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The Federal Trade Commission's claims that the Kroger-Albertsons merger would harm consumers is based on "simplistic vision of the retail grocery market," a brief filed by attorney generals of Ohio, Alabama, Georgia and Iowa stated earlier this week. Neither Kroger nor Albertsons participated in the filing.
The FTC's request to halt the merger included claims that the acquisition would raise grocery prices and negatively impact workers of both companies. In response, the brief stated the the FTC "is oblivious to the plain-as-day economic reality that raising prices, worsening services, and lowering quality – its allegations – would actually weaken Kroger as a retailer and drive consumers into the waiting arms of its many competitors."
The brief claims that blocking the merger would "weaken, not protect, competition among firms vying for consumer grocery purchases." It also criticized the FTC's dismissal of Kroger and Albertsons' combined divestments, arguing that the companies have already committed to assuaging the anti-trust concerns raised by the FTC.
“The success of Kroger as a grocery retailer should be rewarded, not punished, and the antitrust laws must not be enforced to chill the very competition they seek to protect. Blocking this transaction would diametrically conflict with the congressionally mandated duty of the Commission to protect and promote consumer welfare.”
A hearing to assess the FTC's case against the merger is planned for August 26.
