### Proposed Merger of Kroger and Albertsons to Impact 104 Stores in Washington
New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers are set to purchase at least 104 Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores in Washington, as part of a proposed merger between the two grocery giants. This constitutes nearly a third of Washington’s almost 350 Kroger and Albertsons locations. The stores operate under the Safeway, Albertsons, QFC, and Fred Meyer brands.
The 104 Washington stores form the largest share of the 413 locations Kroger and Albertsons have offered to divest across 17 states and Washington, D.C. This divestiture forms part of the process for gaining regulatory approval for the $25 billion merger, announced in October. The purchase by C&S Wholesale Grocers means none of the Kroger or Albertsons stores will close as a result of the merger, according to a statement from the companies.
### The Unknown Locations and Regulatory Approval
However, the companies did not disclose where these 413 stores, including the 104 in Washington, are located. Retail experts anticipate that the locations will not be revealed until Kroger and Albertsons are confident of Federal Trade Commission approval, expected to occur next year.
If the deal proceeds, the majority of the divested stores are likely to be in the Seattle area, as nearly half of the state’s Kroger and Albertsons locations are in this area, often located close to one another. Regulators usually require merging companies to divest locations close to each other to maintain competition in those markets.
### Mixed Reactions and Employee Concerns
The divestiture sale to C&S has drawn mixed reactions. For some Kroger and Albertsons employees, the assurance that C&S would uphold existing union contracts, covering health care, pension benefits, and wages, alleviated some anxieties over the major consolidation in the Seattle-area grocery business.
However, there are concerns for some workers and shoppers about a repeat of the last major grocery store consolidation. They recall the problematic Safeway-Albertsons merger in 2015, in which the companies agreed to sell 146 locations to Bellingham-based Haggen, which subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection and ended up selling and closing several stores in Washington.
### Business Expert Opinions and Regulatory Scrutiny
On a positive note, some business experts assert that the current deal is less risky than the Haggen sale, given that C&S is a much larger player with annual revenues estimated at $33 billion in 2022. However, experts do express concerns over the sale price of $1.9 billion for the 413 stores, which was lower than expected, suggesting that these could be underperforming stores.
The deal still needs to survive scrutiny by federal and state regulators. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has previously expressed reservations about the merger.
### Uncertainty Among Shoppers
In the meantime, some shoppers are uncomfortable with the uncertainty over whether their local store will be changing hands, and what changes might come with a new owner. This lack of knowledge could potentially decrease customer traffic in these stores, and may even discourage some individuals from actively opposing the merger.
Original Story at www.seattletimes.com – 2023-09-09 02:05:35
Comments are closed.