After 19 listening sessions across the state, all the way to the trial, there was one thing that inspired me most: how Coloradans stepped up to support each other.
Over 6,000 people contacted my office to provide their input—and we listened.
I heard from workers concerned about their customers facing food deserts, consumers worried that workers would lose their union jobs, and store employees and managers worried their customers would be charged higher prices to feed their families and lose access to local food.
At the trial, Gunnison County Commissioner Liz Smith expressed her concerns about how the merger would affect her community saying, “I don’t know that we have the ability to supply our community with groceries from a single grocery store.”
I’m deeply concerned this mega-merger will result in fewer grocery stores and higher prices, particularly in rural Colorado. Evidence from the trial even showed that some Colorado communities are already suffering from a lack of competition, with Kroger admitting to raising prices in those areas.
The trial also demonstrated that Kroger and Albertsons colluded during a recent strike, agreeing not to hire each other’s workers or solicit each others’ pharmacy customers. That is illegal—and my office has zero tolerance for it.
