That's exactly it. I thought there were laws that are supposed to protect the public from monopolies. This is actually very anti capitalist eliminating competition. So much for fair market capitalism 🙄
Kroger and Albertsons are major grocers, which could create a monopoly if combined. Less competition usually leads to higher prices. Potentially anti-competitive merger should be looked at by the federal government.
These are the 2 basic grocery stores in my area. Are we now going to allow a grocery monopoly on top of uncontrolled inflation in food prices? This is NOT a good idea. Walmart shoppers are a different group than Kroger/Albertson shoppers. They don't need to compete. We just need Kroger and Albertson to compete with each other.
I agree with you that there should be more competition, not less. But it isn't just Walmart and Target that is a different group. There is Costco too. Costco has its own kind of shopper.
@@Lostwithquestion You are barking up the wrong tree. It has consistently been Republicans who are the corporate shills. They are the monied interests. Why do you think McConnell stacked the SC with corporate judges?
@@CopyeditorsDesk Biden is at war with both energy and agriculture. Hes been maoing friends of enemies and enemies out of allies. He has directly led to less investment into our market. He has been an awful president for the economy.
But is it going to be more "price cutting", "value added" and better emoloyee benefits, or more and higher bonuses for the CEO and other higher ups with Kroger, and to hell with the customers and employees!! The number and caliber of employees in our local stores have drastically dropped in the last 4-5 years! It seems to me, as a long time Kroger customer that the more Kroger tries to compete with Walmart, the more like Walmart they become, where the employees and customers are ignored over, like I said before, higher pay and bonuses for the CEO and other higher ups! IMHO JS SMH 😡😡
Kroger has failed to impress me with their products but at least Ralph's carries national brands, and Walmart groceries are not as fresh as Albertsons, Ralph's, Vons, and other supermarkets.
Both Kroger and Albertons reported net profits before and after the height of the pandemic, with Kroger reporting multi-billion dollar profits. Net profit is what is left over after all expenses are paid. So, they had the ability to lower prices but don't because of the reasons you mentioned. Also, Flickinger is wrong about suppliers "discriminating" against grocers by not passing on discounts. He's referring to what's known as "slotting allowances," and those are mainly for new products so that retailers can take on the risk. The FTC found that they don't have the impact that people perceive. Also, places like Costco have cheaper prices because they sell products in bulk and don't have the selection that grocers have. Flickinger does not mention that in his analysis.
Dang, here in Arizona, Albertsons also owns another Grocery Store called Safeway. That would leave us with just a few smaller grocery stores & Two Membership Stores. Not good for Arizona.
I live in Arizona, they're combining Albertsons Kroger's and Safeway so that's three major stores here going to be one I hope they don't do a monopoly on us. I hope they still buy all their milk from our local dairy shamrock.
Who should be most nervous? The consumers, prices aren't going to go down. When I moved into my Portland, Oregon home, 24 years ago, there were five nearby grocery stores. In 2008, both of the high end stores closed, but years later one became New Seasons, an upscale natural food market. On the affordable side, there was Fred Meyer's, Safeway and Albertson's. Kroger's bought out Fred Meyer's, and the prices went up, while service went down. When Albertson's bought out Safeway, they closed our Safeway, and have now converted it to a online store, so that trucks are coming and going at all hours, with their noisy back up beeping. So, what will happen now? How high will they raise prices? Which of my local stores will disappear? And what will go into the space of the closed store? Whatever happened to antitrust laws? How is such a monopoly allowed?
And Flickinger wrongly blames prices on "discrimination" by suppliers in their discounts to retailers, which are known as "slotting allowances." An FTC report found that those allowances have only a
I don’t shop at Kroger’s as much as I use to they are always out of the low cost items the shelves are always empty. Their meat is not as good as our other smaller grocery store and they took away the senior discount.
Kroger store brands are poor products. They'll drop most of the major brands Albertsons sells now and substitute them with Kroger products. They did that to Fred Meyer when they took over. Every time I walk into Fred Meyer, I wish Fred was still alive.
Who should be nervous? All of the consumers and any employees at the corporate offices of Albertsons where overlap is going to occur. Employees at the dissolving corporation are always the ones to be let go first.
True when Albertsons first merged with safeway/Tom Thump you seen alot of Tom Thumb supervisors then slowly one by one they disappeared till there was only Albertsons supervisors again. Only very few Tom Thumb/Safeway supervisors were left
NEVER GOOD to put all your eggs in one basket. I live in a rural area. Variety of Stores is security in the physical sense. Especially, in these tough times of shuttered chain locations.
@Direct Message ⓷⓪⓹⓸⓶⓷⓽⓹⓸⓽ Definitely a monopoly. It's only so they can get product cheaper but I guarantee it will never filter down to lowering the prices in the stores. The worst part is now people who have been with Albertsons there whole lives will likely loose there jobs.
In WA, Fred Meyer which is basically Walmart stile grocery/department store and QFC are subsidies of Kroger currently. And now Albertson and probably Safeway? Duopoly.
When Albertsons pulled out of here in 2002, many of their stores were sold to Kroger or to Safeway-owned Randalls (which Albertsons purchased). Now they are about to all go full circle.
