U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola is putting her thumb on the scale again, asking the Federal Trade Commission to not allow Kroger/Fred Meyer and Albertsons/Safeway to complete their $25 billion national merger. She is worried about a monopoly in Alaska.
In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, Peltola said the threat the merging of the operations would harm competition and food security in Alaska.
“If the merger goes through, nearly all grocery stores in the Fairbanks North Star Borough would fall under the same ownership, with the exception of Costco and Walmart,” Peltola warned.
That is not exactly true, however. Other grocery stores in Alaska, however, include Three Bears, Target, Alaska Commercial Company, IGA, and several smaller stores, buying clubs, and food coops. Organic produce delivery service Full Circle Farms operates in 17 Alaska communities. Alaska has roughly the same variety of grocery stores as other states, although in the largest state in the union, competition is not always close, as it is in the Lower 48.
Peltola wrote, “Alaska already has an incredibly concentrated grocery store market, and potential divestments of stores resulting from the merger would threaten both competition and basic food security in many communities across the state. The five largest jurisdictions by population in Alaska are Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Kenai-Soldotna. In each of these communities, Fred Meyer (Kroger) and Carrs (Albertsons) are the primary competitors selling groceries and household goods. If the proposed merger goes through, store closures and reduced competition could result in a significantly reduced competition, or even a near-monopolistic landscape in a state that already has some of the highest costs of living in the United States.”
Joelle Hall, President of the Alaska AFL-CIO, agreed with Peltola. The AFL-CIO is one of Peltola’s biggest supporters and Peltola does not ever stray from the big union message that she is asked to support.
According to Supermarket News, the federal government has tightened its fist over mergers. The FTC sued Microsoft to stop it from buying Activision-Blizzard and crushed the Penquin Random House / Simon & Shuster publishing merger.
“The Kroger-Albertson deal is receiving more negative attention from those outside of Washington, D.C. A group of consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit and the Arizona Attorney General is looking into the merger. Unions representing more than 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons workers have been protesting the deal since it was first announced.There also has been two rounds of questioning from the FTC,” Supermarket News reported.
Hey! Aldi carts!
This is one thing I may agree with Peltoilet on. We need competition between the big three, especially since Safeway gobbled up Carrs a long time ago.
Dunleavy’s Attorney General YES man is ALL in on the Kroger-Albertson private equity scheme. Wonder why there is nothing noted here about that? They (Dunleavy’s Admin) don’t care about your needs. They only care about promoting things that don’t matter to average Alaskans, like making a big deal about high school trans athletes of which there has only been one documented in the last 10 years. But keep on demonizing. That’s what keeps Dunleavy’s followers brainwashed . . . emptions over thinking. You may agree with Mary on this one, but your vile comment should still be removed.
Bit early for a political add against Dunleavy don’t ya think? Got an opinion on the merger? You know, the subject of the article.
Did you have a point to make, or just time to fill?
She’s a liberal. There’s nothing to agree with her on that we can trust. She’s up to something nefarious. She may just be lying to try to win back the trust of honest Alaskans. I’m not buying it. If she says it’s good it has to be bad one way or another. What does she know that we don’t about this merger? I’m willing to bet a lot.
She is pretty much usless ino, but not wrong on this. Freddy’s marriage to Safeway is not in our best interest and should be halted. At the rate companies are being gobbled up soon there will be only one corporation.
That is the intent in my opinion. Control! Control!
Control the fuel. Control the food. They will control you.
I don’t care for Mary, but she has a bit of a point. For the wrong reasons, but she has a point.
Here in SE we need the competition of the big chains to keep prices to tolerable levels.
Mary probably knows what it’s like to pay $8 for a gallon of milk.
I highly doubt that she had to pay for her own milk. That’s not the way it works in the village. And the large corporations that control the majority of the groceries in our country have long been in cahoots with pricing, so this merger will have no effect. They will continue to charge whatever they can can get and only mark things down that are soon to expire.
She has apoint. Right on her head!
Why does Alaska want to be under the thumb of a monopoly? Isn’t $6/pint IN SUMMER enough to pay for strawberries? You want to pay $7.50 for a moldy pint on a slow boat from the south 48?
