Lucky Stores (frequently referred to as "Lucky's") is an American supermarket chain founded in Alameda County, California in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by Save Mart in Northern California.

In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, was taken over by Albertsons, and by 1999 the Lucky brand had disappeared. On January 23, 2006, SuperValu, CVS Pharmacy, and an investment group led by Cerberus Capital Management announced they had agreed to acquire Albertsons for $17.4 billion. Existing Albertsons stores were divided between Supervalu and the Cerberus-led group; the Cerberus-acquired stores became Albertsons LLC, which then sold its northern California and northern Nevada stores to Save Mart.

In 2006, both SuperValu and Save Mart began re-branding some Albertsons locations as Lucky stores, using the old logo. However, the same year, Grocery Outlet, an unrelated Northern California retailer, also began branding some of its stores as Lucky, claiming that Albertsons had given up rights to the Lucky trademark when it had retired the brand in 1999.^[1] In January 2009 a federal judge ruled against Grocery Outlet, finding that Albertsons had continued to use the name Lucky even after the re-branding of its stores.^[2]

SuperValu has positioned Lucky as "'true neighborhood stores,' meaning they meet the unique needs of communities by providing the right products and assortment at the right price."^[3]

History[link]

Beginning[link]

An original Lucky refrigerator magnet bearing its trademark "Lucky means low prices" slogan

Lucky Stores was founded by Charles Crouch as Peninsula Stores Limited in 1931 with the acquisition of Piggly Wiggly stores in Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto and San Jose. By 1935, seven more stores had been added, including the company’s first stores in the East Bay, in Berkeley and Oakland.^[4]

Lucky had a big influence in transitioning from small store to supermarket.

Its first flagship store opened in 1947 in San Leandro, California. It featured a coffee shop and other conveniences. Also known as "Lucky #50", this store was managed for years by San Leandro native Anthony (Tony) Minniti. Mr. Minniti was known for his old-fashioned approach that emphasized customer service. Tony enjoyed having a personal rapport with many customers over the years, and maintained a highly profitable store during his tenure. After his retirement, the store's customer base (and profitability) declined over time. It was the last Lucky Store to be re-branded after the takeover by Albertsons. Due to dwindling profits, it later closed in 2005.

Lucky grew by acquisition in many markets including Cardinal Stores (Sacramento), Big Bear Stores (Seattle), Jim Dandy and Food Basket (Southern California), Kash n' Karry (Florida), and Eagle Food Centers (Illinois). Many chains were operated under their old names for several years after their takeovers.

Subsidiaries[link]

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Lucky Stores operated the Gemco department stores in California, Nevada, Phoenix, Tucson, and Houston and Memco in the Chicago and Washington, D.C. areas. In 1983 Lucky closed five Houston-area Gemco discount stores.^[5] The Memco stores in the Chicago metropolitan area were converted to Eagle Food Centers and subsequently closed. Lucky acquired Hancock Fabrics in 1972. Due to a 1986 hostile takeover bid by Asher Edelman, many Gemco stores were sold to Dayton-Hudson or closed, while Hancock Fabrics was sold as a public company and Kragen Auto Parts was sold to form CSK Auto. Lucky also owned 22 Mays Drugs in IL, IA, & WI. A lot of them were next to Eagle Food Stores. They were closed or sold in the late '70s. The Mays Drugs stores in Iowa were sold in 1980 to Revco Discount Drug Stores (Revco) of Twinsburg, Ohio. Lucky Stores operated 22 Houston-area Eagle Supermarkets until March 1985, when it was decided to exit the market altogether. Twenty stores were sold to competitors and two were closed. Eagle Supermarkets had a 6 percent share of supermarket sales in Houston one year earlier. That put it behind Kroger, Safeway, Randalls, and Fiesta Mart, but ahead of Rice Food Markets and Gerland's Food Fair.

Marketing[link]

During the 1980's and 90's, TV personality Stephanie Edwards was a spokeswoman appearing in television commercicals for Lucky's stores.^[6]

Acquisition by American Stores and Albertsons[link]

By 1988, Lucky became a part of American Stores Company, along with Jewel-Osco, Acme Markets, Alpha Beta, Buttrey Food & Drug, Osco Drug, Sav-on Drugs, and Star Market. The Alpha Beta stores in Northern California became Lucky Stores. A number of Southern California branches were either sold to Ralphs. Some Lucky Stores with combined food and drug changed their name to Lucky-Sav-on as part of the merger.

