KROGER IN COURT: All eyes on sales plan

Kroger argued in court Thursday that C&S is a worthy beneficiary of 579 Kroger and Albertsons stores.

As the Washington state antitrust case against the proposed $24.6 billion Kroger-Albertsons merger entered its fourth day on Thursday, September 19, attention focused on the retail plan of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The three witnesses who testified were Alona Florenz, vice president of corporate development, financial planning and analysis at C&S; Joseph Welsh, CEO of Joseph Welsh Consulting and an expert on supermarket retail operations and rebanners; and Mark McGowan, president of retail at C&S.

Kroger and Albertsons have already agreed to this sell 579 stores to C&Slargest wholesale grocery distributor in the United States and the eighth-largest privately held company in the United States. Kroger believes that C&S’s existing distribution network positions it well for retail expansion, and that its sourcing network and extensive industry experience will allow C&S to compete aggressively in the grocery retail market.

Kroger says C&S has earmarked $150 million annually to lower prices and better compete with big players like Walmart, and prices at C&S after the merger will be lower than current prices at many Albertsons stores.

Additionally, Kroger said C&S will welcome 67,000 store associates and 1,000 team members who support Kroger and Albertsons stores. C&S currently operates 25 retail supermarkets and is the franchisor of 165 additional locations.

As part of the merger, C&S will receive a clone of the technology Albertsons currently uses to run its business, as well as three years of historical customer transaction data from Kroger and Albertsons to help develop its loyalty program.