Isn’t milk at $5/gallon high enough for you? Oh, I get it, you want to pay $6.50/gal because the Federal government will give you $3.50 in green stamps so you can it for $3/gal? Right? And when the Seattle dockworkers go on strike you’ll gladly pay $10.00 for sour milk?
What? You say you want to pay twice as much for chinook salmon? Where’s the incentive for the competition to be competitive?? Where’s the beef?
How has a grocery store monopoly EVER benefited the customers? Or, any carpet-bagging monopoly for that matter?
Calm down, you’ll wet yourself.
“Carpet bagging monopoly”. If you lean any further left, you’ll fall over.
You kidder, you. I can just imagine the folks that actually know me, thinking I’ve got liberal-leaning tendencies. Some might say brash. When the person came to the counter at Hewitt’s with the note about wanting all the Stadol, I just said I’m new here. I have no idea where it is, if we have it. And we are really busy today– don’t bother coming back.
Really. You need Xanax, or something stronger?
Honey, you’re not smart enough to joust with me.
Consolidation of economic activity in fewer and fewer hands is one of the hallmarks of a corrupt, predatory and oligarchic society.
Agreed. Kroger ruined Fred Meyer, Safeway ruined Carrs. Service and selection went down and prices up. This merger would close both Safeway Stores in Fairbanks and make the parking lots of today for Fred’s & Costco look empty. Yeah, the union politics here is thugly, but blocking this is the best thing for the people.
Albertsons owns Safeway now, and the quality of their deli food improved.
I’ll never agree with Peltola , ever . However the pricing , selection and vegetables at Fred’s in Fbks is horrid . They literally have 30-40% of what they had on shelves prior to 2019 . I’ve never seen anything like it ! The store by the airport was noted as top producing store in Kroger chain for years . I can’t imagine anymore ! It’s not bad , it’s terrible ! I’ll never go back in that store ! Bad management and now this group is taking over Safeway ! Not good
Mr Thorne’s statements are correct. Safeway stores in Fbks. would likely close.
As much as Peltola is wrong about everything, this is a no brainer. Safeway and Kroger should not be allowed to merge. Safeway is the worst run store but at least they are some competition. One only has to look at Hawaii where there is only one supermarket mainland chain and see the difference in pricing. Granted Hawaii’s government raises some costs but shipping is exactly the same and Safeway does not offer alot of the sales they offer here in Alaska, (i.e. Rewards for fuel is less and capped where here it is not, sales ads are half the size of AK’s). Milk is $3 more a gallon in Hawaii. Very bad idea allowing this. Big Business is as bad for the people now as much as the Democratic party.
Kroger – you mean the company that was forcing its employees to wear Gay Pride symbols on their uniforms last year, and then retaliated by firing them when they refused or covered them up?
So when the Kroger CEO, Rodney McMullin, recently went hat in hand asking Republicans to carry water for their merger efforts, Senator Cotton told him – to his face- to take a flying leap, and best of luck convincing the Democrats. Very kino.
But shhhhhh – don’t tell Peltola that, she’ll probably change her mind and approve the merger.
I lost all respect for Kroger when they removed guns and ammo. 3 bears is closer anyway
I oppose any Kroger/Albertson’s merger, partially because I don’t consider Three Bears a viable competitor to Freddie’s, Safeway, or even Walmart.
Most of the time when I go into a Three Bears looking for one staple item, they are out of it.
I never, ever ever ever, buy produce from Three Bears, their employees simply don’t know how to handle fruit and vegetables. They also have limited selections and offer no organic produce.
Their prices are usually much higher than either; especially on coffee and bread.
Three Bears also do not have bakeries.
Cleanliness? Oh my. They’re the one store that actually makes Walmart look tidy.
Out-of-date product? At Three Bears you need to check EVERYTHING all the time.
“Kroger’s Promise” marketing campaign was with four colors of the heart — blue, yellow, red and light blue — representing the chain’s promises to give customers friendly and caring service, to provide them with fresh goods, to uplift in every way and to improve every day. Kroger described the heart as a “non-religious Promise branding symbol.” The symbol was not a rainbow and only encompassed four colors.
