In October 2022, Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain, reached an agreement to purchase Albertsons, the nation's second-largest supermarket chain, in a deal valued at $25 billion. Albertsons itself acquired another major competitor, Safeway, in 2015 for $9.2 billion. The deal, which is subject to review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), would create a
The FTC just moved to block the Amgen-Horizon merger, which is the first sign of life at the agency in a while. If they're serious about preserving competition and protecting employees and consumers they'll block this one too. Fingers crossed.
This is the power of monopoly. Company X will come to town to great fanfare, take over, drive out competition, then leave wiith all the money and the people will be left holding the bag of wasted tax concessions, pretty words, broken promises and fewer options than before.
Mergers are rarely good for workers or the consumer. . We know that. Why are the regulators even considering allowing one CEO to control so much of our food? Especially Krogers!
Once again, I cannot stress enough the purpose of stealth needed to sell libertarian ideas. When I say stealth, I mean lie. Nancy MacLean brought that strategy penned by James Buchanan in her book Democracy in Chains along with the "no compromise " stance.
I am currently reading "A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear." What an eye-opener. I was already hip to the Kochs and the Mahers of the world but this work speaks volumes on their stealthy takeovers as a modus operandi.
And don’t forget how these grocery stores are happy to operate with fewer employees as we pay inflated prices (from corporate greed on top of inflation) and then do the work ourselves through the self checkout. Notice how they aren’t trying very hard to hire? Any data on that? Wonder if anyone can find an executive talking about that strategy?
As much as possible, I refuse to use these ‘self-checkout’ lanes and work to avoid businesses like the grocery stores, etc that rely on them. The service is not better and the entire experience is not worth spending my precious, hard-earned dollars in these stores. I had this discussion about the free fall of service and crappy experience with a friend recently who said they only order for pickup now, which means an employee has to be available to do the work to pick the order, and then bring it out to the car, load it, etc. Americans have accepted such a drastic reduction in service with very little benefit to ourselves in terms of costs or a more robust set of options to truly select a business based upon excellence in service, experience, and value.
Great thoughts. I also miss the concept of grocery stores as small to medium sized businesses Had a friend in college who had worked her way up in a local grocery and loved it. Not sure there are many left anymore.
Agreed. We have to collectively use what little power we have left, purchasing power, to make choices. And far too many are stuck in a daily struggle and go with convenience. Recently, my neighborhood added a Natural Grocers store. I spoke with a friend who did not like it because it does not have a packaged deli food section, meaning rotisserie chickens packaged in plastic bags, mac and cheese in plastic containers and all the other signs of capitulation to convenience. I like the smaller store and like it because it isn’t the exact same concept. However, I also empathize with the parent running on empty who just needs to find a quick way to feed the family after a long day of work. Somewhere in it all is a hard choice and reworking of our habits.
I think with a lot of things surrounding capitalism and politics, they thrive on us being too busy to pay attention to the broader grift and destruction!
I refuse to do self checkout with especially a large grocery order. They don't provide enough incentive.. i.e. pay me to ring up & bag my own groceries. The few times I've found no cashiers working a line..all self, I've pushed them to open a line. A few items is one thing. For a large order to self cashier & pack is ridiculous.
Why would they hire more people when they have grocery carts that tally prices and “self checkout” to eliminate workers? And with conglomerates, deli items will be reduced to prepackaged, one-size-fits-all. Only the largest brands will be able to afford shelf space, which reduces options. For decades, it’s been apparent that “certain” markets are deemed too pricey to be served: Inner city and rural areas will lack convenient access to grocery stores.
I have family that lives in a small town. Years ago there were three moderate sized grocery stores in or near it to shop. Now, there are none. Currently filling the role of a grocery store is a Dollar General.
At the rate this country is going with merger madness, you will do business at the following: Bank, Restaurant, Grocery, Car Dealer, Clothing Store. Those won't be adjectives but the actual names. There will only be one of each and naming them for choice will no longer be necessary.
Curious what these 2 CEOs stand to earn, along with their banks underwriting the merger. I would assume more than $1B in fees and bonuses are at stake, and these monsters will fight hard to keep those sweeteners. Would be a shame if those figures and the metrics they need to hit post merger (which would drive "synergies") were leaked to the public.
