Federal Judge Blocks Kroger-Albertsons Grocery Merger

Today, U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson blocked grocery giant Kroger’s plan to acquire Albertsons, finding that the move would limit grocery sector competition.

Food & Water Watch Senior Food Policy Analyst Rebecca Wolf issued the following statement:

“This decision is a victory for common-sense antitrust enforcement that puts people ahead of corporations. Persistently high food prices are hitting Americans hard, and a Kroger-Albertsons mega-merger would have only made it worse.

“Already, a handful of huge corporations’ stranglehold on our food system means that consumers are paying too much for too little choice in supermarkets, workers are earning too little, and farmers and ranchers cannot get fair prices for their crops and livestock. Today’s decision and strengthened FTC merger guidelines help change the calculus.”

Food & Water Watch research into grocery sector consolidation details how growing market concentration reduces competition, and enables collusion and price fixing, leading to higher food prices for consumers, lower profits for farmers, and rising profits for grocery giants. Today, just four grocery retailers corner around 70 percent of the market. If the Kroger-Albertsons merger were to proceed, it would become the nation’s second largest grocery chain, capturing 22 percent of the national market.

From Jan. 2020 to Jan. 2024, the monthly food cost for a family of four on a “thrifty food plan” increased 50% from $654.10 to $975.90. Over the same period, the top four grocery retailers in the U.S. saw revenue increases between 9-36%.

Food & Water Watch actions to prevent food sector mega-mergers include:

• In January 2021, Food & Water Watch led an effort to call on the Biden Administration to enact a merger moratorium on food and agribusiness companies.
• In May 2022, Food & Water Watch supported the reintroduction of the Food & Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act to block unfair and dangerous mega-mergers.
• In September 2023, Food & Water Watch submitted extensive comments to strengthen FTC’s proposed draft merger guidelines.