More than a month after announcing that Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores will merge, the corporations have no explanation for how it will affect Fred Meyer and Safeway customers in Alaska.from their CEOs.
“And what that means when they say they’re getting more efficient, which is how they sort of sell this, is they mean they’re firing people,” said Graham Downey, a consumer advocate with the Alaska Public Interest Research Group. “It means you had two grocery stores and now you have one. So, you have half as many employees, but all the same customers.”
Vivek Sankaran, the current CEO of Albertsons, said the new company will upgrade stores and expand the brands they sell. It would also have a huge database of national consumer behavior data, which some analysts are calling the real prize, because it could be used to generate billions in revenue. Just one grocer would run the companies’ many regional chains, such as Harris Teeter, Ralphs, QFC, King Soopers, Vons, Safeway, Jewel Osco, and Acme.There are some independent grocers in Alaska, niche stores like the Roaming Root in Fairbanks, IGA stores and the member-owned cooperative in Fairbanks.
“And then you have market power — the power to set the prices,” Downey said. “You don’t have the competitor across the street making sure you don’t have a crazy price on milk or cucumbers. You can pretty much name your price and people are gonna have to pay it.”
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:
United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'You can pretty much name your price': Critic says Kroger-Albertsons merger would hurt Alaskans“The federal regulators are starting to look at market power,” said AKPIRG's Graham Downey, as Alaska's two largest grocers plan to merge. “Prices might be less in the short term, but in the long term what kind of economy are we creating here?”
Source: AKpublicnews - 🏆 387. / 55 Read more »
Kroger, Albertsons leaders believe merger will reduce prices for consumers, experts aren't so sureThe Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust panel questioned the leaders about the $25 billion deal for Kroger to purchase Albertsons stores. So it’s ok for Walmart and Amazon to have monopolies but not Kroger?!? Wow! That’s something! Maybe Walmart will have competition? HEB is where it’s at
Source: FOX4 - 🏆 289. / 63 Read more »
Senators push Kroger-Albertsons CEOs on concerns over $25 billion mergerSenators pressed the chief executive officers of Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. on Tuesday about whether their proposed $24.6 billion deal to create a...
Source: dallasnews - 🏆 18. / 71 Read more »
U.S. lawmakers skeptical grocery merger will mean lower pricesU.S. senators from both parties expressed skepticism Tuesday that a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons would result in lower prices for consumers.
Source: SpectrumNews1TX - 🏆 333. / 59 Read more »
US lawmakers skeptical grocery merger will mean lower pricesU.S. senators from both parties expressed skepticism Tuesday that a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons would result in lower prices for consumers. “Fewer local options mean less competition to keep prices low,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, in a hearing before the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Padilla said Kroger and Albertsons compete in many California cities. I’m sure the companies wouldn’t lie or mislead anyone about that.
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »