Kroger’s Huge Profit Surge Sparks Controversy Amid Accusations of Price Gouging & Merger Plans

Supermarket titan Kroger has greatly benefited from hiking prices to offload its “inflation onto consumers,” as stated by a company executive. This has resulted in significant profits for the $37 billion company, as shown by their quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday.

The company, currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its proposed acquisition of competitor Albertsons, disclosed that it garnered $466 million in the second quarter of 2024, with year-to-date earnings reaching $1.4 billion. This is nearly twice the earnings compared to the previous year.

The governmental watchdog group, Accountable.US, has accused Kroger of profiting from “escalating costs” that are burdening families all over the United States. These costs, it claims, are not a result of inflation but rather “greedflation”: the strategy of deliberately maintaining high prices to boost profits, even though the increased labor costs and supply chain challenges from the coronavirus pandemic have eased.

“Should consumers bear the brunt of corporate greed?” questioned the group.

The Biden administration is making efforts to block Kroger’s proposed merger with Albertsons, which, according to the FTC, would lead to “an outright monopoly” in certain communities where Albertsons stores would likely shut down.

The FTC has voiced concerns about the potential rise in prices at stores that already engage in price inflation and would no longer have to contend with Albertsons, as well as probable job cuts for numerous workers. For instance, in two counties in Southern California, 115 out of 159 Albertsons stores are located within two miles of a Kroger, leading to worries among unionized employees that their stores could be deemed “superfluous” after the potential merger.

“Consumers have already paid a hefty price due to corporate price inflation, yet Kroger seeks to exacerbate the situation by dominating the market to maximize profits.”

Accountable.US stated on Thursday that the merger could result in a $334 million wage loss for nearly 1 million grocery workers.

“The Biden-Harris administration is prioritizing American families by opposing the ill-conceived merger between Kroger and Albertsons,” said Liz Zelick, director of the group’s Economic Security and Corporate Power Program. “Consumers have already paid a hefty price due to corporate price inflation, yet Kroger seeks to exacerbate the situation by dominating the market to maximize profits. Make no mistake: If the merger proceeds, it will lead to many families suffering from increased prices and fewer store locations.”

Recently, Kroger’s senior director of pricing, Andy Groff, admitted during an FTC interrogation that the grocery chain had escalated the prices of milk and eggs beyond the inflation rate.

For years, the company has also employed “dynamic pricing” in some of its stores, altering prices throughout the day, and has allied with an artificial intelligence company to create software that could customize the price of products for individual shoppers by gathering their personal data.

Despite reporting substantial financial growth, Accountable.US claims that Kroger executives have “demonstrated their willingness to exploit their customers to enhance their profits.”