Great story, Judd, and an important one, given the relative obscurity of grocery stores workers in economic reports. Grocery workers are taken for granted in ways that Amazon warehouse workers for instance are not.
Simply, Amazon workers are in the news because it is a leading company. Grocery workers are somewhat invisible because there is no one leading brand and the work they do every day is taken for granted.
Libertarians cannot survive in a fresh society where there is no infrastructure or systems constructed to build it.
I would add that the libertarians would destroy a society already in place as it really is a might is right philosophy leaving only the wealthy standing. Thanks for the recommendation
Since Safeway and Albertson merged, the amount of brand selection at my local Safeway has declined and there has been a steady shift to house brands of more erratic quality. And for several years pre pandemic their supply chain was awful- frequent empty cold cases. Kroger house brands are inferior to the Safeway and there are yet more of them, and I hate their huge mega stores. Awful move IMO
S Watchman- I used to shop at big grocery stores because that’s all that we had. I moved to Chicago and there are still neighborhood grocers (although fighting hard to survive). It is so much less stressful to shop for food and dish soap etc but not everything in the world! Also there is always fresh bakery bread and separate delis & bakeries in the store.
I hate warehouse grocery stores. There are numerous places for mice to hide in those types of stores. Yuck!
I live in Chicago and this merger would be very detrimental to both our workers and consumers. Our largest grocery chain is Jewel, which is owned by Albertsons. Another large chain is Mariano’s which is owned by Kroger. In some areas of the city, Jewel and Mariano’s each have stores in close proximity. Certainly stores will be closed if this merger is approved.
Mariano’s used to be a family run group of stores which had high quality items and other unique offerings. Once the stores were sold to Kroger, most of that uniqueness disappeared and it became a second class alternative. But, we still had Jewel, or as we locals say “The Jewel”, which is solid and dependable. With Kroger at the helm we would surely face store closings and the downgrading of the offerings at former Jewel locations.
None of this is good for Chicago consumers or workers.
As a 'refugee from 30 years of telecom engineering' I can warn you of the 'knock-on' effect of such a merger is on the grocery supply chain.
In 1996, there were nine large, regional phone companies: 7 'Baby Bells' and 2 Independents (GTE and United Telecom aka 'Sprint'). There were also many telco equipment suppliers. All it took to survive as as telco equipment vendor was to have a contract with just one of the nine.
As the merger mania got rolling, the struggle for existence in the telco vendor space was horrific. The first thing mergers cut are 'structural overlap', aka - layoffs of 'excess' people. The second thing that happens is management decides to reduce their number of suppliers. This forces the vendors to also begin merging, causing even more job-loss and downward wage pressure.
In grocery supply environment, this will hit and cause mergers in the 'private label' industry, fresh produce growers, meat suppliers, but also grocery equipment manufacturers and providers. And many of them are located in already stagnant growth areas, so depressed rural and semi-rural communities will become even more so. In fact, many will have two hits - their local grocery store closes and their jobs go away...
In our town, the Albertsons/Safeway/Haggen debacle resulted in the elimination of 2 grocery stores, Albertsons and QFC (owned by Kroger). Prices are so much higher at Haggen that it's actually cheaper to drive to Whole Foods (!) for groceries. They are also higher than the Safeway in the next towns. This merger would reduce competition, and harm the workers. I am adamantly against it.
Sadly, Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, acquired in 2017. I'm fortunate to have two grocery stores nearby (one within walking distance) that are locally owned and have only a few stores in the regions, plus the OB (Ocean Beach) People's Food Coop. The latter has been in operation since the early 1970s. The two locally-owned stores source a lot of their produce locally / seasonally. https://www.obpeoplesfood.coop/
The FTC just moved to block the Amgen-Horizon merger, which is the first sign of life at the agency in a while. If they're serious about preserving competition and protecting employees and consumers they'll block this one too. Fingers crossed.
Under-regulated capitalism is a rigged game.
This is the power of monopoly. Company X will come to town to great fanfare, take over, drive out competition, then leave wiith all the money and the people will be left holding the bag of wasted tax concessions, pretty words, broken promises and fewer options than before.
They must not allow this merger to go through ....
