Safeway (NYSE:SWY) is the third largest operator of traditional supermarkets in the United States and fourth largest food retailer after Wal-Mart (WMT), Kroger Company (KR), and SuperValu (SVU). Safeway sells food and other consumer products in 1,725 supermarkets under nine store brand names, including Safeway, Von's, Randalls, and Dominick's.^[1] The stores are predominantly located in the western United States, Texas, Chicago, and the mid-Atlantic region.^[2] Additionally, the company has a 49% stake in Casa Ley, a 137-store market chain in western Mexico.^[1]

Safeway has placed a strong emphasis on its wholly owned subsidiary, Blackhawk Network, the industry leader in pre-paid third party gift cards. Through a network of 80,000 retail stores in the US, Canada, and the UK, Blackhawk Network sells gift cards for over 350 partner brands and charges 3-5% of the value of the gift card for commission.^[3]

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