I worked for Fred Meyer when they sold themselves out to Kroger to, "better compete with Walmart." Fred Meyer went to hell after that. I used to do most my shopping at Fred Meyer, now I do most my shopping at Walmart and I refuse to shop at any Kroger owned store. Employees should worry; two years after the take-over they came into the home office and cleaned out the upper management. They also outsourced the janitors and the stores are not kept as clean as they used to be. I quit and went to a small employee-owned chain that is only in Eastern Washington State and Northern Idaho. Had to start over on vacation and retirement, but when I retired about 10 years ago the retirement after 8 years was a whole lot better than the one with Fred Meyer after 12 years.
Albertsons owns Safeway, Tom Thumb, Jewel Osco, Acme, United, Pavillions, Vons, Star, Carrs, kings food, Balduccis and Kroger owns Ralph's, Dillions, Smiths, king Soopers, Fry, Qfc, City Market, Owen's, JC, Payless, Bakers, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, pick and save, Metro market, Marianos. So how is this not a Monopoly.
Both of those companies are too expensive, imagine how it will go now. So glad we have HEB as an option, better service, better products, and lower prices.
I personally don't use either of Kroger or Albertsons stores, so it wouldn't affect me, however I find it very interesting to see all the names these two companies sell under.
@@terrencebradley5417 I’m a stockholder and a consumer. Either way I win, but the less competition the more the consumer will feel the pain. Guess they should of left Bell in one piece.
Economies of scale. Walmart sells more groceries and Kroger or Albertsons, so they can buy product from wholesalers at a lower price. A merger would help alleviate that, enabling them to better compete with Walmart. Kroger will still likely charge more, though, because they are forced to absorb all the union costs and deal with the union bureaucracies. Walmart's workforce is more flexible as a result.
Better meat choices at Kroger, might be some better things here and there at both as far as price vrs quality. I Lean to Kroger over WM, FL ect. For quite a few reasons.
@@yimb8437 Kroger reports multi-billion dollar profits including during the height of the pandemic. Albertson's is also consistently profitable. So union costs are not the issue, and the taxpayers pick up the cost of providing for Wal mart employees anyway. Walmart is cheaper because it aims at a different buyer market which is less discerning and less interested in convenience or presentation.
I work for a "high end" grocery chain {not whole foods) prices there are through the roof, (a box of cheerios costs $8 there) yet sales numbers there keep going up
@@joeblow9931 I would pay $8 for a box of cheerios if I knew homeless people weren’t trying to attack me in the parking lot. That’s part of the price. The grocery stores in the city I live are drug dealer spots after dark.
Everyone. Consolidation has decimated capitalism. We don't have a capitalist system in the US anymore. We have a small number of handshake oligopolies with very little competition dominating the market.
No one should be nervous about it because no one else cares about it anymore. There's much better out there. It's okay to go outside and explore for yourselves by the way. You should exercise your freedom while you still can as well.
Be afraid when they attack an industry, you dont need to survive, for not letting them spread lies, so they can get control of the industries you do need.
Same here until I started using the app with digital coupons. Have been going with a strict list of coupon plus sale items and have been surprisingly pleased.
I work at a safeway in the bakery department, corporate has us increasing our prices while lowering the size and Quantity of our packaged foods. It pains me to see customers paying more for less, some blame the workers like we have a say in it. it hurts
@@MarachiHibatchi I work at the deli in a Jewel Osco, and the prices just keep going up, our equipment is non functional half the time and ACI's corporate profits are going up at a similar rate
@@choicecornelius better include some Kroger employees, after all management's most important function is to defend and improve executive bonuses. Why do you think there is so much emphasis on self (unpaid) checkout?
Employees and communities It's not just 2 grocery stores merging There is several store names under the Albertsons company logo yes Safeway but lots of others too so it truly would be a monopoly I repeat it may be 2 companies but they have several name label companies below that they own Google ... Kroger and Albertsons companies and see many grocery stores across the US that would be affected.... There is nothing good about this merger for employees and communities...job losses...price control and increases Corporation greed is like the dam government when they say we're here to help you 🙄 big stamp on this MERGER .... NO THANK YOU Send this idea to the shred file box
@@trishwhitaker4891 I love Winco, they have the same products as don't, or ralphs, yet have lower prices. I like their deli. If I'm in a rush I hit the deli they have many foods already prepared.
Their employees seem happy. It’s pleasant shopping there. We love their bulk prices and the variety. I really don’t like Walmart but am forced to shop there.
Ralph's carries certain national brands that Albertsons and Vons don't. So I have to go make an extra trip to Ralph's because Albertsons and Vons don't have the brand I want.
@@christiangonzales7429 I hope so. This morning, I heard that Kroger wants the merger to lower prices so they can compete with Walmart. I happen to prefer Ralph's over Walmart because Walmart's groceries are not as fresh. I shop at Walmart but not for food, because when it comes to food, cheaper isn't necessarily better.
I am by no means a genius. But i have seen a lot of videos on mergers years ago on big grocery and department stores. And they all fail, and go under a few years later.
On the local level, when Albertsons acquired United supermarkets, quality and product availability suffered. There is much less competition between area grocery stores and product quality has suffered.