Shoes companies were prevented from merging once when they would control a measly 6% of the shoe market. What happened? REAGAN.
I have avoided Kroger as much as possible since I read about their ill treatment of employees and unfettered profits during the pandemic.
Keep in mind that Ralph's grocery stores also are owned by Kroger.
Sadly, Kroger owns many smaller chains.
Does anyone remember "Small is Beautiful" by E.F. Shumacher? Have mergers ever been good for the people—consumers and workers?
Mergers are rarely good for workers or the consumer. . We know that. Why are the regulators even considering allowing one CEO to control so much of our food? Especially Krogers!
Reagan put us on this path of destruction by gutting regulations that kept this in check. The republicans are both Fascists and corporatists. Fact.
Prices go up, wages go down. But sure, Misters CEO, this is a great plan.
Eat the rich.
Once again, I cannot stress enough the purpose of stealth needed to sell libertarian ideas. When I say stealth, I mean lie. Nancy MacLean brought that strategy penned by James Buchanan in her book Democracy in Chains along with the "no compromise " stance.
I am currently reading "A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear." What an eye-opener. I was already hip to the Kochs and the Mahers of the world but this work speaks volumes on their stealthy takeovers as a modus operandi.
And don’t forget how these grocery stores are happy to operate with fewer employees as we pay inflated prices (from corporate greed on top of inflation) and then do the work ourselves through the self checkout. Notice how they aren’t trying very hard to hire? Any data on that? Wonder if anyone can find an executive talking about that strategy?
As much as possible, I refuse to use these ‘self-checkout’ lanes and work to avoid businesses like the grocery stores, etc that rely on them. The service is not better and the entire experience is not worth spending my precious, hard-earned dollars in these stores. I had this discussion about the free fall of service and crappy experience with a friend recently who said they only order for pickup now, which means an employee has to be available to do the work to pick the order, and then bring it out to the car, load it, etc. Americans have accepted such a drastic reduction in service with very little benefit to ourselves in terms of costs or a more robust set of options to truly select a business based upon excellence in service, experience, and value.
Great thoughts. I also miss the concept of grocery stores as small to medium sized businesses Had a friend in college who had worked her way up in a local grocery and loved it. Not sure there are many left anymore.
Agreed. We have to collectively use what little power we have left, purchasing power, to make choices. And far too many are stuck in a daily struggle and go with convenience. Recently, my neighborhood added a Natural Grocers store. I spoke with a friend who did not like it because it does not have a packaged deli food section, meaning rotisserie chickens packaged in plastic bags, mac and cheese in plastic containers and all the other signs of capitulation to convenience. I like the smaller store and like it because it isn’t the exact same concept. However, I also empathize with the parent running on empty who just needs to find a quick way to feed the family after a long day of work. Somewhere in it all is a hard choice and reworking of our habits.
I think with a lot of things surrounding capitalism and politics, they thrive on us being too busy to pay attention to the broader grift and destruction!
Politicians appear to think similarly.
Being too busy to pay attention is a feature of the government we have, not a bug. Maybe it is time to burn the whole thing down and start over.
I refuse to do self checkout with especially a large grocery order. They don't provide enough incentive.. i.e. pay me to ring up & bag my own groceries. The few times I've found no cashiers working a line..all self, I've pushed them to open a line. A few items is one thing. For a large order to self cashier & pack is ridiculous.
Why would they hire more people when they have grocery carts that tally prices and “self checkout” to eliminate workers? And with conglomerates, deli items will be reduced to prepackaged, one-size-fits-all. Only the largest brands will be able to afford shelf space, which reduces options. For decades, it’s been apparent that “certain” markets are deemed too pricey to be served: Inner city and rural areas will lack convenient access to grocery stores.
I have family that lives in a small town. Years ago there were three moderate sized grocery stores in or near it to shop. Now, there are none. Currently filling the role of a grocery store is a Dollar General.
At the rate this country is going with merger madness, you will do business at the following: Bank, Restaurant, Grocery, Car Dealer, Clothing Store. Those won't be adjectives but the actual names. There will only be one of each and naming them for choice will no longer be necessary.
They are called "food deserts" and they are absolutely evil.
