Why A Kroger/Albertsons Merger Is A Bad Idea
Forbes,
by
Errol Schweizer
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
10/13/2022 9:47:23 PM
Grocery giants Kroger KR +1.2% and Albertsons ACI +11.5% are reportedly in talks to merge. The combination of the retail giants would mean up to a 15% share of the U.S. grocery market, second only to Walmart’s WMT +0.8% 20% share. While analysts see some upside for the companies, there are many reasons why such a merger is a bad idea.
Kroger is the largest full-service grocery chain in the U.S., and second only to Walmart in grocery sales, with over $130 billion in annual sales and over 2800 stores, including banners such as
Wow, it seems Kroger is snapping up a lot of the grocery chains right now. They bought a PNW chain called Fred Meyers, and if they get Albertsons, they will also own Safeway. That is a lot of control of our ability to buy food under a single corporate umbrella. Color me suspicious, but I do not think this is wise.
21 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
earlybird 10/13/2022 10:38:34 PM (No. 1303993)
Kroger’s Ralphs in our area. Ralphs is better than Vons (a spinoff from Safeway,now owned by Albertsons, which has never been very good. Safeway was the best in our area with Ralphs in second.
2 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Penelope27 10/13/2022 11:19:07 PM (No. 1304013)
It also means a larger cut of food stamps/welfare. Grocery stores are where all that money goes...they are the largest welfare recipients.
7 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Birddog 10/14/2022 4:51:16 AM (No. 1304114)
gee...that would make them "Almost" as Big as Walmart...by far the largest food store.
Walmart is already doing away with Farmers, canceling contracts and buying/building their own mega/industrialized supply chain for livestock, beef, dairy, pork, chicken,eggs, feed, crops...all genetically identical and implanted embyro 'bred' for uniformity.
There was some utopian/dystopian movie where EVERY restaurant was a TacoBell.
There was only ONE chosen company for ANY product.
There was no crime...because they cryo froze all of the criminals, and then did the same with all the cops. All sex was "virtual", and electronic monitors were everywhere...every violation, even curse words garnered immediate fines.
2 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
chumley 10/14/2022 7:37:08 AM (No. 1304205)
I like Kroger the way it is. The number one good thing is that they aren't wal-mart. The number two thing is they always have plenty of checkout girls and dont force you to go through a self check.
0 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
CaptainLibra 10/14/2022 8:01:37 AM (No. 1304225)
I have a Korgers 1/2 mile to the south and a Safeway 1/2 mile to the north and shop both depending on what I need. Sweet just the way it is.
1 person likes this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
czechlist 10/14/2022 8:50:37 AM (No. 1304272)
No!! Competition/capitalism provide alternatives/choices. I keep hearing "embrace change and diversity!!" while they standardize our lives for our "convenience" ( increased profits). I am old enough to recall when communities had a unique character with mom and pop stores. Now they all look the same with McD and Walgreens on every corner. Everytown USA
1 person likes this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Daisymay 10/14/2022 9:04:13 AM (No. 1304289)
I would welcome Albertsons. 20 years ago, when we moved to The Villages, FL, We had an Albertsons that I loved shopping at. Unfortunately, Publix replaced it. Now we have mostly Publix and Win Dixie along with one Fresh Market. They are "fine", but if Albertsons appeared here again, I would be first in line to shop there. We don't have any Kroger stores here, that I know of. I did shop at their stores in IL and MI when we lived there and thought they were great! Wal-Mart has never been my favorite place. I might go there three times a year for something I can't find anywhere else.
1 person likes this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
red1066 10/14/2022 10:18:14 AM (No. 1304381)
While none of these stores exist in my area of the country except perhaps Safeway, it strikes me as a Walmart type of move from twenty or thirty years ago. Can you say, "Price Fixing"?
0 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Twinkle93 10/14/2022 10:20:43 AM (No. 1304385)
A whole 15% of the market. I am more concerned about the tech giants, like Apple, Facebook, Twitter, etc. that have misused their size to attack our freedom of speech.
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Gina 10/14/2022 10:38:11 AM (No. 1304405)
I really hate and avoid shopping at Kroger. You are lucky if they have one full service line open -- and even then you end up bagging your own groceries. I don't mind bagging But I'm paying a lot more. They are having the most of their employees working the curb side pick up and hardly any inside checking out.
We used to have Marsh. Their customer service was great -- but Kroger under cut them on prices. When Marsh went out of business Kroger's prices went up and the service got even worse.
I try to do most of my shopping at Fresh Thyme or Sams Club. Kroger is the worst.
0 people like this.
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