Questions remain over a billion-dollar supermarket merger that would combine Kroger and Albertsons.
Last year, Kroger, which is known as Fry’s in the Valley, agreed to buy its rival Albertsons in a deal that would combine the two supermarket chains. But that move is currently under investigation by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told ABC15 she will make a decision on how to proceed and whether or not to block it by the end of the year.
Mayes held numerous listening sessions across the state of Arizona after she announced an investigation into the merger. She’s looking into whether the move would violate anti-trust laws. In other words, a lack of competition, because 250 stores in Arizona would all be under the same ownership. Residents at those listening sessions expressed concerns over whether merging the companies would impact employee hours or wages and even increase food prices for shoppers already suffering from inflation.
Jim McLaughlin, President of UFCW Local 99, which represents workers at both companies, says there are a lot of unknowns.
“Those food deserts that exist right now, there will be a lot of pressure on those neighborhoods to hold onto their grocery stores, so they have access to healthy food,” McLaughlin said. “I don’t know that there’s a lot of comfort it will drop prices to where people will see a difference. I think there’s a real concern prices will go up.”
"This merger will clearly affect customers, communities, workers like no merger we've ever seen in Arizona before so good reason to be concerned and we should all be paying attention to it," he added.
A Kroger spokesperson says stores aren’t going to close and that food prices will be lower if they merge. They sent ABC15 the following statement:
“Only non-unionized retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, will benefit if this merger is blocked. In fact, Kroger joining with Albertsons will mean lower prices for customers, secure union jobs and more food directed to hungry families, with 10 billion meals committed to people in need across America by 2030.”
However, the union says they have gotten no guarantees, and historically, mergers eventually shut down stores.
Kroger says the FTC is reviewing the merger and the companies say they expect the deal to close by early 2024.
