LONG BEACH, Calif. — Safeway has opened the first location of The Market, a small-format store the retailer intends to use as an option to renovate older stores and potentially expand into new locations. The Market made its debut in a former Vons store here that had closed in January, Rojon Hasker, president of Lifestyle Stores and New Concepts for the Pleasanton, Calif.-based retailer, told SN at the grand opening yesterday. Selection at the 15,000-square-foot store is based upon sales data at the former Vons, along with certain items — including prepared foods bearing the World Cuisine label developed at Safeway’s Citrine restaurant — that were not available previously. The logo for the new store is accompanied by the Vons nameplate, providing the store with “credibility,” Hasker said. The Market would be an option for an estimated 25 locations nationwide where Safeway operates small stores that have yet to be converted to the Lifestyle format, she added. The company expects to unveil a second location of The Market later this year but declined to identify its location.

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