-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email Since first announcing plans to merge in Oct. 2022, leadership from Kroger and Albertsons, two of the largest supermarket chains in the country, have maintained the deal is necessary in order to compete with the increasingly monopolistic companies, like Amazon and Walmart , that have pushed their way into the grocery business in recent years. It’s a claim that’s been met with significant skepticism from some state-level and federal legislators and analysts who predict the merger would simply result in higher grocery prices.
“This supermarket mega-merger comes as American consumers have seen the cost of groceries rise steadily over the past few years,” said Henry Liu, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition, in February. “Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today.” To push back against that narrative, Kroger had previously promised to lower grocery prices by $500 million if the merger gained regulatory approval — a number the company has now increased to $1 billion , likely in an effort to push the deal through.
Related “What will happen to our store?”: Uncertainty still plagues the Kroger and Albertsons merger In an emailed statement to The Dallas Morning News , a Kroger spokesperson said that since announcing the planned merger nearly two years ago, the .