In 1998, American Stores was bought out by Albertsons, which became briefly the largest grocery retailer in the United States, but became second after Kroger acquired Fred Meyer the following month. In the year that followed, all Lucky Stores took the Albertsons name, and the Lucky brand was phased out, in order to not create confusion. In Central California, many Lucky Stores were bought by Save Mart Supermarkets and now operate as Save Mart.

Return[link]

Grocery Outlet return[link]

In 2006, Berkeley, California-based Grocery Outlet closed its Rocklin, California, location, only to re-open the store with the Lucky name and the classic Lucky logo. On April 1, 2005, the Sacramento Bee, interviewing Grocery Outlet President and COO Bob Tiernan, reported that the "company believes the Lucky brand has value. And the new store format, with an 'every day low pricing' strategy, reminds us of Lucky". Grocery Outlet lawyer Peter Craigie noted that Albertsons has indicated its belief that it continues to own the Lucky brand. However, Grocery Outlet believes that Albertsons’ failure to utilize the brand means the company has effectively surrendered the trademark. Grocery Outlet has preemptively filed a lawsuit against Albertsons seeking a declaration from Albertsons that the company has surrendered the brand.^[7]

On the next day, April 2, Albertsons filed a request for a temporary restraining order for Grocery Outlet's usage of the Lucky mark.^[8] At the same time, on the Albertsons homepage, the Lucky trademark reappeared, seemingly as evidence for the mark's use.

The request was denied by the District Court on April 5. Albertsons had argued that it did not intend to abandon the Lucky brand and that Lucky shopping carts still remained at some of its stores. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled that Albertsons failed to demonstrate that the use of the Lucky brand demonstrated unfair competition and that the burden to prove otherwise was wholly the responsibility of Albertsons.^[9]

On July 20, the District Court ruled in Albertsons' favor, granting a preliminary injunction preventing Grocery Outlet from using the Lucky name. Grocery Outlet asked the judge to put the order on hold and appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.^[10] The appeals court upheld the ruling in favor of Albertsons on August 9, 2007.^[11]

SuperValu return[link]

Lucky returned in the summer of 2006. The new stores do not have loyalty cards, do not advertise specials, and do not offer delivery, emphasizing consistently low prices instead. The stores target the budget minded home cook.^[12]

In July 2006, Max Foods stores in Alhambra, El Centro, and San Ysidro were rebranded as Lucky by SuperValu. The Max Foods store in Montebello, California, has been renovated and re-opened as Albertsons. The Albertsons store one block away has closed and became a Smart and Final. The Lucky Supermarket in Alhambra closed four years later.

By October 2006, one Albertsons in North Las Vegas, Nevada, had been rebranded as a Lucky, as well as another in Las Vegas.

According to company officials, no additional changeovers are planned, but depending on how the stores do, there may be a "handful" of additional changeovers.^[12][13]

In February 2009, SuperValu announced the closing 9 of its Albertsons' Southern California locations. The Albertsons in South Gate was converted into the Lucky Brand. An Albertsons in Van Nuys and Oxnard were also converted to Lucky.^[12][14]

A rebranded Lucky Store (SuperValu-owned) at 4155 Tweedy Blvd in South Gate, California

Save Mart return[link]

Save Mart acquired the Northern California division of Albertsons LLC on November 27, 2006,^[15] which included the right to use the Lucky brand in the areas Albertsons LLC operated.^[16] In 2007, Save Mart converted 72 of the acquired Albertsons stores to the Lucky banner in the San Francisco Bay Area,^[17][18][19] despite Grocery Outlet's assertion that Save Mart had no rights to the name.^[20]

Controversy[link]

In November and October 2011, 23 Northern California self checkout machines had been tampered with, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars by Lucky's customers.^[21]

References[link]

