Why Kroger–Giant Eagle May Survive Where Albertsons Failed

High grocery prices make another supermarket merger difficult to explain. But antitrust is not simply a rule that “big is bad.”

In 30 Seconds

Grocery prices remain a major concern, so Kroger’s plan to buy Giant Eagle naturally invites comparison with its blocked Albertsons merger.

But the two transactions appear to remove competition in very different ways.

Kroger and Albertsons competed across many local grocery markets. Preserving competition required a complicated plan to transf…