When Kroger and Albertsons announced their intention last October to combine into a single grocery company, the retailers instantly set off a firestorm of pushback from a wide range of critics worried the merger would squash competition and disenfranchise shoppers.
One year later, the complex deal remains as controversial as ever. As the two grocery giants wait for the Federal Trade Commission to weigh in on their merger plan, they continue to face heavy opposition from state officials, unions, consumer groups and other critics determined to stop Kroger and Albertsons from winning clearance for their proposed $24.6 billion transaction.
If allowed to proceed, the merger would meld two of the country’s largest grocery chains into a company that, with more than 4,000 supermarkets across the U.S., would rival Walmart and Amazon in scale. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen and Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran have spent the past year touting benefits they say the merger would bring to consumers and workers, all the while expressing confidence that the deal will ultimately go through even as analysts have said winning FTC approval could be challenging for the retailers.
Here are highlights of how Kroger and Albertsons’ deal has progressed over the past year and a look at the opposition the companies have encountered.
Kroger and Albertsons’ CEOs have repeatedly stated this merger would lead to reduced food prices and that employees’ jobs with the retailers would be secure — but prominent industry players have remained unconvinced.
By comparison, other mergers and acquisitions in the grocery sector in recent years, like Aldi’s plans to buy approximately 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket from Southeastern Grocers, have received far less or no pushback.
Despite pushback, Kroger and Albertsons have held firm that their merger would not negatively impact the industry.
Numerous times throughout the past year, Kroger executives have tried to sweeten the deal in blog posts and interviews meant to ease public concerns. The grocer pledged in August expanded employee resources if the merger gets approved. A month later, Kroger made a local sourcing commitment tied to the Albertsons merger.