Curious what these 2 CEOs stand to earn, along with their banks underwriting the merger. I would assume more than $1B in fees and bonuses are at stake, and these monsters will fight hard to keep those sweeteners. Would be a shame if those figures and the metrics they need to hit post merger (which would drive "synergies") were leaked to the public.
Great story, Judd, and an important one, given the relative obscurity of grocery stores workers in economic reports. Grocery workers are taken for granted in ways that Amazon warehouse workers for instance are not.
Can you please explain that last sentence?
Simply, Amazon workers are in the news because it is a leading company. Grocery workers are somewhat invisible because there is no one leading brand and the work they do every day is taken for granted.
Question - would you consider objectivists as part of the Libertarian mindset/psychosis?
Don’t understand the question, sorry.
Someone commented on a thread to me once:
Libertarians cannot survive in a fresh society where there is no infrastructure or systems constructed to build it.
I would add that the libertarians would destroy a society already in place as it really is a might is right philosophy leaving only the wealthy standing. Thanks for the recommendation
Libertarians are a form of republicans. There is no place on earth where they have ever been successful. And we should be sure they fail here too.
"A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear."
Since Safeway and Albertson merged, the amount of brand selection at my local Safeway has declined and there has been a steady shift to house brands of more erratic quality. And for several years pre pandemic their supply chain was awful- frequent empty cold cases. Kroger house brands are inferior to the Safeway and there are yet more of them, and I hate their huge mega stores. Awful move IMO
S Watchman- I used to shop at big grocery stores because that’s all that we had. I moved to Chicago and there are still neighborhood grocers (although fighting hard to survive). It is so much less stressful to shop for food and dish soap etc but not everything in the world! Also there is always fresh bakery bread and separate delis & bakeries in the store.
I hate warehouse grocery stores. There are numerous places for mice to hide in those types of stores. Yuck!
Then you know about the abysmal move by WalMart in Chicago eh?
I live in Chicago and this merger would be very detrimental to both our workers and consumers. Our largest grocery chain is Jewel, which is owned by Albertsons. Another large chain is Mariano’s which is owned by Kroger. In some areas of the city, Jewel and Mariano’s each have stores in close proximity. Certainly stores will be closed if this merger is approved.
Mariano’s used to be a family run group of stores which had high quality items and other unique offerings. Once the stores were sold to Kroger, most of that uniqueness disappeared and it became a second class alternative. But, we still had Jewel, or as we locals say “The Jewel”, which is solid and dependable. With Kroger at the helm we would surely face store closings and the downgrading of the offerings at former Jewel locations.
None of this is good for Chicago consumers or workers.
As a 'refugee from 30 years of telecom engineering' I can warn you of the 'knock-on' effect of such a merger is on the grocery supply chain.
In 1996, there were nine large, regional phone companies: 7 'Baby Bells' and 2 Independents (GTE and United Telecom aka 'Sprint'). There were also many telco equipment suppliers. All it took to survive as as telco equipment vendor was to have a contract with just one of the nine.
As the merger mania got rolling, the struggle for existence in the telco vendor space was horrific. The first thing mergers cut are 'structural overlap', aka - layoffs of 'excess' people. The second thing that happens is management decides to reduce their number of suppliers. This forces the vendors to also begin merging, causing even more job-loss and downward wage pressure.
In grocery supply environment, this will hit and cause mergers in the 'private label' industry, fresh produce growers, meat suppliers, but also grocery equipment manufacturers and providers. And many of them are located in already stagnant growth areas, so depressed rural and semi-rural communities will become even more so. In fact, many will have two hits - their local grocery store closes and their jobs go away...
In our town, the Albertsons/Safeway/Haggen debacle resulted in the elimination of 2 grocery stores, Albertsons and QFC (owned by Kroger). Prices are so much higher at Haggen that it's actually cheaper to drive to Whole Foods (!) for groceries. They are also higher than the Safeway in the next towns. This merger would reduce competition, and harm the workers. I am adamantly against it.
Sadly, Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, acquired in 2017. I'm fortunate to have two grocery stores nearby (one within walking distance) that are locally owned and have only a few stores in the regions, plus the OB (Ocean Beach) People's Food Coop. The latter has been in operation since the early 1970s. The two locally-owned stores source a lot of their produce locally / seasonally. https://www.obpeoplesfood.coop/