DALLAS — Grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons have already revealed their plan to sell off hundreds of stores across the country as part of their proposed merger, if federal regulators approve the deal.
Now we know which stores will be impacted in North Texas.
The companies this week announced a list of 26 stores across Dallas-Fort Worth that would be sold to New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers as part of the merger.
Most of the locations that would be sold would be Tom Thumb and Albertsons stores, though several include Market Street stores. Kroger officials in a statement said C&S "committed to ensuring zero stores will close" in the deal and that all workers would remain employed. But what name each of the sold stores would operate under remains to be seen.
"The comprehensive divestiture plan with C&S is critical to bringing the meaningful and measurable benefits of our merger with Albertsons to associates, customers and communities across America," the Kroger statement said. "C&S's strong operational focus coupled with its experienced management team and financial resources will position it to successfully operate divested stores for years to come."
C&S in a statement to WFAA on Friday said the move would be part of their strategy to expand their retail footprint. And as a result, they'd be keeping on "tens of thousands" of store workers from Kroger and Albertsons.
"Their skill and knowledge, along with our leading wholesale and supply expertise will undoubtedly ensure that these stores continue to successfully serve their communities for many generations to come," the C&S statement said.
Here's the full list of North Texas locations that would be impacted:
- Market Street — 985 W Bethany Dr, Allen
- Albertsons — 6220 U S Hwy 287, Arlington
- Albertsons — 301 SW Plaza Shopping Ctr, Arlington
- Tom Thumb — 1701 W Randol Mill Rd, Arlington
- Tom Thumb — 2755 N Collins, Arlington
- Tom Thumb — 6333 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas
- Albertsons — 2321 W University Dr, Denton
- Albertsons — 1155 N Main St, Euless
- Market Street — 3800 Long Prairie Rd, Flower Mound
- Tom Thumb — 4301 Cross Timbers Rd, Flower Mound
- Market Street — 11999 Dallas Pkwy, Frisco
- Market Street — 4268 Legacy Dr, Frisco
- Tom Thumb — 4848 Preston Rd, Frisco
- Tom Thumb — 5550 FM 423, Frisco
- Tom Thumb — 612 Grapevine Hwy, Hurst
- Tom Thumb — 1000 Keller Pkwy, Keller
- Market Street — 3145 E Broad St, Mansfield
- Market Street — 6100 W Eldorado Pkwy, McKinney
- Tom Thumb — 6800 W Virginia Pkwy, McKinney
- Tom Thumb — 1501 Pioneer Rd, Mesquite
- Tom Thumb — 3945 Legacy Dr, Plano
- Tom Thumb — 1380 W Campbell Rd, Richardson
- Tom Thumb — 3070 N Goliad, Rockwall
- Tom Thumb — 551 Laurence Dr, Heath
- Albertsons — 1201 N Saginaw Blvd, Saginaw
- Tom Thumb — 101 Trophy Lake Dr, Trophy Club
Two other Texas stores would be sold in the merger: Randalls locations in Galveston and Houston.
The proposed plan would see 579 stores across the country sell to C&S, 166 more than Kroger and Albertsons initially had planned.
The proposed store sales are aimed at satisfying Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulators, who have heavily scrutinized the merger between the two companies.
In fact, in February the FTC sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants, saying the lack of competition would lead to higher grocery prices and lower wages for workers.
The FTC had said the companies' initial plan to divest 413 stores to C&S was “inadequate” and would give C&S a hodgepodge of unconnected stores and brands, leaving it ill-equipped to compete with a combined Kroger and Albertsons.
The FTC hearing is scheduled for August 26 in Portland.
Albertsons' and Kroger's CEOs have said that the merger will bring lower prices and the ability to better compete against Walmart and Amazon.
"You know these are the claims. And it's really difficult to believe unless you see a good detailed plan of how they intend to do it," said Dr. Kirti Sinha of the UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, is skeptical of the plan.
"I buy it like the bridge they're trying to sell me in Brooklyn," Court said. "It's the story they always tell whenever there's a huge merger. This is just really a bad idea. In the end, it will result in less convenience and higher prices for consumers."
Dr. Sinha said some grocery markets won't be able to avoid seeing less competition as a result of the merger.
"Some of the local markets are going to see less competition, right," Dr. Sinha said. "So in some cases, it may improve but some local smaller markets will become monopolies and the prices may increase. Even if it is helping you compete, is it at the cost of an employee? Is it at the cost of the consumers? Because as I said, in certain local markets the prices are going to increase and it's going to affect the wages and the bargaining power is going to go down."
What is C&S Wholesale Grocers?
C&S is a New Hampshire-based wholesale grocery supply company that operates warehouses and a select number of stores, including the Piggly Wiggly brand in the Midwest and the Carolinas and Grand Union stores in New York.
In September, the company announced that part of its agreement to purchase stores from Kroger and Albertsons included licensing rights to operate under the Albertsons brand name in Arizona, California, Colorado and Wyoming.
It's unclear what the Texas stores would be operated under, or if they would carry the C&S name.
C&S currently has three Texas distribution centers, one in Coppell and two in Houston.
WFAA reporter Kevin Reece and the Associated Press contributed to this report