While Kroger’s effort to acquire Giant Eagle would primarily increase the supermarket giant’s geographic reach rather than cause store overlap in individual markets, one region has emerged as a notable exception, according to data shared by retail data analysis firm RetailStat.
In January, Kroger commanded just over 52% of the grocery market in and around Columbus, Ohio, the state’s capital and largest city. Factoring in Giant Eagle’s approximately 12.5% portion of that market would push the companies’ combined share more than 64% — a threshold that suggests Kroger will need to divest multiple stores in the Columbus area to win Federal Trade Commission approval for the deal, the research firm said, citing TDLinx data from NielsenIQ.
Walmart held the No. 2 grocery spot in the region in January, with a share of about 16.5%, according to RetailStat.
Seventeen Giant Eagle and Market District stores in the Columbus metropolitan area are each within five miles of a Kroger location, RetailStat found. That group includes seven traditional supermarkets and 10 Market District locations, the firm said.
“We really think that Columbus is where all the real scrutiny is going to be, and that’s where all the time is going to be invested in taking a look at things,” RetailStat Assistant Vice President Michael Infranco said in an interview.
Kroger’s stores in the Columbus area consistently outperform nearby locations run by Giant Eagle in that region, according to RetailStat. As a group, Kroger’s locations in and around Columbus had significantly higher average sales volume and sales per square foot in 2023 than Giant Eagle’s stores in the city, RetailStat found, adding that it expects that pattern to continue next year.
Kroger’s Marketplace-format stores in the Columbus area are performing better than Giant Eagle’s Market District Stores, according to RetailStat. In addition, Kroger locations are outperforming nearby Giant Eagle conventional supermarkets, the firm said.
Kroger’s Columbus-area fleet encompasses approximately 60 stores under its Kroger traditional supermarket banner and its large-format Marketplace banner. Giant Eagle runs about 20 stores in the Columbus area under its conventional and larger Market District formats.
Infranco said that Giant Eagle’s Market District stores are a key strength for the retailer. “When you look at Giant Eagle on its own, the Market District stores are the best part of their portfolio,” he said. “They’re the ones that they had basically done the most investment on.”
Kroger and Giant Eagle also both run stores in other markets, including near Indianapolis and in Morgantown, West Virginia, but the companies’ presence in those areas is likely not high enough to trigger a need for divestitures, said Infranco.
RetailStat develops its analyses in part by parsing data and observations that its team gathers by visiting thousands of grocery stores across the U.S., according to Robert Marzo, RetailStat’s head of content and analytics.
When Kroger announced its plan to merge with Giant Eagle in July, the company said it expects to divest Giant Eagle stores to win approval for the deal, but has not specified which ones. Kroger also has not indicated which banners might be impacted by a divestiture plan.
Speaking during Kroger’s second-quarter earnings call on Friday, CEO Greg Foran said the grocers remain on track to complete their $1.65 billion transaction next year, but did not provide details about where the process stands.
“We believe this combination creates a stronger business for customers, associates and the communities we serve. We continue to expect the transaction to close in 2027 and remain focused on working through the regulatory review process,” Foran said.
Kroger’s plan to acquire Giant Eagle reflects a significant shift in Kroger’s M&A strategy after its much larger and more complex plan to merge with Albertsons disintegrated in 2024. While that merger would have brought Kroger scale but came with a large regulatory burden that proved insurmountable, the deal with Giant Eagle is designed to allow Kroger to expand its geographic reach without triggering a high-profile antitrust review, Infranco said.
“You could definitely call this the consolation prize deal after Albertsons fell through [but] biting off a smaller piece I think was the right way to go at this point,” he said. “It says they still know how to make a deal.”
