in Alaska, to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The New Hampshire-based grocery supplier and retailer, one of the nation’s largest privately held companies, operates Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly groceries in the Midwest and the Carolinas.The senators do not ask Kahn to stop the merger, but they raise a variety of issues and call on the agency to set a strong standard for approval.
The Alaska senators said the FTC should make sure those commitments are kept, if the deal is approved. The senators said Safeway’s takeover of the Alaska-based Carrs chain for $330 million in 1999 provides a cautionary tale showing that requirements must be established to protect employees and union contracts.
“The practical reality is, Alaskans have experienced what happens when we consolidate our grocery stores. We get fewer product lines and more expensive groceries,” said Assembly Chair Christopher Constant, who is sponsoring the resolution.“We started losing stores and we started losing quality products. And now it’s all Safeway-branded products in the store. I mean, there was a huge diversity of products that were available before — doesn’t exist anymore,” Constant said.