St. Helens Safeway included on list of stores to be sold, Clatskanie Safeway not included

St. Helens’ Safeway location was included on a list of 579 stores across the nation and 62 across Oregon proposed for sale as part of a planned merger between parent company Albertsons Company and Kroger.

Stores would be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC, a New Hampshire-based company that operates an extensive grocery supply operation, as well as grocery stores in the Midwest, South, and Northeast. For the time being, Clatskanie's Safeway does not appear to be involved in any of the transactions.

Attempts to merge the two grocery giants began in October 2022, when the companies announced that Kroger planned to acquire Albertsons for $24.6 billion.

The announcement drew regulatory scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which requested additional information on the merger in December of that year.

This led the companies to develop a list of 413 stores that they would sell to C&S as part of the divestiture process that was submitted to the FTC in September of last year. A list of specific stores slated for sale was not released at that time, but a release indicated that 49 Kroger and Albertsons stores would be affected in Oregon.

However, in February, the FTC announced that it was suing to block the merger, alleging that it would eliminate competition between the two companies, leading to higher grocery prices for consumers.

Kroger responded with a press release, part of a concerted public relations push surrounding the proposed merger, claiming that blocking the merger would lead to higher prices and store closures.

The FTC’s opposition-led Kroger and Albertsons to reevaluate divestiture plans, leading to the new list. Proposed store sales in Oregon grew from 49 to 62, with Washington state seeing the most proposed sales at 124 and 19 states affected in total.

The proposed sale would see the QFC, Mariano’s, Carrs, and Haggen brand names transferred to C&S and the Safeway name being licensed to the company in Arizona and Colorado, but naming plans for Oregon stores were not immediately announced.

A new review by FTC officials will now proceed to determine whether the proposed divestiture plan meets statutory requirements.