Now, we return to another episode of “Jewish Space Lasers”.
“Soylent Green is People”
Thinly veiled pride representation is still pride representation and shouldn’t be forced upon customers or employees; both have rights.
You laugh about space lasers, but look up the aftermath of the Maui fire. Houses burnt to ash, essentially cremated, with trees standing perfectly untouched within 10′ of the house. Something high precision did that, no fire behaves that way.
That movie isn’t truth now, but it is prescient of the world liberals eventually want.
Speaking of Jewish, lets check your facts.
NBC recruits plenty of people just like you!
Kroger rolled out the new rainbow heart uniforms right before Homosex Month;
Kroger was sued, and ordered to institute a religious accommodation policy and pay $180,000 to the plaintiffs.
Tellingly, Kroger had multiple opportunities to state that the heart symbol had ‘nothing to do with promoting gay pride’ – and they declined to answer. Kroger couldn’t really lie to the court about this – all internal corporate discussions regarding the creation of the new uniform would be discoverable.
I’m glad Sen. Cotton is showing the way forward. Republicans need to lose their fear of using big government. Like it or not, big government is here to stay. When corporations openly serve Democrat interests, Republican can’t shy away from using big government to hammer them hard.
Something tells me that if Ohio Dan took this same position he would be receiving accolades from you suzanne, lol
Don’t hold your breath. Dan is wholly owned by the private equity lobby. Same goes with the private equity fund manager, Nick Begich.
Hmmm. Interesting that our traitor congresswoman is speaking out on this one. What is she going to lose if the merger goes through? At this point, I do not care if they merge. I feel like we lost any competition when Carrs sold out to Safeway. Carrs food and service has been steadily going down hill; the Palmer Carrs store used to be one of the nicest stores to shop at, but since the plandemic, its customer service and cashiers are lacking necessary skills to make customers feel welcome.
I agree. It is never good for the consumer when big companies like this merge!!
3 Bears, Costco, Walmart, New Sagaya, Target, and a few local meat shops. I don’t see a monopoly. I think Fred Meyer is nonunion is the only reason she’s interested. She’s Biden Jr. always looking for a kickback.
That’s because you live in a big city bubble.
Bob up here in Fairbanks we have Safeway x3, x2 Fred Meyers, crap Walmart and a couple of natural stores..I don’t want to only have one store in name to go to that IS A MONOPOLY!! Just not about you buddy!
Fred’s is partially union and unions continue their efforts to get more employees unionized.
Go out and buy lottery tickets, sports fans. I am in agreement with socialists Mary and Joelle. Stunning. Consolidating the two grocery chains can only mean less selection and higher prices for consumers.
Alaska has always had opportunity for local groceries and anyone that believes this is a bad deal for Alaska has no idea about what the grocery scene looked like in the 50s. if the union leads to higher prices, it will lead to opportunity for local companies.
Please tell us more about Alaskan grocers in the 1950’s. Who carried international brands? Who had the freshest lemons? Who sold specialty culinaryitems for religious holidays? Which varities of meat, poultry, dairy, produce, soups, liquid refreshents, and health products were available?
Please compare Alaskan grocers of the 50s to lower 48 at the time, and then for extra credit, compare Alaskan 50s wares with what we have today.
Acting provincial and being a snob about how grocery stores from 70 years ago are sufficient for your needs, but that’s nonsense. Times have modernized and improved.
I’m quite sure a big strong tough elder such as youself thinks that 1950s options are perfectly sufficient for today’s times, that’s fine. If so, please stop using the Internet and instead send your comments to this site using pen and paper using 1950’s post office methods.
For the rest of Alaska’s society, having modern options and free market competitive practices as established by legal code, this merger is bad. Tell your rich friends’ daddies that even conservatives have a limit when you try to interfere with our food supply and wive’s happiness.
As someone who was here in the 50s, you’ve no clue what you are talking about.
Suzanne, thank you for writing this article. Scary Mary is licking union left boots – and that is a problem. But one does not have to look hard to realize blocking this merger is the right thing. Most govt intervention in business I’m opposed to, but not this one.
