'A banana is a banana.' Key quotes from the Kroger-Albertsons merger hearing

PORTLAND, Ore. ‒ After two weeks of legal arguments and testimony, the hearing on 's proposed $25 billion takeover of is getting closer to wrapping up. How have Kroger, Albertsons and made their case and have they made any flubs in the case where regulators with the are suing to kill the deal? Here are some key quotes from the proceedings: Andrew Groff, Kroger’s senior director for pricing, told the court.

He was one of several Kroger executives who testified that lowering prices were a central part of the retailer's strategy and they were especially obsessed with competing with Walmart. But Kroger executives said they weren’t trying to beat Walmart outright on price. Instead, they tried to keep their prices between Walmart and traditional rivals like Albertsons.



On average, Kroger executives revealed their company is about 2% or 3% more expensive on its most popular items than Walmart, but 10% to 12% less expensive than Albertsons. Groff again. Just after testifying about Kroger's efforts to keep grocery prices down, Groff admitted to FTC attorney Elizabeth Arens that process didn't always go smoothly.

As inflation took off during the pandemic, Kroger raised prices on thousands of items to pass along the company’s higher costs. He admitted prices on volatile items like eggs and milk sometimes rose faster than inflation. Stuart Aitken, Kroger’s chief merchant and marketing officer.

Both Kroger and Albertsons executives insisted grocery competition is evolving and that they consider any company that sells any food a competitor, not just traditional supermarkets. Alona Florenz, a C&S Wholesale Grocers senior vice president. Kroger and Albertsons have agreed to sell off 579 supermarkets to C&S Wholesale Grocers to reassure regulators and consumers that the deal will preserve competition in the marketplace.

C&S Wholesale CEO Eric Winn took the stand to defend his company against criticism that it's inexperienced in retail, saying his operation has made the decision to transform itself into a retailer. Yet, all it takes are or emails by a senior executive in your organization to risk sowing a little doubt. That's what Florenz might have done.

The executive who analyzes acquisitions for C&S Wholesale Grocers was questioned about texts where she mocked the financial performance of previous stores acquired in a 2021 deal. And in other messages with colleagues she made it clear she didn't think much of some of the Kroger stores her company was acquiring in the pending deal. Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran.

for his company if it's not bought out. He indicated there could be layoffs, store closures and even the exit from geographic markets. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen.

with nontraditional competitors on all sides, such as Walmart, Amazon, Costco and even Dollar General.. But he might have touched on why he's having such a hard time getting the proposed merger approved.

The trouble is, in order to win its case, Kroger has to make it at least somewhat obvious to why she should approve potentially the biggest retail merger in American history. So far, she's keeping a poker face..