1. ^ "Grocery Outlet Disputes Save Mart Use of LUCKY Name". Business Wire. July 20, 2007. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070719006204&newsLang=en. 
2. ^ Johnson, Kelly (4 January 2009). "Judge rules against Grocery Outlet in dispute over use of Lucky name". http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/01/05/story8.html. 
3. ^ SuperValu:Lucky
4. ^ "RETAIL TRADE: Beauty at Work". Time. 1947-06-30. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854761,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
5. ^ "Eagle's 21 stores here may change hands soon". Houston Chronicle. March 2, 1985. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1985_2071. 
6. ^ "Lucky's Supermarkets (YouTube)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61NFUwwsVv4. 
7. ^ "'Lucky' store name resurfaces in Rocklin". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071109212227rn_1/dwb.sacbee.com/content/community_news/placer/story/14237683p-15058324c.html. 
8. ^ "Breaking News - Name's not so Lucky for Grocery Outlets - sacbee.com". Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/content/breakingnews/story/14238396p-15058837c.html. 
9. ^ [1]
10. ^ "Judge bars Lucky name on Rocklin store - Sacramento Business Journal:". http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/07/17/daily47.html. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ GROCERY OUTLET INC. V ALBERTSON'S INC. - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 09 August 2007, Federal Circuits, Docket 06-16380 - vLex
12. ^ ^{a b c} ReviewJournal.com - Business - This may be your Lucky day
13. ^ Las Vegas Business Press :: News : Albertson's rebrands some stores as 'Lucky'
14. ^ Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-grocery19-2009feb19,0,6390264.story.txt. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ Save Mart press release on the acquisition, assessed 10 June 2007.
16. ^ Elliot Zwiebach, Save Mart to Rebrand Most Albertsons with Flagship Banner, Supermarket News 29 November 2006. Accessed 10 June 2007.
17. ^ Elliot Zwiebach, Save Mart Brings Back Lucky Name in San Francisco, Supermarket News 18 July 2007. Accessed 18 July 2007.
18. ^ Mark Schwanhausser, Lucky return: Save Mart gambles on revival of storied name: Chain Hopes to Win Customers by Reviving Name at 72 Bay Area Stores, San Jose Mercury News, 18 July 2007 accessed 18 July 2007.
19. ^ Lucky Supermarkets store locator
20. ^ Grocery Outlet Disputes Save Mart Use of Lucky Name, Grocery Outlet press release Accessed 26 July 2007. Archived September 28, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
21. ^ Peter Delevett Customer outrage grows in Lucky hacking case 8 December 2011. Accessed 10 December 2011

Sources[link]

• "SuperValu resurrects Lucky brand in California". retailnet.com. July 28, 2006. http://www.retailnet.com/story.cfm?ID=30199. 
• "SuperValu to Get Lucky in Vegas". progressivegrocer.com. July 28, 2006. http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002914265. 

External links[link]

• Save Mart's Lucky Homepage
• SuperValu's Lucky Homepage
• Groceteria.com's History of Lucky

Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams performing with N.E.R.D in Pori Jazz 2010.
Background information
Also known as	Skateboard P, Pharrell, Sk8brd (mononym), Auto Goon
Born	(1973-04-05) April 5, 1973 (age 39)
Origin	Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Genres	Various
Occupations	Producer, musician, songwriter, singer, rapper, fashion designer
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, guitar, drums
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Star Trak, Interscope, i am Other
Associated acts	N.E.R.D, Chad Hugo, Clipse, Kelis, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, T.I, Lupe Fiasco, N.O.R.E., Child Rebel Soldier
Website	pharrellwilliams.com
Notable instruments
Piano, keyboards, drums

Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973), commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music. He is also the lead vocalist and drummer of hip-hop band N.E.R.D, which he formed with Hugo and childhood friend Shay Haley. He released his first single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his first album In My Mind in 2006.^[1]

As part of The Neptunes, Williams has produced numerous hit singles for various musicians.^[2] The two have earned three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Clothing. He is a member of the supergroup V.A. Playaz with Fam-Lay, Clipse, Skillz, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland & Magoo.

Early life[link]

Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia,^[3][4] the eldest of three sons of Carolyn, a teacher, and Pharaoh Williams, a handyman.^[5] He met Chad Hugo in a seventh-grade summer band camp where Williams played the keyboards and drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Williams played the snare drum while Chad was student conductor.^[6][7] With Hugo, Williams attended Princess Anne High School where they played in the school band; there he got the name Skateboard P.^[8]

In the 1990s, Hugo and Williams formed a four-piece "R&B type" group, The Neptunes, with friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge. They later entered a high school talent show where they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was next to Princess Anne High School.^[9] After graduating from high school, the group signed with Riley.^[10]

Career[link]

1992–1997: Career beginnings[link]

Through working with Maddison Harper, Williams went on to write a verse for Wreckx-N-Effect's 1992 hit "Rump Shaker".^[11] That same year, he also performed a small rap solo on SWV's second hit, "Right Here (UK Remix)". In 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves as a production duo under their old name "The Neptunes", and produced "Tonight's The Night" from Blackstreet's self-titled album. Over the next three years they continued to produce occasionally. Some of the results had little resemblance to the Neptunes sound of today. However, some like Mase's 1997 song "Lookin' at Me" from his album Harlem World, and the most definite beginning of the distinctive "Neptunes sound", came with N.E.R.D's "Superthug" in 1998, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining them widespread attention for the first time. In 1999, a friend introduced Pharrell to Kelis, they really vibed so the beginning result was producing her first album Kaleidoscope.

