What could be the largest grocery store merger in US history is at a do or die point

with closing arguments this week in a hearing over whether the deal could harm

consumers and raise prices by blocking competition.

Croker's nearly $25 billion purchase of Albertsons would bring together a number of well-known

grocery chains under one company, chains like Safeway, Harris Teeter, Ralphs, and Smiths.

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission

filed a lawsuit to stop the deal,

arguing it would eliminate competition.

The companies say the merger would actually lower prices allowing them to compete with industry titans like Walmart Target Amazon and Costco

All this as both 2024 presidential campaigns focus their attention on

finding ways to lower food prices that have shot up nearly 30% since 2019.

Jacqueline Pizer is the retail reporter at the Washington Post.

Jacqueline, give us some context.

Where are Kroger and Albertsons these companies

on the list of grocery chains in this country?

And how much space do they occupy?

Yeah, so Kroger is the number two in sales for groceries across the country.

And Albert since is about number four tied with Amazon, which includes Whole Foods.

So they're two of the largest grocery chains throughout the

entire country and then combining together would make them still number two and

still a bit less than Walmart and sales but they'd still be a pretty big

be a big behemoth when it comes to traditional supermarkets.

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