{"id":518243,"date":"2022-11-30T03:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/kroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers\/"},"modified":"2022-11-30T03:01:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:01:00","slug":"kroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"#: Kroger-Albertsons merger deal draws suspicion from lawmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e7108ac8f5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e7108ac8f5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers\/#%E2%80%9C_Kroger-Albertsons_merger_deal_draws_suspicion_from_lawmakers%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;: Kroger-Albertsons merger deal draws suspicion from lawmakers&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers\/#%E2%80%98A_lack_of_competition_in_the_industry_means_higher_prices_and_lower_quality_Klobuchar_says_CEOs_say_industry_is_%E2%80%98more_complex_and_more_competitive\" >\u2018A lack of competition in the industry means higher prices and lower quality,\u2019 Klobuchar says; CEOs say industry is \u2018more complex and more competitive\u2019<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers\/#Bill_Peters\" >Bill Peters<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9C_Kroger-Albertsons_merger_deal_draws_suspicion_from_lawmakers%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;: Kroger-Albertsons merger deal draws suspicion from lawmakers&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98A_lack_of_competition_in_the_industry_means_higher_prices_and_lower_quality_Klobuchar_says_CEOs_say_industry_is_%E2%80%98more_complex_and_more_competitive\"><\/span>\n  \u2018A lack of competition in the industry means higher prices and lower quality,\u2019 Klobuchar says; CEOs say industry is \u2018more complex and more competitive\u2019<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap crawler\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001434244\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001434244\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       A bipartisan Senate panel on Tuesday expressed skepticism toward the planned merger of grocery-store chains Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos., with lawmakers raising questions about the prospect of higher food prices, stifled competition and an expansion of so-called \u201cfood deserts\u201d where supermarket access is scarce. <\/p>\n<p> The chief executives from both companies, over the course of a Senate subcommittee hearing, argued that their companies still faced competition. And they said the deal would keep prices lower and would not result in store closures or layoffs in supermarkets, warehouses or manufacturing facilities.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       \u201cA lack of competition in the industry means higher prices and lower quality,\u201d said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. \u201cAnd yet this proposed merger, worth over $24 billion, combines the two largest grocery-store chains in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The merger agreement between Kroger<br \/>\n        KR,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/206215053\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+1.06%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       and Albertsons<br \/>\n        ACI,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/209620932\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+0.96%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       \u2014 a $24.6 billion deal struck in October that would create a company with nearly 5,000 stores \u2014 has landed after a year in which food prices have surged and inflation is coming off four-decade highs. The price increases, which also follow years of consolidation in the grocery industry, have padded grocery stores\u2019 bottom lines and led to big investor payouts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInflation, to put it gently, is wreaking havoc on out entire economy,\u201d said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. \u201cBut not in the grocery industry.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Rodney McMullen, Kroger\u2019s chief executive, said during the hearing that the grocery-store industry had become far more complex since he first began working  at a Kroger store stocking shelves in 1978. And he said hefty investor rewards, like stock buybacks, were part of an effort to balance the needs of consumers and shareholders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday the industry is larger, more complex and more competitive, with near endless opportunities and options of where and how to shop,\u201d he said. \u201cCustomers purchase food everywhere from Walmart and Trader Joe\u2019s to Costco and Aldi, to Dollar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a>, 7-Eleven, Walgreens and restaurants, for example.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He said that Kroger overall had lowered its pricing by \u201cover 3%\u201d since 2003. Kroger and Albertsons have said the combined company would spend $500 million to lower prices, and $1 billion to raise employee wages and strengthen benefits. McMullen said he expected those investments to take hold over a four-year period. Vivek Sankaran, chief executive at Albertsons, said stores could either be divested or spun off into a separate company as part of the merger process. <\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, lawmakers noted that in 2015, Albertsons bought Safeway, and regulators forced the chain to offload stores as part of the deal in an effort to preserve competition. But they noted that the company that bought most of those stores ended up filing for bankruptcy shortly after, and Albertsons reabsorbed some of those same stores. <\/p>\n<p>Sumit Sharma, a senior researcher at Consumer Reports, told lawmakers that the companies\u2019 plans to lower prices weren\u2019t a given. And he said store divestments don\u2019t always work. <\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cMerging parties have incentives to make sure that the purchaser of the divested assets is not an effective competitor,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>Up to 42 million Americans in January said they didn\u2019t have enough money to buy an adequate amount of food, according to a government survey. Stacy Mitchell, co-director at the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/statement-kroger-albertsons-merger\/\" class=\"icon none\">said in a statement in October<\/a> that a combined Kroger and Albertsons would handle nearly a fifth of U.S. grocery sales, putting it on par with Walmart Inc.<br \/>\n        WMT,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/207374728\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.35%<\/bg-quote><span>.<\/span>\n       <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s allowed to go through, this deal would almost certainly put more rural towns and Black and Latino neighborhoods in cities at risk of becoming \u2018food deserts\u2019 as more local grocers are driven out of business,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p>Kroger is among the few stocks to have actually posted year-to-date gains. Shares of Kroger are up 8% over that time. However, Albertsons is down 8%. The S&amp;P 500 Index<br \/>\n        SPX,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/210599714\/realtime\" class=\"negative\">-0.16%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       has fallen 17% since the beginning of the year.   <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author mobile-scrim hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Bill Peters\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"bio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/topics\/journalists\/bill-peters\",\"text\":\"Biography\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"twitter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billwpeters\",\"text\":\"@billwpeters\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"email\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/mailto:bpeters@marketwatch.com\",\"text\":\"bpeters@marketwatch.com\"}]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bill_Peters\"><\/span>Bill Peters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><ufc-follow-author-widget product=\"marketwatch\" author-id=\"278_MW\" author-name=\"Bill Peters\" signin-url=\"https:\/\/accounts.marketwatch.com\/login?target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fkroger-albertsons-merger-deal-draws-suspicion-from-lawmakers-11669766467%3Frss%3D1%26siteid%3Drss\" panda-api=\"https:\/\/follow-api.marketwatch.com\"><\/ufc-follow-author-widget><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-715E-28455EE6180B%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;: Kroger-Albertsons merger deal draws suspicion from lawmakers&#8221; \u2018A lack of competition in the industry means higher prices and lower quality,\u2019 Klobuchar says; CEOs say industry is \u2018more complex and more competitive\u2019 A bipartisan Senate panel on Tuesday expressed skepticism toward the planned merger of grocery-store chains Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos., with lawmakers raising&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":518244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-675353\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-518243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}