Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Note: At the time of this post, Kroger stock is $55.39.
What is the purpose of a union? A union is supposed to be an advocate for the worker. For example, the union can help fight for the worker to receive an increase in pay and better working conditions. Just recently, the UFCW and Kroger came to an agreement regarding pay increase and PTO for employees with 18 years of service or more. See https://ufcw951.org/kroger-union-workers-ratify-new-contract/. Unions may also build rapport with political system by pushing issues important to their members. See https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/kroger-albertsons-tie-up-spurs-union-lobbying-stop-merger-2022-10-21/
Perfect harmony does not always exist between employees and management. The UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) is opposed to the merger between Kroger and Albertson because current employees would receive lower pay or lose their job and groceries would increase. Kroger is one of the largest grocery stores and has over $132.5B in sales and approximately 420,000 employees. See https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KR/financials/. Albertson’s revenue in 2023 was $79.16B. See https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ACI/financials/. What do each store hope to gain by merging? According to their respective websites, Albertsons has approximately 2200 locations in the United States whereas Kroger has approximately 2800 locations in the US. From viewing the maps below, you can see that Albertsons is in areas where Kroger is not. There may be stores under the Kroger umbrella such as Fry’s, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, and Food 4 Less. However, the Kroger store is not present in these areas.
Map of Albertsons Locations. Graph obtained from: https://s29.q4cdn.com/239956855/files/doc_financials/2024/q1/CM_Corp_ACI_InvestorRelations_FactSheet_Q1_2024_FINAL.pdf
Map of Kroger locations. Graph obtained from: https://www.thekrogerco.com/newsroom/
As for Kroger, by merging with Albertsons, they will get a boost in their technology department. See https://www.grocerydive.com/news/albertsons-generative-ai-technology-retail-media/704306/ and https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-technology/kroger-upgrades-to-cloud-based-it-architecture-for-retail-operations.
Note 2: With this merger, it has been expressed that Kroger will sell some of its banners to C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC (C&S). See https://ir.kroger.com/news/news-details/2024/Kroger-Albertsons-Companies-and-CS-Wholesale-Grocers-LLC-Announce-an-Updated-and-Expanded-Divestiture-Plan/default.aspx
The next post will touch on the intellectual assets of Kroger.
