Citing its actions following previous corporate mergers, Kroger said it plans to lower prices when its planned merger with Albertsons is finalized. The supermarket giant will invest $500 million to lower prices on “day one” following the transaction’s close, and also plans to invest $1.3 billion to improve Albertsons’ brick-and-mortar stores.
The Kroger-Albertsons merger was first announced in October 2022 but has faced pushback from state Attorneys General and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In January 2024 the companies delayed the merger timeline to August 2024.
“We believe the way to be America’s best grocer is to provide great value by consistently lowering prices and offering more choices,” said Rodney McMullen, Chairman and CEO of Kroger in a statement. “When we do this, more customers shop with us and buy more groceries, which allows us to reinvest in even lower prices, a better shopping experience and higher wages. We know this model works because we’ve been doing it successfully for many years.”
Following its 2014 merger with Harris Teeter, Kroger invested more than $125 million to lower that chain’s prices, and invested over $100 million to lower prices at Roundy’s after its merger with that chain in 2016.
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