Krogers is the equivalent of McDonald's, dirty, chaotic, bad managers and horrible service. Albertsons are more like a nice sit down dinner, are cleaner, more of a pleasure to shop in, they don't generally have F'ed shopping carts etc. This is ONLY my experience with both brands over the years. I prefer Krogers Simple Truth but hating shopping in there stores, I love going into Albertsons branded stores but hate the sticker shock. The Customers are screwed either way.
@@MMAfighter38113 That’s not the same thing as the Tom Thumb in Dallas-Fort Worth. That’s a convenience store chain. Tom Thumb in Dallas is local supermarket chain owned by Albertsons.
The people are nervous about this merger. Okay I think consumers should be aware. I also think voter awareness is even more important. Where the hell is the concern with how our politicians are doing?
Lol. Only a fool would believe Kroger will "cut costs" to try and compete with Walmart. Kroger is paying 24.5 billion, that's BILLION, dollars for Albertsons, PLUS becoming responsible for another 4.5 BILLION dollars of Albertsons debt. That's a total of 29 billion dollars of debt that Kroger will now be in the hole for. The only way to pay that off is to raise prices and make the consumer pay for it.
Once Private Label "Store Brand" products are leveraged in the market place (pushing out some of the National Brands), they WILL in-time raise their prices.
Yes they will raise prices because of many reasons. One being that low skilled position that use to be performed by high school student are now being performed by adults with limited skills yet cry out for living wages! Not because they deserves it but because they need it. An then we have bleeding hearts that think anything that walks deserve a living wage regardless of the fact that these people lack the ambition to learn a skill worthy of being paid.
@@TomBTerrific I agree on all points. But, to put it in perspective, the World-wide Masses have also been manipulated by Corporate Greed & Sold-out Politicians HORRIBLY over the last several decades. And the VALUE of FAMILY is no more. I'm retired from 30yrs IT (although, I'm not a Coder). Mankind/Humankind will be SLAMMED by a Tsunami of HYPERAUTOMATION of A.I. & Robotics this decade. We are all screwed. Those ill-equipped Young Adults that you spoke of, are not prepared to PIVOT with self-created income streams aka their own online businesses & automation proof trades. SHAME ON OUR COLLEGES & EVEN HIGH SCHOOLS not looking & preparing ahead. The IT Sector has seen this coming for yrs. While Youth are being politically played & played by the World Elites.
Yeah, you mean the same Walmart that is showing signs of going Kmart in a few years? There was major play about how Target was cancelling lots of orders with suppliers... well, Walmart's doing the same. They've also posted their biggest loss in 35 years, without exactly healthy years before that. The bubble from government giving them unfair advantage during COVID is over. Frankly, Amazon is killing the bastards on the one side, and the dollar stores are doing it from the other.
As a child in the 80s, we called Albertson's the rich folks HEB. They never had good stuff, just ridiculously high prices. Kroger was way more expensive.
HEB is so much different now. Back then, they were those tiny HEB Pantry Foods stores that were always in shopping centers that had dollar stores and Weiner's.
The Kroger merger? Frankly their stores stink, and their deli foods, plus water made me sick. I've stopped going to Kroger. I never liked the place. And their prices are too high. I'd say unless Kroger cleans up their act, and lowers prices, they are on the way out.
Kroger is already even with Albertsons in price. Fred Meyers has already raised prices by 50% on some items and other items they raise the price almost daily.
layoffs are gonna Happen if you don’t have 20 years or plus in the companies bye-bye they’re going to undercut payroll and everything. It’s already happening in California. How do I know this because I work at Vons ….
I don't know much about Krogers, all I know thus far are Ralphs, Vons Safeway on top of larger retailers like Fred Meyers, Costco so on, yes K mart too but..
Is this not the same chain that "....prohibited Hispanic employees from speaking Spanish around non-Spanish speakers, including when they spoke to Spanish-speaking customers during breaks." Then got Sued?
This Merger is due to Walmart destroying most grocery chains. Consolidate or get eaten by Wal-Mart. Be mad at the big fish before you get mad at the 2 little fish joining together to defend themselves.
As a truck driver I know first hand many of the horrible situations drivers have to put up with at the warehouses of the majority of grossery stores , , , Safeway tops the list followed by Super Value , Kroger , Albertsons , Publix , Associated Grossers Inc , HEB (to some extent) Hy-Vee , & etc etc & CVS Pharmacy is on that list too , , , It's to the point that I strive to resist going to any grossery warehouse as much às possible , , inside the store doesn't reveal the abuses that truck drivers & warehouse workers suffer at the hands of management & corporate policies , , , A good few of those stores I'll absolutely refuse to go to nor will ever live in an area where they are the only option for shopping , , ,
Still going to shop at HEB. I don't know what other states they are in but for here in Texas they are the best in my opinion. They get a lot of their supply from local farmers and ranchers. I did not see hardly any supply shortages during either the height of the demorat created supply chain problem.
If it makes Groceries Cheaper, it is Advantageous for Society. If Mass can Diversify Cost across Pricing, it is beneficial for Customers. Wal-Mart was 1st to the SuperStores and they made Pricing more beneficial for Consumers, however it did Price out of the Market, all the Independent Vendors/Retailers. Roger Mortimer Continues? Though it was an 'Affair'.... ? Welcome to the House of York? Wait? That is Albertonsons? NYC is not the Capital of New York?
I work at a Jewel. Kroger is just down the block. There are also 2 other Jewels and 3 Krogers in this town. Most of our stores compete with theirs directly, so I'm a little worried.
It's not getting more competitive... it's becoming less competitive.
That's exactly it. I thought there were laws that are supposed to protect the public from monopolies. This is actually very anti capitalist eliminating competition. So much for fair market capitalism 🙄
This is basically the grocery store version of the Disney/21st Century Fox merger.
Do you really think these people would invest 25 billion dollars just to go up in price,and then lose it all to the likes of Wal Mart?Think about it.
@@moealbert7339 Yes
Not really. Looks like they are cutting out the competition all together
Kroger and Albertsons are major grocers, which could create a monopoly if combined. Less competition usually leads to higher prices. Potentially anti-competitive merger should be looked at by the federal government.
Walmart is still a grocery store as are Sprouts, Aldi and Trader Joe etc.... how would this be a monopoly?
@@jeanhoward6907 I think it means they'll have a greater share of the market? Not quite a monopoly but pretty close....?
@@bcgreen7479 IDK. Im curious for sure
@@jeanhoward6907 It really depends on individual
@@jeanhoward6907 me too.
These are the 2 basic grocery stores in my area. Are we now going to allow a grocery monopoly on top of uncontrolled inflation in food prices? This is NOT a good idea. Walmart shoppers are a different group than Kroger/Albertson shoppers. They don't need to compete. We just need Kroger and Albertson to compete with each other.
I agree with you that there should be more competition, not less. But it isn't just Walmart and Target that is a different group. There is Costco too. Costco has its own kind of shopper.
More local grocery stores. Get back to basics stop bio engineered ingredients in our foods and beverages.
The shoppers should be most nervous.
The employees
Definitely the employees
That means Kroger prices are going to come up 15% to Albertsons prices
3$ for rath hot dogs.
3$ for a single apple.
1$ for a single ramin pack, 2.50$ for a ramin cup.
Thank you brandon.
@@Lostwithquestion You are barking up the wrong tree. It has consistently been Republicans who are the corporate shills. They are the monied interests. Why do you think McConnell stacked the SC with corporate judges?
@@Lostwithquestion What does the President have to do with this?
@@CopyeditorsDesk every price tag has doubled in his term? Do you not grocery shop? Maybe watch more than one news channel?
@@CopyeditorsDesk Biden is at war with both energy and agriculture. Hes been maoing friends of enemies and enemies out of allies. He has directly led to less investment into our market. He has been an awful president for the economy.
But is it going to be more "price cutting", "value added" and better emoloyee benefits, or more and higher bonuses for the CEO and other higher ups with Kroger, and to hell with the customers and employees!! The number and caliber of employees in our local stores have drastically dropped in the last 4-5 years! It seems to me, as a long time Kroger customer that the more Kroger tries to compete with Walmart, the more like Walmart they become, where the employees and customers are ignored over, like I said before, higher pay and bonuses for the CEO and other higher ups! IMHO JS SMH 😡😡
Kroger has failed to impress me with their products but at least Ralph's carries national brands, and Walmart groceries are not as fresh as Albertsons, Ralph's, Vons, and other supermarkets.
Sad but true.
Both Kroger and Albertons reported net profits before and after the height of the pandemic, with Kroger reporting multi-billion dollar profits. Net profit is what is left over after all expenses are paid. So, they had the ability to lower prices but don't because of the reasons you mentioned. Also, Flickinger is wrong about suppliers "discriminating" against grocers by not passing on discounts. He's referring to what's known as "slotting allowances," and those are mainly for new products so that retailers can take on the risk. The FTC found that they don't have the impact that people perceive. Also, places like Costco have cheaper prices because they sell products in bulk and don't have the selection that grocers have. Flickinger does not mention that in his analysis.
Dang, here in Arizona, Albertsons also owns another Grocery Store called Safeway. That would leave us with just a few smaller grocery stores & Two Membership Stores. Not good for Arizona.
Arizona doesn’t have Walmart?
If you are worried about inflation. Was it a good idea to let your local shop go under because the corporate store was more convienient.
Why, you want us to pay double? Not happening.
@Ej333 Not anymore! They first had to undercut mom and pop to run them out of business. Now that is accomplished, you see Walmart prices skyrocketing.
Where I live we have 2 major grocery stores. Walmart and Kroger’s. We do not have any Ma and Pop stores available. So we have no better choice.
Comex should increase gold and silver price. Selling low price gold and silver to India and China is a bad idea that bieden doing...
HELL NO
I left Kroger long ago for Walmart and Aldi.
Walmart has more stores 😆
Walmart is worse LOL
Walmart is several towns over. Kroger is 500 ft away. I choose the path of lest resistance.
There are already too many krogers. I want more choices when it comes to supermarkets - not fewer.
No way should this be happening
I work at Albertsons. Right up the street is a Fred Meyers and a Safeway. We're pretty scared about our future/jobs
Same here we are the only Albertsons in my town with 3 Krogers
I live in Arizona, they're combining Albertsons Kroger's and Safeway so that's three major stores here going to be one I hope they don't do a monopoly on us. I hope they still buy all their milk from our local dairy shamrock.
Albertson is safeway sister stores
Safeway was bought by Albertsons about 4 years ago
The whole of America is now monopolies or darn near. Republicans made sure of it.
@@lisas7389 Albertsons owns Safeway and Vons
You will buy what I sell or you get nothing.
They could do price cutting but , mergers rarely if ever lower prices .
History tells me so …
Higher prices are on the way merger or not .
Who should be most nervous? The consumers, prices aren't going to go down. When I moved into my Portland, Oregon home, 24 years ago, there were five nearby grocery stores. In 2008, both of the high end stores closed, but years later one became New Seasons, an upscale natural food market. On the affordable side, there was Fred Meyer's, Safeway and Albertson's. Kroger's bought out Fred Meyer's, and the prices went up, while service went down. When Albertson's bought out Safeway, they closed our Safeway, and have now converted it to a online store, so that trucks are coming and going at all hours, with their noisy back up beeping. So, what will happen now? How high will they raise prices? Which of my local stores will disappear? And what will go into the space of the closed store? Whatever happened to antitrust laws? How is such a monopoly allowed?
Buy the competition then raise prices, this merger is the consumer worst nightmare.
And Flickinger wrongly blames prices on "discrimination" by suppliers in their discounts to retailers, which are known as "slotting allowances." An FTC report found that those allowances have only a
I don’t shop at Kroger’s as much as I use to they are always out of the low cost items the shelves are always empty. Their meat is not as good as our other smaller grocery store and they took away the senior discount.
Kroger should be nervous, this company has turned into one large hot mess.
Kroger store brands are poor products. They'll drop most of the major brands Albertsons sells now and substitute them with Kroger products. They did that to Fred Meyer when they took over. Every time I walk into Fred Meyer, I wish Fred was still alive.
Who should be nervous? All of the consumers and any employees at the corporate offices of Albertsons where overlap is going to occur. Employees at the dissolving corporation are always the ones to be let go first.
True when Albertsons first merged with safeway/Tom Thump you seen alot of Tom Thumb supervisors then slowly one by one they disappeared till there was only Albertsons supervisors again. Only very few Tom Thumb/Safeway supervisors were left
Who should be nervous about this is the employees. And if you think they are going to cut prices, think again!
Who should be nervous? Albertsons employees! I'm one of them.
NEVER GOOD to put all your eggs in one basket. I live in a rural area. Variety of Stores is security in the physical sense. Especially, in these tough times of shuttered chain locations.
I shop at Albertsons..the prices are high .also shop at Smith's, owned by Kroger, also the prices are high.
Move to Texas. HEB has a rich mans version called Central Market and your every day grocery shopper at their regular HEB stores
@Direct Message ⓷⓪⓹⓸⓶⓷⓽⓹⓸⓽ Definitely a monopoly. It's only so they can get product cheaper but I guarantee it will never filter down to lowering the prices in the stores. The worst part is now people who have been with Albertsons there whole lives will likely loose there jobs.
In WA, Fred Meyer which is basically Walmart stile grocery/department store and QFC are subsidies of Kroger currently. And now Albertson and probably Safeway? Duopoly.
Not only is it duopoly but their house brand items often have the same suppliers. So the only difference is in the packaging.
Are you sure QFC is part of Kroger
@@tajmulhallYes, QFC is owned by Kroger.
Most the Albertsons stores closed down in my state a few years ago we have one local Albertsons left
When Albertsons pulled out of here in 2002, many of their stores were sold to Kroger or to Safeway-owned Randalls (which Albertsons purchased). Now they are about to all go full circle.
Same in my area. It's been there since 1973. Hopefully it won't close. People need there jobs
I hate Kroger. The Albertson's chain is much better. I'm worried it will close down one of our stores and double prices at Kroger.
Our Fred Meyer Stores went downhill when Kroger took them over, so this would be much worse for us, the consumers!
And since, now they charge a fee to take out cash when paying debit at checkout. The only store in my state
I worked for Fred Meyer when they sold themselves out to Kroger to, "better compete with Walmart." Fred Meyer went to hell after that. I used to do most my shopping at Fred Meyer, now I do most my shopping at Walmart and I refuse to shop at any Kroger owned store. Employees should worry; two years after the take-over they came into the home office and cleaned out the upper management. They also outsourced the janitors and the stores are not kept as clean as they used to be. I quit and went to a small employee-owned chain that is only in Eastern Washington State and Northern Idaho. Had to start over on vacation and retirement, but when I retired about 10 years ago the retirement after 8 years was a whole lot better than the one with Fred Meyer after 12 years.
Wait Kroger owns Fred Meyer? But Fred Meyer sells a lot more than just groceries.
Albertsons owns Safeway, Tom Thumb, Jewel Osco, Acme, United, Pavillions, Vons, Star, Carrs, kings food, Balduccis and Kroger owns Ralph's, Dillions, Smiths, king Soopers, Fry, Qfc, City Market, Owen's, JC, Payless, Bakers, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, pick and save, Metro market, Marianos. So how is this not a Monopoly.
Albertsons also owns Randalls.
You forgot Turkey Hill...
Fred Meyers...
Workers should be concerned Kroger will be closing stores in Washington and California.
Hey, what about us in Oregon? Same concerns here!
@@IgnarHusky you should be concerned to.
Both of those companies are too expensive, imagine how it will go now. So glad we have HEB as an option, better service, better products, and lower prices.
I work for the Albertsons DC. Lots of great people feeding America. Look forward to whatever this means for our local
Sounds like “I’m looking for a promotion.” We everyday shoppers hear “monopoly”.
I work for Albertsons too and my boss told me if they merge Kroger is firing the current employees.
This merger should be blocked we need more competition not less
I personally don't use either of Kroger or Albertsons stores, so it wouldn't affect me, however I find it very interesting to see all the names these two companies sell under.
Most likely both sides will be selling off brands and stores to ensure the DOJ approves this deal.
Yeah they each have bought up multiple chains
This is nothing good for the consumer!
Why is this not a good deal for the consumer
Its good in short, bad in the long run. But the merger itself is a sign of the times. Prices matter more now.
I hope 🤞 Albertsons take the deal , a bigger Kroger would be able to compete with Walmart and others in the future
This is not about the consumer. It is ALL about the stocklholders.
@@terrencebradley5417 I’m a stockholder and a consumer. Either way I win, but the less competition the more the consumer will feel the pain. Guess they should of left Bell in one piece.
Kroger prices are substantially higher than Walmart prices, and that's a problem.
Can’t compare Kroger quality to Walmart. Especially for produce; comparable price too.
Economies of scale. Walmart sells more groceries and Kroger or Albertsons, so they can buy product from wholesalers at a lower price. A merger would help alleviate that, enabling them to better compete with Walmart. Kroger will still likely charge more, though, because they are forced to absorb all the union costs and deal with the union bureaucracies. Walmart's workforce is more flexible as a result.
Better meat choices at Kroger, might be some better things here and there at both as far as price vrs quality. I Lean to Kroger over WM, FL ect. For quite a few reasons.
@@yimb8437 Kroger reports multi-billion dollar profits including during the height of the pandemic. Albertson's is also consistently profitable. So union costs are not the issue, and the taxpayers pick up the cost of providing for Wal mart employees anyway. Walmart is cheaper because it aims at a different buyer market which is less discerning and less interested in convenience or presentation.
I've found my walmart prices are higher than krogers. Ther lower prices ad is baloney.
Kroger closed all it stores in North Carolina. Said it was too competitive. They do not open stores in minority areas
Publix opens stores in minority area intentionally to lose money from all the theft. It’s a tax right off since they’re so profitable.
I work for a "high end" grocery chain {not whole foods) prices there are through the roof, (a box of cheerios costs $8 there) yet sales numbers there keep going up
If this store is located in an upscale, high class neighborhood then those prices mean nothing to the customer. Just another day at the supermarket.
@@christiangonzales7429 half the stores are
@@joeblow9931 I would pay $8 for a box of cheerios if I knew homeless people weren’t trying to attack me in the parking lot. That’s part of the price. The grocery stores in the city I live are drug dealer spots after dark.
Everyone. Consolidation has decimated capitalism. We don't have a capitalist system in the US anymore. We have a small number of handshake oligopolies with very little competition dominating the market.
No one should be nervous about it because no one else cares about it anymore. There's much better out there. It's okay to go outside and explore for yourselves by the way. You should exercise your freedom while you still can as well.
Albertsons SUCKS, if they merge with Kroger I wish all the workers at Krogers the best of luck,as they will need all the luck they can get.
Be afraid when they attack an industry, you dont need to survive, for not letting them spread lies, so they can get control of the industries you do need.
We rarely shop at Albertsons, I get “sticker shock” every time !
Same here until I started using the app with digital coupons. Have been going with a strict list of coupon plus sale items and have been surprisingly pleased.
I work at a safeway in the bakery department, corporate has us increasing our prices while lowering the size and Quantity of our packaged foods. It pains me to see customers paying more for less, some blame the workers like we have a say in it. it hurts
@@MarachiHibatchi I work at the deli in a Jewel Osco, and the prices just keep going up, our equipment is non functional half the time and ACI's corporate profits are going up at a similar rate
@@MarachiHibatchi The definition of shrink-flation.
Who should be worried? Obviously the customers.
The Albertsons employees should be worried
@@choicecornelius better include some Kroger employees, after all management's most important function is to defend and improve executive bonuses. Why do you think there is so much emphasis on self (unpaid) checkout?
Employees and communities
It's not just 2 grocery stores merging
There is several store names under the Albertsons company logo yes Safeway but lots of others too so it truly would be a monopoly
I repeat it may be 2 companies but they have several name label companies below that they own
Google ... Kroger and Albertsons companies and see many grocery stores across the US that would be affected.... There is nothing good about this merger for employees and communities...job losses...price control and increases
Corporation greed is like the dam government when they say we're here to help you 🙄 big stamp on this MERGER .... NO THANK YOU
Send this idea to the shred file box
I do not shop at either store they are too expensive. I shop at Winco or Costco.
I miss Winco! I’m about an hour from a Costco but not everything is cheaper there. When we go back to Idaho to visit we always hit the WinCos.
@@trishwhitaker4891 I love Winco, they have the same products as don't, or ralphs, yet have lower prices. I like their deli. If I'm in a rush I hit the deli they have many foods already prepared.
Their employees seem happy. It’s pleasant shopping there. We love their bulk prices and the variety. I really don’t like Walmart but am forced to shop there.
What happens to Safeway? Albertsons and Safeway are joined currently.
Ralph's and Albertsons should each keep their own names. There are some things that you cannot get at each others stores
Ralph's carries certain national brands that Albertsons and Vons don't. So I have to go make an extra trip to Ralph's because Albertsons and Vons don't have the brand I want.
Maybe this merger could lead to said national brands being carried at Albertsons and their sister chains.
@@christiangonzales7429 I hope so. This morning, I heard that Kroger wants the merger to lower prices so they can compete with Walmart. I happen to prefer Ralph's over Walmart because Walmart's groceries are not as fresh. I shop at Walmart but not for food, because when it comes to food, cheaper isn't necessarily better.
Now they can Raise the Price of Food. Let’s go Brandon.
I am by no means a genius. But i have seen a lot of videos on mergers years ago on big grocery and department stores. And they all fail, and go under a few years later.
Kroger and Albertsons have been eating up competitors for decades and they're doing fine as profits go.
I work for Kroger and they only have half the employees as last year and its a mess
The employees at Albertsons should be nervous.
We are! We are all gonna loose our jobs
I hate my life, but as of it is, i hate this more than my luck!
On the local level, when Albertsons acquired United supermarkets, quality and product availability suffered. There is much less competition between area grocery stores and product quality has suffered.
Anybody that works for Albertsons should be worried. I've worked for Kroger and it was the worst experience ever.
Krogers is the equivalent of McDonald's, dirty, chaotic, bad managers and horrible service. Albertsons are more like a nice sit down dinner, are cleaner, more of a pleasure to shop in, they don't generally have F'ed shopping carts etc. This is ONLY my experience with both brands over the years. I prefer Krogers Simple Truth but hating shopping in there stores, I love going into Albertsons branded stores but hate the sticker shock. The Customers are screwed either way.
If your equipment was functional more than half the time, you were doing better than the Albertsons owned stores
This is bad for Albertsons. Their stores will go down and the employee standards will be lowered.
I'm in California, haven't seen an Albertsons in years....
They exist in Southern California
They own vons too the first day prices went up and deals were confusing
Kroger prices will never be the same. All this means is higher groceries.
Albertson's acquired Safeway and Tom Thumb a few years ago here in Texas.
All the Tom Thumbs in my area just became Cumberland Farms.
@@MMAfighter38113 That’s not the same thing as the Tom Thumb in Dallas-Fort Worth. That’s a convenience store chain. Tom Thumb in Dallas is local supermarket chain owned by Albertsons.
They also own Vons.
Every other state where Albertsons exists too
@@jesusiskingofkings4650 all the Albertson’s in my area became a Publix starting back in 2009.
Vons actually makes more money than Kroger or Albertson’s Individually but once we become one store, it would be smart for them to keep the Vons name
The people are nervous about this merger. Okay I think consumers should be aware. I also think voter awareness is even more important. Where the hell is the concern with how our politicians are doing?
Lol. Only a fool would believe Kroger will "cut costs" to try and compete with Walmart. Kroger is paying 24.5 billion, that's BILLION, dollars for Albertsons, PLUS becoming responsible for another 4.5 BILLION dollars of Albertsons debt. That's a total of 29 billion dollars of debt that Kroger will now be in the hole for. The only way to pay that off is to raise prices and make the consumer pay for it.
IS this effective across the United states? Or just in certain markets? Anyone know?
It would be nationwide. Kroger is buying 100% of Albertsons and all of its brands.
Fred Meyer was better before Kroger bought them now the clothes they carry are poor quality and the Dip name is dumb
Once Private Label "Store Brand" products are leveraged in the market place (pushing out some of the National Brands), they WILL in-time raise their prices.
Yes they will raise prices because of many reasons. One being that low skilled position that use to be performed by high school student are now being performed by adults with limited skills yet cry out for living wages! Not because they deserves it but because they need it. An then we have bleeding hearts that think anything that walks deserve a living wage regardless of the fact that these people lack the ambition to learn a skill worthy of being paid.
@@TomBTerrific I agree on all points. But, to put it in perspective, the World-wide Masses have also been manipulated by Corporate Greed & Sold-out Politicians HORRIBLY over the last several decades. And the VALUE of FAMILY is no more. I'm retired from 30yrs IT (although, I'm not a Coder). Mankind/Humankind will be SLAMMED by a Tsunami of HYPERAUTOMATION of A.I. & Robotics this decade. We are all screwed. Those ill-equipped Young Adults that you spoke of, are not prepared to PIVOT with self-created income streams aka their own online businesses & automation proof trades. SHAME ON OUR COLLEGES & EVEN HIGH SCHOOLS not looking & preparing ahead. The IT Sector has seen this coming for yrs. While Youth are being politically played & played by the World Elites.
As a monopoly, why cut prices?
How many locations will close as a result?
Kroger works Skelton staffs in their stores.
Consumers. The scarcer the competition, the higher prices can get.
Kroger is bigger than some people realize. And Mr. Kroger is about to get richer, real quick.
Mr Kroger been rich!!!!
More like Vanguard and the other top shareholders are about to get richER.
For my money, Acme (owned by Albertsons), can't hold a candle to Food Lion, or Redner's, for low prices, along with quality products.
HORRIBLE!!!! STOP IT!!!
I've always found Kroger cheaper than Albertson's or Safeway.
