The merger Albertsons wanted to do with Kroger is off…shut down by the Federal Trade Commission. Albertsons, based in Boise, is running into major financial challenges because of the failed merger. Albertsons also owns Safeway stores in Whitefish and Polson. Kroger owns Smith’s in Kalispell. The company said the merger was needed to compete with Walmart and Costco.
Albertson CEO Susan Morris tells us they need to find $1.5-million in savings, and so they’re planning to close stores and lay-off hundreds of employees. She says, going forward, they’ll have to move towards digital sales, which picked-up 21% in the third quarter of last year.
