemicals have been found to cause cancer and are also linked to genetic damage, birth defects and reduced fertility.

  “The testing showed that 21 products produced a level of one of the chemicals at more than ten times the state safety standard, and seven products produced one of the chemicals at more than 100 times the safety level,” said CEH in a press release on Wednesday.

  

  Most e-cigarettes and vaping products included high levels of toxic chemicals. [Click to Enlarge]

  While some consumers believe that nicotine-free e-cigarettes are safe, the CEH testing found high levels of the chemicals even in several of these varieties.

  For example, the report found one nicotine-free product produced acetaldehyde at more than 13 times the state legal safety threshold and formaldehyde at more than 74 times the threshold.

  “Anyone who thinks that vaping is harmless needs to know that our testing unequivocally shows that it’s not safe to vape,” said Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH. “This is especially troubling given the reckless marketing practices of the e-cigarette industry, which targets teens and young people, and deceives the public with unfounded health and safety claims.”

  In its legal claims [PDF], the group alleges that e-cigarette manufacturers are breaking California’s consumer protection laws.

  “Our legal action aims to force the industry to comply with the law and create pressure to end their most abusive practices,” Green says.

  According to the legal actions, the companies can resolve the issues if they agree to a binding agreement that recall products already sold, provide clear and reasonable warnings for products sold in the future, and pay an appropriate civil penalty based on violations.

  
• 
  

ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist