By Shannon Lukens.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser held a Town Hall in Steamboat Springs Wednesday. It was about the proposed $25 billion grocery store merger with the owners of City Market and Safeway stores, of which there are both stores in Steamboat Springs.
The proposed merger is between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, which are the respective parent companies of King Soopers, which owns City Market, and Safeway.
“If this merger harms rural Colorado, even if it doesn’t harm urban areas, that’s good enough reason for me to take action to stop it.”
Weiser has had at least 16 Town Halls about the merger, in communities around the state of Colorado. He says there are ten to 15 states that are affected and he is working with them, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. He says Colorado is the most affected.
He said this merger affects people on a personal basis because everyone needs to go grocery shopping.
He says right now, there are two different supply lines into Steamboat Springs, serving two different grocery stores. If there is a merger, it would go to only one supply chain. That means if one store is out of something, then both stores will be, which is not necessarily the case right now.
It also eliminates the ability to price compare if there is only one store.
Weiser said he is skeptical that they would keep both City Market and Safeway open in Steamboat Springs, if there was a merger. He says with some grocery store buildings, there is a lease that says you can’t rent out a building to another grocery store, even if that store is permanently closed. This is the case in Glenwood Springs right now with a grocery store that was shut down.
The Colorado Attorney General says he is trying to figure out all of the facts about the merger and what would happen. And he is listening to people and how it would affect them by having the Town Halls like the one in Steamboat Springs.
He says he is going to make sure Colorado is not worse off because of the merger, and he will do what is best for the people of Colorado.
Other issues brought up at the Town Hall was the question if your life would get harder, as a consumer, as a worker, and as a supplier. Will people lose their jobs if they close one of the local stores? Another comment was that it is hard to find information on the merger in Spanish.
Weiser says it has been a nine-month effort learning about the merger. He will meet with those proposing the merger in October and they will tell him their timing for the purchase. Weiser says he will ask questions and do a final analysis and then prepare to go to trial, if necessary.
He added that the Town Halls have proven to be very valuable, to hear from community members like those in Steamboat Springs.
Colorado Treasurer Dave Young has joined Secretary of State Jena Griswold in being publicly opposed to the merger, and asking the Federal Trade Commission to halt the $25 billion deal.
Colorado Newsline — Colorado state treasurer urges feds to reject Kroger-Albertsons merger
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser will be on Easy 94-1 as a guest DJ from 3-7 p.m. today (Thursday, Aug. 24).