Safeway 1999 Annual Report Download - page 5

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3
Share Repurchases
During the fourth quarter of 1999, we repurchased
17.9 million shares of Safeway common stock for
$651 million. Due to the timing of the repurchases, this
had only a minor impact on earnings per share in 1999.
We also recently completed an odd lot buyback
program to reduce administrative expenses. More than
27% of targeted stockholders responded to the offer,
opting either to tender their holdings or to round them
up to at least 100 shares.
Store Modernization
Capital spending in 1999 increased to $1.5 billion. We
opened 67 new stores, closed 54 older ones and expanded
or remodeled 251 existing stores, resulting in a 3.1% net
addition to total retail square footage, exclusive of acquisi-
tions. During 2000 we expect to invest more than $1.6 bil-
lion and open 70 to 75 new stores while completing some
250 remodels, growing square footage 3.5% to 4.0%.
Additional Acquisitions
We acquired two more companies during 1999. In April
we completed the acquisition of Carr-Gottstein Foods Co.,