In Colorado, Safeway would be owned by 2 companies post merger. Neither would be Albertsons.
Highlights of Week 2 in Colorado’s antitrust case to block the Kroger-Albertsons merger.
Doug Conarroe/The Colorado Sun
If the supermarket megamerger goes through as proposed, Safeway stores in Colorado would be owned by two companies. Neither would be the current owner Albertsons, which would fade into acquirer and King Soopers parent, Kroger Co.
But while Kroger plans to take over 14 Safeways, the other 89 in the state would find a new owner in C&S Wholesale Grocer, a wholesale distributor that aspires to become a major grocery chain.
And don’t forget there are two Albertsons in Pueblo and Durango that C&S plans to buy as part of the divestiture and conversion to Safeway. But C&S won’t own the Safeway brand — just a license to use the name in Colorado and Arizona for three years. Kroger plans to keep the other Safeway stores it’s acquiring nationwide as part of the proposed $24.5 billion merger of Kroger and Albertsons.
Confused? There’s more. There’s no clarity on how shoppers would distinguish between the differently owned stores or their weekly ads or prices (though both of the new owners said they plan to lower prices). Nor is it clear if their loyalty cards or mobile apps would still work before their local store is rebranded.
Read more from Tamara Chuang and Olivia Prentzel at ColoradoSun.com.
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