The chief executive officer of Kroger insisted Wednesday that merging with rival Albertsons would allow the two supermarket companies to lower prices and more effectively compete with retail giants like Walmart and Amazon.Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen argued in favor of what would be the largest grocery chain merger in U.S. history while testifying during a federal court hearing in Oregon on the U.S. government's request for a preliminary injunction that would block the $24.6 billion deal.
Shoppers benefit from that competition and would lose out if the merger is allowed to proceed, they said.The FTC and labor union leaders also claim that workers' wages and benefits would decline if Kroger and Albertsons no longer compete with each other. They've additionally expressed concern that potential store closures could create so-called food and pharmacy 'deserts' for consumers.