Eleven Southern Arizona Albertsons and Safeway stores could be sold in an effort to win approval for a merger between Kroger, the parent company of Fry’s, and Albertsons.
The stores are on a list of 101 Arizona locations that are planned for divestiture to C&S Wholesale Grocers. No Arizona Fry’s locations were listed.
Two Arizona Kroger distribution centers, in Phoenix and Tolleson, were also on the potential sale list.
In all, Kroger identified 579 stores that could be sold across the country.
The Southern Arizona stores that may be impacted if the proposed $24.6 billion merger is approved are:
Albertsons
1350 N. Silverbell Road, north of Speedway
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9595 E. Broadway, near Harrison Road
7300 N. La Cholla Blvd., near Ina Road
That would leave just three Albertsons stores in the Tucson area at 2854 N. Campbell Ave., near Glenn Street; 5085 N. La Canada Dr., near River Road; and 6600 E. Grant Road, near Tanque Verde Road.
Safeway
6360 E. Golf Links Road, near Wilmot Road
9050 E. Valencia Road, near Nexus Road
9460 E. Golf Links Road, near Harrison Road
9100 N. Silverbell Road, near Twin Peaks Road
13380 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way, near Colossal Cave Road
1305 W. Duval Mine Road, near La Cañada Drive, in Green Valley
12122 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd., near Tangerine Road, in Oro Valley
2190 E. Fry Blvd. in Sierra Vista
Only 10 Safeway locations would remain in the Tucson area: 1940 E. Broadway, near Campbell Avenue; 1551 W. St. Mary’s Road, near Silverbell Road; 2140 W. Grant Road, near Silverbell Road; 1767 E. Prince Road, near Campbell Avenue; 2940 W. Valencia Road, near Cardinal Avenue; 4752 E. Sunrise Drive, near Swan Road; 7177 E. Tanque Verde Road, near Sabino Canyon Road; 7110 N. Oracle Road, near Ina Road; 9125 E. Tanque Verde Road, near Catalina Highway; and 10380 E. Broadway Blvd., near Houghton Road.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who joined a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission to block the merger, voiced her displeasure Tuesday about the decision to release the list of stores that could be sold.
“I do not appreciate the shenanigans being played by Kroger and Albertsons today, by publicizing, for the first time, the precise store locations for their proposed divestiture list,” she said. “If their goal is to give a public appearance of this merger being a done deal — this couldn’t be further from the truth. I am proud to stand with the FTC and my fellow attorneys general in suing to block this anticompetitive, anti-consumer and anti-worker merger.”
Understanding the merger
Earlier this year, the Associated Press reported that the companies were planning to sell 579 stores in markets where they overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire grocery supplier and operator, for $2.9 billion.
Though C&S has previously said it would keep all of the stores open and that it would honor labor agreements, the merger has been met with much resistance, the AP reported.
In February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block the effort between the grocery giants, saying the lack of competition would lead to higher grocery prices and lower wages for workers, the AP reported.
Kroger and Albertsons say the merger, announced in October 2022, is necessary so they can better compete with Walmart, Amazon and other big rivals, the AP reported.
To see all of the stores that may be divested, visit tucne.ws/mergerlist.
The Associated Press and reporter Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services contributed to this story.
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