And Walmart is over here whistling saying "pay no attention to the neighborhood market stores going up wile you try and get your monopoly"
Yeah, you mean the same Walmart that is showing signs of going Kmart in a few years? There was major play about how Target was cancelling lots of orders with suppliers... well, Walmart's doing the same. They've also posted their biggest loss in 35 years, without exactly healthy years before that. The bubble from government giving them unfair advantage during COVID is over. Frankly, Amazon is killing the bastards on the one side, and the dollar stores are doing it from the other.
Walmart is saying "we ain't scared. Bring it on Kroger!"
Bottom line,they are both gouging us already,they are going to gouge us more now.
Long time employees should be worried. They just received a major pay raise.
As a child in the 80s, we called Albertson's the rich folks HEB. They never had good stuff, just ridiculously high prices. Kroger was way more expensive.
HEB is so much different now. Back then, they were those tiny HEB Pantry Foods stores that were always in shopping centers that had dollar stores and Weiner's.
As long as they don’t pull a Walmart and implement more self check outs
I love self checkouts. The baggers will put my 25 items in 30 plastic bags.
@@gregnixon1296 as nice as they may be they are job killers
Walton family destroyed mom and pop stores. They are liberal pos.
Kroger around here is a dirty store..
You can smell the meats in the front of the store.
The Kroger merger? Frankly their stores stink, and their deli foods, plus water made me sick. I've stopped going to Kroger. I never liked the place. And their prices are too high. I'd say unless Kroger cleans up their act, and lowers prices, they are on the way out.
I rarely go to Wal Mart. And it ISN'T for groceries.
SOUNDS LIKE A BAD DEAL FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Kroger is already even with Albertsons in price. Fred Meyers has already raised prices by 50% on some items and other items they raise the price almost daily.
layoffs are gonna Happen if you don’t have 20 years or plus in the companies bye-bye they’re going to undercut payroll and everything. It’s already happening in California. How do I know this because I work at Vons ….
At the end Wall Street decides - and of course we'll always pay higher and higher prices for everything ...
Consumer lose and job loss.
“Price cutting…” uh-huh. “Monopoly” is what comes to mind of the everyday shopper.
They are combining forces to stay in business...what if they both fail? Your gonna wish they merged...
Americans are economically illiterate, or just misled. Monopolies can actually be a good thing.
Why would anyone wish they merged?
@@choicecornelius They're more efficient, and can provide better services to their customers as 1 entity.
Great news. Awesome combination.
People who shop at these stores should be nervous. I only shop at Whole Foods, because I am extremely wealthy.
I don't know much about Krogers, all I know thus far are Ralphs, Vons Safeway on top of larger retailers like Fred Meyers, Costco so on, yes K mart too but..
but Altertsons is very convenient for can anad bottle collectors lol. They got good fresh products occasionally as well.
Fred Meyer
I would rather support local Grocery, than deal with big Corp. Corruption and theft of Americas Smaller business.
This guy owns BJ stock. It’s so obvious he’s here for his own benefit.
Is this not the same chain that "....prohibited Hispanic employees from speaking Spanish around non-Spanish speakers, including when they spoke to Spanish-speaking customers during breaks." Then got Sued?
Just more giant companies. They will forget about their "little" customers soon enough.
This Merger is due to Walmart destroying most grocery chains. Consolidate or get eaten by Wal-Mart. Be mad at the big fish before you get mad at the 2 little fish joining together to defend themselves.
And employees
How about superfresh and Pathmark didn't last long it didn't last long with Albertsons and acme supervale as a parent company
As a truck driver I know first hand many of the horrible situations drivers have to put up with at the warehouses of the majority of grossery stores , , , Safeway tops the list followed by Super Value , Kroger , Albertsons , Publix , Associated Grossers Inc , HEB (to some extent) Hy-Vee , & etc etc & CVS Pharmacy is on that list too , , ,
It's to the point that I strive to resist going to any grossery warehouse as much às possible , , inside the store doesn't reveal the abuses that truck drivers & warehouse workers suffer at the hands of management & corporate policies , , , A good few of those stores I'll absolutely refuse to go to nor will ever live in an area where they are the only option for shopping , , ,
simply put "the walls are closing in on us here in america"
Still going to shop at HEB. I don't know what other states they are in but for here in Texas they are the best in my opinion. They get a lot of their supply from local farmers and ranchers. I did not see hardly any supply shortages during either the height of the demorat created supply chain problem.
If it makes Groceries Cheaper, it is Advantageous for Society. If Mass can Diversify Cost across Pricing, it is beneficial for Customers.
Wal-Mart was 1st to the SuperStores and they made Pricing more beneficial for Consumers, however it did Price out of the Market,
all the Independent Vendors/Retailers.
Roger Mortimer Continues? Though it was an 'Affair'.... ? Welcome to the House of York? Wait? That is Albertonsons? NYC is not the Capital of New York?
My worry is owe jobs. Weather safeway or Albertsons. I work at safeway
I work at a Jewel. Kroger is just down the block. There are also 2 other Jewels and 3 Krogers in this town. Most of our stores compete with theirs directly, so I'm a little worried.
I work for Safeway too with a kings just across the street. I feel your pain. Hopefully it turns out ok for everyone if it does go through.
I work at a Jewel, and we have a few Mariano's (the local Kroger name) locations near us