The origins of a wide range of these grocery and drug store enterprises can be traced to this one Skaggs family. The father in the family was a Baptist minister and had moved west for a better climate. He had a large family; to supplement his income he opened a grocery store. He and six of his sons, with varying degrees of collaboration, introduced in the early 20th century two important changes in merchandising: the low-margin, cash-and-carry approach to business, and rapidly growing a multitude of common outlets, now called chain stores. Their entrepreneurial interests became a major retailing force resulting in large, retail chains that carried not only the Skaggs name itself, but names like Safeway, Osco, PayLess, Albertsons, Longs Drug Stores, Katz and others.