Editorial: Grocery giants' merger raises concerns for shoppers
By The Herald Editorial Board
Especially amid a contentious midterm election with control of Congress still to be determined, the dry details of a corporate merger might easily escape the attention of most. But one proposed merger should have the attention of anyone concerned for their local grocery store and the price of meat, bread, eggs, milk and more.
Kroger — which in Washington state owns and operates Fred Meyer and QFC stores — has proposed purchasing Albertsons — which owns and operates Safeway and Haggen stores in the state — for nearly $25 billion, creating a major player in the U.S. grocery market that would operate some 5,000 stores in 48 states, controlling about 13 percent of the U.S. market as it seeks to compete with Wal-Mart, Costco and Amazon, which owns Whole Foods.
The concern is that such a merger would likely result in the sales or closures of stores, the loss of jobs and even higher prices for consumers who could see fewer options for shopping and in some communities growing “food deserts.”
Typically, such mergers can take years, further muting the immediate concern for shoppers; except that Albertsons and the private equity firms that own about 75 percent of the company had planned as soon as Nov. 7 to pay out $4 billion to shareholders in advance of the sale to Kroger.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-grocery-giants-merger-raises-concerns-for-shoppers/
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