She sucks. I don’t know a single person that will admit to voting for her. Then again, I only hang out with like one person and I don’t associate with liberals.
If you only hang out with one person, and you don’t associate with liberals, aren’t you the liberal in that hangout?
I’m a Juneauite. Non association with liberals isn’t possible here. It’s also a good way to clue into what they actually think.
The world is headed for three or four business monopoly’s running the economics of the world. We need competition to keep it from a one shop world.
Let a private business grow to whatever size the private sector will support, but a government-regulated and CalPERS (etc) pension fund-owned corporation is not my idea of a private business. No, to the merger.
I am NOT a Mary Peltola fan, but I also dislike less that truthful reporting.
In this case the author quotes Peltola: “If the merger goes through, nearly all grocery stores in the Fairbanks North Star Borough would fall under the same ownership, with the exception of Costco and Walmart,”.
The author responds to Peltola’s assertion by writing “That is not exactly true, however. Other grocery stores in Alaska, however, include Three Bears, Target, Alaska Commercial Company, IGA, and several smaller stores, buying clubs, and food coops. Organic produce delivery service Full Circle Farms operates in 17 Alaska communities.”
Peltola was clearly speaking of Fairbanks and the North Star Borough, and the author responded with a description of the State in general. I read MRAK because I appreciate good reporting and know for certain that MRAK and Ms. Downing are capable of far better than this.
I don’t see any problem with the merger. It’s two businesses looking out for one another. The executives must have their reasons like I am not comfortable hearing about China buying up American farmland and food Factories. If peltola is against the merger then my guess it’s actually probably a good thing. She’s been wrong on everything since she entered office.
So a democrat that voted to give America high inflation thinks this is bad?
I can’t stand Peltola. At all… But a merger that would pretty much screw South Central Alaska? I don’t think so! No Safeway Fred Meyer merger!
What’s good for business and shoppers is not good for Peltola. Give me a break! This old hag is a Commie. NB3 for Congress in 2024.
Ya, enough mergers. Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are bad enough and the only reason they have the monopolies that they have is because they are willing to pander to the Democrat government. And then there is ESG, Blackrock and Vanguard… Albertsons has bought up enough and it is true, this merger would create monopolies in communities, and not just in Alaska.
Vanguard and BlackRock are the top 2 owners of both Kroger and Albertsons Inc (owns Safeway)
Most MRAK readers already know of the many “Great Reset” and “4th Industrial Revolution” pies those two global mega-owning firms have their fingers in (or more aptly their fists wrapped around) and their ties to the WEF.
If you want to educate yourself more fully on the global economics of the food system I suggest you read
” Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat?, Revised Edition ” by Philip H. Howard
I could not agree more ! Looks at what BlackRock and Vangaurd have done to the Alaskan oil economy . They are literally the new version of the SierraClub ! They will not loan money for development on the NorthSlope and control the smaller banks .
While our ( the peoples ) Permanent fund is invested in these funds ! Can’t make it up !
According my son , his food costs in Fbks have almost doubled to feed his family of four in the last three years ! That’s not 20% inflation !
Kroger buying Safeway will be really bad for Fairbanks ! Proof is already in the pudding . Half of the food delivered to Fbks is boxed and freighted to the bush communities ! It looks like a food shortage in Fbks !
Several States like Texas for example have taken BlackRocks operating authority away for poor business practices ! What you say Governor Dunleavy ?
“The Kroger-Albertson deal is receiving more negative attention from those outside of Washington, D.C. A group of consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit, and the Arizona Attorney General is looking into the merger. Unions representing more than 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons workers have been protesting the deal since it was first announced. There also has been two rounds of questioning from the FTC,” Supermarket News reported.
Two observations here, if I may.
One, the unions opposition of this merger simply means that many union jobs shall be lost within the melding of the two entities, which is all the unions care about. Be damned the consumer, as a result, one way or the other.
