Kroger appears ready to sell off supermarkets in Coastal Delaware, which it operates under the Harris-Teeter banner, as it works to acquire Acme-Safeway owner Albertsons.
Supermarket News reported that this week, the grocery giant proposed a revised plan that it believes will address federal antitrust concerns.
Under the plan, Kroger would sell 166 additional stores to C&S, a grocery wholesaler that owns several dozen supermarkets and has a distribution center west of Newark in North East, MD. The stores would be located primarily in markets where Albertsons and Kroger stores pose monopoly concerns.
Harris-Teeter operates two stores in the southern Sussex County beach area and Albertsons has Acme and Safeway stores in Lewes-Rehoboth. Harris-Teeter previously sold off an underperforming store in Sussex, and over the years, Albertsons has closed Safeway and Acme stores in Dover and northern Delaware.
Acme was able to slow its long-running loss of market share several years ago when it acquired former Pathmark locations. It continues to update stores but faces growing competition that includes Aldi, Grocery Outlet, Wegmans, and Lidl.
Earlier, Sussex County was part of an antitrust settlement that led to the owner Ahold – the Netherlands-based Giant supermarket operator that acquired Food Lion – selling off southern Delaware stores to regional grocer Weis.
Supermarket News reported that federal regulators are skeptical of Kroger’s spin-offs. They cite C&S’s lack of experience operating a large supermarket chain, even with access to Kroger-Albertsons private label brands.
The Biden Administration’s antitrust unit has opposed the Kroger-Albertsons merger claiming the combination would create a monopoly. Kroger may be betting that a new administration would OK the deal.
Kroger says combining with Albertsons would provide more competition for Walmart, which now accounts for a large chunk of the nation’s supermarket business.
