Retail Landscape Changes May Affect Kroger-Albertsons Deal
Law360, 2023
The announced merger between Kroger and Albertsons represents the first grocery retail merger since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has raised several questions related to the effects of the pandemic on competition in this industry: How might trading areas be defined after the growth of grocery delivery options? How could the rise of superstores and the varying mix of perishable and non-perishable goods affect the analysis of product markets?
In an article published in Law360, Analysis Group academic affiliate Edward Fox, together with Managing Principal Emily Cotton and Vice President Laura O’Laughlin, explore post-pandemic changes to the retail grocery landscape and consider how those changes might affect the review of the proposed Kroger-Albertsons transaction. They discuss changes in grocery consumer and retailer behavior in the wake of the pandemic and whether those changes may lead to a reassessment of geographic and product markets for grocery retail.