Kroger and Albertsons would offload 91 Colorado stores, including in Durango and Cortez, if the merger between the two supermarket giants goes through.
Durango Albertsons and Cortez Safeway are among the stores that will be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocer.
The controversial merger has faced scrutiny from Colorado officials for fear that it would create a monopolistic environment in smaller communities with limited grocery competition.
Kroger, which owns City Market, and Albertsons, the parent company of Safeway, announced the proposed $24.6 billion merger in October 2022.
Since, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued the merger on grounds that it would eliminate competition. In February, the Federal Trade Commission also blocked the merger citing similar reasons.
On Tuesday, C&S announced it had entered a definitive agreement with Albertsons and Kroger to acquire 413 stores.
C&S will receive QFC, Mariano’s and Carrs brand names and the exclusive licensing rights to the Albertsons brand name in Arizona, California, Colorado and Wyoming, according to a news release from the corporation.
C&S spokeswoman Lauren De Bruno said the company declined to comment on future plans for the stores because the merger has not been finalized.
“The purchase of these stores will enable C&S to be one of the leading grocery retailers in the United States,” De Bruno said. “In order to ensure these stores continue to thrive, we also will be welcoming hundreds of highly skilled grocery retail veterans and tens of thousands of store associates from Kroger and Albertsons who are currently responsible for these stores.”
UFCW Union Local 7, a workers union, has voiced concerns about C&S.
Union president Kim Cordova said the merger puts jobs and communities’ well-being at risk.
“If successful, the merger would have devastating impacts across our country, as made evident by the hundreds of stores included on the divestiture list released,” Cordova said.
Cordova said that C&S does not have a track record of managing a large number of stores.
The supply company based out of Keene, New Hampshire, oversees operations for Grand Union, Southern Family Markets, Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., Nell's and Olean Wholesale Grocery.
Attempts to reach Albertsons representatives were unsuccessful Thursday.
Advocates for the merger say divesting the stores to C&S will make them a stronger competitor in a grocery market that’s being dominated by Walmart and Amazon. It will allow C&S to expand on a national scale rather primarily in the Midwest.
In a column published by Supermarket News on May 24, an investment banker who was hired by Albertsons to research the merger, Scott Moses, said it will help C&S become a stronger competitor nationwide.
If C&S takes over Durango Albertsons, it could allow another company to compete in the Durango market with Kroger. Whereas, if Kroger were to retain Durango Albertsons, it would create a scenario in which one company has a stranglehold over the Durango grocery market.
The same could be true in Cortez, which has a City Market and a Walmart, in addition to Safeway.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
