These are the Vons, Pavilions, Albertsons to be sold in California under proposed merger
Supermarket giant Kroger Co. announced plans to offload more than 60 supermarkets in California as part of its planned merger with Albertsons.
The 63 supermarkets — primarily in Southern California — are among hundreds of stores, distribution centers and plants on a list the companies released on Tuesday identifying which ones it plans to sell to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The sale, however, would occur only if federal regulators approve Kroger’s bid to buy its smaller rival Albertsons.
The grocery store chains proposed to sell off a package of stores and other facilities to allay regulators’ concerns about the megamerger, upping the number to 579 from 413 in April after the Federal Trade Commission blocked the deal this year.
The sale of hundreds of stores and facilities was valued at $2.9 billion in April.
The 63 California stores listed consist of 15 Albertsons locations, including two in Huntington Beach; 31 Vons locations, including the store on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, as well as the location on West 3rd Street; 16 Pavilions locations; and one Safeway in the Bay Area.
A merger between two grocery giants could lead to the sale of many Vons stores in California. One in Westchester has served as a gathering place for the community since 1952.
The companies have started notifying workers at affected locations, Chief Executive Rodney McMullen wrote in a memo to employees Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.
Workers will become employees of C&S Wholesale Grocers after the transaction closes, McMullen wrote. C&S has committed to transferring pay and health plans and assuming all collective bargaining agreements, he added.
In February, the FTC announced it was suing to block the merger, arguing the joining of the two businesses would obliterate competition, leading to higher prices and lower-quality products for millions of Americans.
The grocers, which announced their $25-billion merger in October 2022, are sharing the list ahead of a trial expected in August that will determine the fate of their deal.
A coalition of United Food and Commercial Workers union locals in California has opposed the merger, organizing protests and meetings with grocery company representatives as well as state and federal regulators.
“We remain focused on stopping the proposed mega-merger for the same reasons we have stated since it was first announced over 20 months ago — because we know it would harm workers, it would harm shoppers, it would harm suppliers and communities, and it is illegal,” five UFCW locals said in a statement Tuesday.
Kroger and Albertsons say they need the merger to compete with larger, nonunionized rivals Amazon.com, Walmart and Costco. The companies have pledged to invest $500 million to cut prices and $1 billion to raise worker wages and benefits, in addition to $1.3 billion to improve Albertsons stores.
Kathy Finn, a longtime leader at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 in Southern California, said this year that the proposed merger would “impact California as much or more than any other state.”
UFCW Local 770 represents nearly 30,000 members in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties in the grocery, cannabis, retail drug, healthcare and packing industries.
Other stores listed for sale include 124 supermarkets in Washington state, 101 in Arizona and 91 in Colorado.
The full list:
Vons — 5671 Kanan Rd, Agoura Hills
Pavilions — 9467 W Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills
Pavilions — 1110 W Alameda Ave, Burbank
Vons — 301 N Pass Ave, Burbank
Vons — 820 Arneill Rd, Camarillo
Vons — 6951 El Camino Real, Carlsbad
Supermarket giant Kroger Co. announced plans to offload more than 60 supermarkets in California as part of its planned merger with Albertsons.
Vons — 3439 Via Montebello, Carlsbad
Albertsons — 200 E Sepulveda Blvd, Carson
Vons — 185 E 17th St, Costa Mesa
Pavilions — 11030 Jefferson Blvd, Culver City
Albertsons — 33601 Del Obispo St, Dana Point
Vons — 2606 Del Mar Heights Rd, Del Mar
Albertsons — 2899 Jamacha Rd, El Cajon
Albertsons — 7201 Yorktown Ave, Huntington Beach
Albertsons — 16600 Bolsa Chica St, Huntington Beach
Vons — 500 E Manchester Blvd, Inglewood
Vons — 3233 Foothill Blvd, La Crescenta
Pavilions — 7544 Girard Ave, La Jolla
Vons — 78271 Hwy 111, La Quinta
Pavilions — 600 N Pacific Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach
Albertsons — 1500 N H St, Lompoc
Vons — 1820 Ximeno Ave, Long Beach
Vons — 11322 Los Alamitos Blvd, Los Alamitos
Albertsons — 3901 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles
Vons — 3118 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles
Vons — 3461 W 3rd St, Los Angeles
Vons — 1430 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles
Vons — 6571 W 80th St, Los Angeles
Vons — 4033 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Studio City
Vons — 18439 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana
Vons — 7789 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga
Vons — 6040 Telegraph Rd, Ventura
Pavilions — 29211 Heathercliff Rd, Malibu
Vons — 410 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach
Pavilions — 4365 Glencoe Ave, Marina del Rey
Vons — 2039 Verdugo Blvd, Montrose
Albertsons — 730 Quintana Rd, Morro Bay
Kroger’s $24.6-billion acquisition of Albertsons is the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history. The FTC sues, alleging the deal is anti-competitive.
Albertsons — 541 S Reino Rd, Newbury Park
Pavilions — 2660 San Miguel Dr, Newport Beach
Pavilions — 1000 Bayside Dr, Newport Beach
Albertsons — 9022 Balboa Blvd, Northridge
Vons — 17380 Sunset Blvd, Pacific Palisades
Albertsons — 42095 Washington St, Palm Desert
Albertsons — 1751 N Sunrise Way Ste 1, Palm Springs
Vons — 4733 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs
Pavilions — 7 Peninsula Ctr, Palos Verdes Peninsula
Albertsons — 804 Avenida Pico, San Clemente
Pavilions — 989 Avenida Pico, San Clemente
Pavilions — 3850 Valley Centre Dr, San Diego
Vons — 11986 Bernardo Plaza Dr, San Diego
Vons — 1702 Garnet Ave, San Diego
Vons — 2495 Truxtun Rd Ste 100, San Diego
Safeway — 1499 Washington Ave, San Leandro
California is preparing a lawsuit to block Kroger’s $24.6-billion acquisition of Albertsons on concerns the deal could hurt consumers and workers.
Vons — 1440 W 25th St, San Pedro
Vons — 163 S Turnpike Rd, Santa Barbara
Vons — 9643 Mission Gorge Rd, Santee
Pavilions — 1101 Pacific Coast Hwy, Seal Beach
Pavilions — 14845 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks
Albertsons — 543 Sweetwater Rd, Spring Valley
Vons — 25850 The Old Rd, Stevenson Ranch
Pavilions — 6534 Platt Ave, West Hills
Pavilions — 8969 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood
Albertsons — 23893 Clinton Keith Rd, Wildomar
Source: Kroger
Bloomberg contributed to this report.
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