1998–2004: The Neptunes[link]

At this point The Neptunes were gaining a wide fanbase and audience. In 2001, The Neptunes produced Britney Spears' single, "I'm a Slave 4 U" gaining their first worldwide number one.^[12] The same year, N.E.R.D, consisting of Williams, Hugo and Haley, released their first album, In Search of..., in Europe, where the first Kelis album was better received. The album sounded very much like their previous production work; the group decided that they should make their work as N.E.R.D sound different, and re-recorded the album with the rock band Spymob. Williams and Hugo met rap duo Clipse in Virginia Beach in 1993, where they were signed to Arista Records through Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint.^[13][14]

Then in 2002 their re-produced album was released worldwide, and The Neptunes reached number one in the U.S. with Nelly's single, "Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, The Neptunes were named "Producers of the Year" at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. Clipse released their commercial debut album Lord Willin' in August 2002. The album started at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number four on the Billboard 200, fueled by its first two singles, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", which peaked at number 34 and number 19 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Neptunes released a self-credited album called The Neptunes Present... Clones in 2003, with songs and remixes from various artists. This topped the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The Neptunes and Williams specifically were also kept in public eye largely due to ties with Jay-Z, producing several hit singles for him and two tracks on his The Black Album. The track "Frontin'" was a big hit (the 34th biggest of 2003 according to Billboard). A survey in August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 20 percent of songs played on British radio at the time, a survey in the US had them at 43 percent.^[6] The same year, The Neptunes remixed the Daft Punk song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger for the duo's poorly-received remix album Daft Club. The track also had a brief rap section performed by Williams.^[15]

N.E.R.D's second funk rock-oriented album, Fly or Die, released in March 2004. Williams' rock credentials were further bolstered by his appearance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, performing The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" on drums with Sting, Dave Matthews, and Vince Gill. Williams received two Grammy Awards that night, one for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and another for Best Pop Vocal Album for his work on Justin Timberlake's hit album Justified. They also gained their first UK number one, again with Nelly, and Flap Your Wings.

2005–2009: First album and collaborations[link]

Williams and Astronaut Leland Melvin present a montage to Quincy Jones

On September 9, 2005, Williams performed the opening single from his first solo album In My Mind, "Can I Have It Like That", featuring Gwen Stefani. The single did poorly in the US, reaching only number 48. It fared better in the UK, reaching number three. Between then and the July 25, 2006 release of "In My Mind", he released "Angel" (in Europe only), and later "Number One" with Kanye West. Several songs leaked to the internet before the album release, most notably "Mamacita" featuring Daddy Yankee, which was subsequently cut from the final version. "That Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg was the final single.

In 2006, Williams, with Chad Hugo, produced Clipse's second album Hell Hath No Fury. Most critics labeled the album Williams's best production in years, and put the duo back in the charts.^[16] A year later, Williams collaborated with Madonna, on the song "Hey You", which was available for download on the MSN website. 25 cents for each of the first one million downloads was donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, in support of Live Earth.^[17] Later that year, Williams performed songs at the Concert for Diana on July 1, 2007. Then, on July 7, 2007, he performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth in Rio de Janeiro.

A second album, titled Out of My Mind, was recorded with his newly formed band "The Yessirs" featuring Questlove of The Roots. However, Williams' record label did not think that a companion album to the first would sell well.^[18] He also produced Beyoncé's version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". He then wrote and produced "Why Should I Be Sad" on Britney Spears' fifth studio album, Blackout. He also produced two songs from The Hives album, The Black and White Album, titled "Well All Right!" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.".