Two, as a consumer, who wants to live under monopolized industry that within essence, controls not only the availability of necessary items, but also the prices of said items are sold under, especially within locations that do NOT have the ‘Other grocery stores in Alaska, however, include Three Bears, Target, Alaska Commercial Company, IGA, and several smaller stores, buying clubs, and food coops. Organic produce delivery service Full Circle Farms operates in 17 Alaska communities. Alaska has roughly the same variety of grocery stores as other states, although in the largest state in the union, competition is not always close, as it is in the Lower 48.’
Peltola is a leftist, financially self-serving and only about me piece of filth, but within this case, she is upon the right side of the argument, God help us all…..
I don’t have the chart showing all of the companies that Black Rock and Vanguard own; but, I seem to remember Kroeger and Safeway both on that list. Does anyone know of the chart that I am referring to? Maybe this sale is to make us think that we have choices and to get us arguing and dividr us when, in reality, they both are owned by the same company in the end anyway.
Something else is going on here.
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The Peltola-UFCW-AFL-CIO Partnership, never one to concern itself with populist issues before now, suddenly seems worrried enough to call in a favor from the Biden regime.
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Seems reasonable to ask whether Bidenomics hit Fairbanks so hard that companies have to merge, lay off employees, close stores, just to survive because the only other viable option is leaving altogether.
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Naturally the Peltola-UFCW-AFL-CIO Partnership doesn’t want to lose money, votes, and members (in that order) so you’d expect them to be okay with a little corporate inefficiency if it means featherbedding the Fairbanks’ grocery industry.
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Don’t want to annoy the Partnership by asking what happens to the Fairbanks grocery industry when union featherbedding reaches the point that companies can’t afford it and Bidenomics at the same time.
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Peltola did warn against the merger of UFCW and AFL-CIO unions, no?
Well it’s nice to know I can still find some common ground with a leftist like Mary Peltola. The federal government has basically been a rubber-stamp for merger approvals since the 1990s which is a big reason why we now in many industries have far less competition than we did even 20 years ago. Competition is good for the consumer, not just because it encourages lower prices but because it fosters innovation as well.
As a 65 yr Alaskan and someone who worked in the grocery industry as a food broker for 20 years, i can assure you, the proposed merger will be very bad for Alaska consumers. One need only look at the merger of Carrs and Safeway some 20 yrs ago to see precisely what happens when two retailers that control over 80% of the market are allowed to merge. Prices went steadily up over-a 10 yr period at massive cost to the marketplace. We have little true competition as it is and allowing this merger will be very bad for Alaskans.
I find it amazing that people don’t realize that the $ they hold within their wallets is far more powerful then any approval of a merger between food giants happens or not and whatever blather a vapid member of Congress has to say.
When I shop in Anchorage I usually head to Sagaya on Old Seward first and then to Costco. In Chugiak and in the Valley one can easily find a Three Bears close at hand. In Juneau there is Foodland or Superbear. Shopping at a Local store allows one to stick it to Larry Fink and the Black Rock goons. Choices abound but only if we use the power of our purse to support local owned retail outlets. Hopefully someone in Fairbanks will quickly figure this out.
BTW, Both Safeway and Freds have atrocious fish markets, in my opinion, Sagaya, Tenth and M and COSTCO in Anchorage provide wonderful fresh fish at a reasonable price. Statewide there are many local custom shops that market fresh and processed seafood, but you can’t beat Jerry’s Meat in Juneau. Scott Perkins the owner of Jerry’s will ship his product Statewide if you’ve a hankering for the best Crab Dip, Smoked Black Cod, Smoked Chinook Salmon or Double Smoked Bacon in the known universe. bon appetit !
Costco is owned by Black Rock/Vanguard if I remember correctly. Not sure about Sagaya.
I believe New Sagaya is privately owned.
I don’t understand why the federal government has to be involved in this issue at all. Wait till they knock on your door and say hey I’m here from the government. I’m here to help that’s a load of BS. I believe the whole issue here is the union evil to the core.
Why is it that the government should have a say in whether or not businesses should underwrite someone’s choice to live in SE? Can you nancies figure out a way to make your choice pencil? If not, why do you expect others to support your logistically irresponsible life choice?
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