Attorney General Phil Weiser has voiced his opposition to the proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons. The trial concerning this merger has concluded, and Weiser released a statement highlighting potential negative impacts on consumers.
Weiser stated, “The Kroger/Albertsons grocery megamerger would harm consumers and is illegal. Colorado shoppers don’t need to imagine what grocery prices without competition would look like. Kroger executives admitted on the stand that they already charge higher prices in our mountain communities where there is no competition.”
He expressed concerns over planned divestitures of Safeway stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, indicating these actions fail to address competitive concerns. Weiser commented, “The planned divestitures of Safeway stores to C&S fail to save the merger. If C&S operates the divested stores in the manner it has run other stores it owns, they’ll be a smaller and worse competitor in the market, leaving consumers worse off.”
Reflecting on past mergers, he warned of store closures: “Indeed, under the most likely scenario, more than half of the divested stores will close. We witnessed such an outcome after the Albertsons/Safeway merger and cannot let it happen again.”
Weiser summarized his position by stating that the merger could have broad negative effects: “In all events, the Kroger/Albertsons merger is bad for consumers, workers, farmers, and communities... That’s why we have asked the court to block the illegal Kroger/Albertsons merger.”