Santa Fe stores not on list of those being sold as part of Kroger, Albertsons merger

Jul. 10—Kroger and Albertsons Cos. on Tuesday made public the list of locations the grocery chains plan to sell as part of their planned merger, though none in Santa Fe appear to be affected.

The list outlines the 579 stores that will be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers — which manages the Piggly Wiggly brand — plus six distribution centers and one dairy plant. Washington state took the biggest hit, with 124 stores being sold as part of the merger.

New Mexico’s nine Albertsons-owned stores being sold are largely in Albuquerque — with four locations being listed as part of the transaction. One Albertsons each in Taos, Los Lunas and Rio Rancho also are being sold. Two Safeways — which operate under the Albertsons banner — in Farmington are being let go.

While no Santa Fe stores are being sold, Albertsons through its subsidiary United Supermarkets manages two Albertsons Market stores and one Market Street location in the area. Kroger, meanwhile, manages two Smith’s stores.

The merger between Kroger and Albertsons is valued at roughly $25 billion, bringing together two of the country’s largest supermarket companies.

That has caught the attention and criticism of some in New Mexico. In February, the Federal Trade Commission, joined by state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, sued to block the multibillion-dollar merger between the two companies.

Last August, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver signed a letter with six other secretaries of state sent to the FTC rejecting the merger, arguing that if the two companies combined, it would mean “no competitive incentive to bring down prices and … consumers will be powerless to hold the company accountable to promises of keeping prices low.”