"It doesn't matter whether you make $30,000 a year or $150,000 a year, when prices go up, demand dampens," said Steve Burd, chairman, president and CEO.

Remodels likely will slow between 2010 and 2012, as the company has compressed its normal 10-year renovation cycle into six to move to the Lifestyle concept. After that, the next set of remodels will be less extensive, Burd said.

For the quarter, the company reported total sales of $10 billion, up 7.3% from the first quarter of 2007. Identical-store sales increased 4.5%, boosted by the shift of Easter from the second quarter to the first. Excluding the Easter shift, identical-store sales rose 2%. Net income was $193.4 million, compared to net income of $174.4 million for the same quarter in 2007. The company opened one new Lifestyle store, completed 22 Lifestyle remodels and closed four units. Safeway operates 1,740 stores in the US and Canada.