In April 2008, Madonna released her eleventh album, Hard Candy, which featured vocals from Williams and production from The Neptunes on several tracks. In June, an article in NME revealed that Williams was very interested in producing The Strokes' fourth album.^[19] Later that year, Williams worked on a remix album for Maroon 5's Call & Response.^[20]

Williams continued working with a variety of artists, including Shakira on the songs 'Did It Again', 'Why Wait', 'Good Stuff' and 'Long Time' for her sixth studio album, She Wolf. ^[21] In September 2009, Williams was credited as a co-writer and producer of the song "Fresh Out the Oven" for Jennifer Lopez.^[22] It was released as a buzz single from Lopez's seventh studio album Love? The following month, Williams made a guest appearance on French indie/electronic rapper Uffie's first album, which arrived in early 2010.^[23] In late 2009, Williams worked with the rapper Game on his fourth studio album, The R.E.D. Album.

2010–present[link]

In July 2010, Williams composed one of the soundtracks^{[dubious – discuss]} in the movie Despicable Me at the Hollywood Studio Symphony.^{[citation needed]} In October 2010, Williams and his group N.E.R.D supported Gorillaz on their Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour. On the tour, Damon Albarn recorded a song on his iPad with Williams but this was not featured on Gorillaz's album, The Fall, but it may appear on a future album.^[15] In late 2011, Williams worked on three tracks for Mike Posner's second album Sky High.^[24] In 2011, Williams collaborated with singer/composer Adam Lambert, co-writing two tracks for Lambert's album "Trespassing", which was released in May of 2012, including the title track and "Kickin' In".

In 2012, It was announced on Lupe Fiasco's website that he and Lupe will work on a collaborative album and work on Waka Flocka Flame's album Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family.^{[citation needed]}

Williams composed and produced the music for the 84th Academy Awards with composer Hans Zimmer.^[25]

2012: Pharrell is now collaborating with teen pop sensation, Miley Cyrus on her new album which is set for a release this year, with a single dropping this summer. Miley's new album has a slick genre of pop/hip-hop and R&B.

Musical style[link]

Pharrell did music for the Universal film Despicable Me. The film makers liked his genre of music for the movie. Williams has encompassed a broad range of genres, including hip hop, R&B, pop, rock, and funk.^[3][26] His lyrics often pertain to his childhood, family, religious faith and sexuality.^[27] In the review of Seeing Sounds by N.E.R.D, Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone said he learned nothing from his lyrics except that Williams was sexually aroused.^[28]

Williams has stated that he does not have any direct influences,^[29] but has expressed his admiration of several musicians, including Michael Jackson, J Dilla, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Rakim and Q-Tip.^[29][30] Williams explained that A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, caused a "turning point" in his life, which "made me see that music was art".^[30] His style of production includes very unusual sounds, which give a feeling of being extra terrestrial. His beats have heavy percussions and synths.

Business ventures[link]

Williams met Nigo, a Japanese record producer and creator of the clothing line A Bathing Ape, in Japan and bonded^[vague] through similar interests, where they began working together on their fashion lines.^[4] Williams later co-founded the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear. He has a store in New York City. In 2008, he co-designed a series of jewelry ("Blason") and glasses for Louis Vuitton.^[31] He has also worked on furniture with Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin and a French manufacturer, Domeau & Pérès. One of his works, a molded plastic seat with human legs, was created because he "wanted to know what it was like to be in love." The chair depicts a sexual scene with a pair of female legs and male legs.^[32]

In 2009 Williams unveiled a collaborative sculpture with Takashi Murakami at Art Basel, which spoke to the metaphor of value.^[33]

In 2010 Williams founded Kidult, a news and entertainment website for teens. Inspired by his young fans, Williams believed they deserved a website that respected their intelligence and covered their diverse interests—from science to fashion.

In May 2011 it was announced that Williams would serve as Creative Director of Karmaloop TV alongside founder and CEO Greg Selkoe and former AMC (TV channel) president Katie McEnroe.^[34]

On August 1, 2011, Williams launched his new record label, i am Other.^[35]

Personal life[link]

In 2005 Williams was voted "Best Dressed Man in the World" by Esquire.^[36] He is a fan of the science fiction series Star Trek,^[37] as indicated by his consistent use of the Vulcan salute to signify his label name, Star Trak. He also enjoys the works of the late astronomer and science lecturer Carl Sagan, whom he calls "a genius".^[38] Williams is a skateboarder and has a half-pipe inside his home.^[39] In April 2009, Williams underwent a skin procedure for tattoo removal.^[40]

Discography[link]

Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco are currently working on a collaboration album set to be released sometime in 2012.^[41]

TBA (with Lupe Fiasco) (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pharrell Williams

• Official website
• Pharrell Williams at the Internet Movie Database