Albertsons starts to assemble merger team, names SpinCo planning head

Signs seem to point positively on the potential Kroger, Albertsons merger, as Albertsons continues to assemble its team around the $24.6 billion merger, according to reporting from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Former Acme Markets President Jim Perkins was recently named to lead the planning for the creation of SpinCo., the standalone public company which will potentially contain some of the merger's divested stores (predicted to be some 100-375 stores). Perkins currently is the Mid-Atlantic division president of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons. Perkins will continue to serve as executive vice president of retail operations and special projects for the retailer.

Last week, Albertsons announced Tom Moriarty would be joining the company as executive vice president and legal counsel. During his tenure with CVS Health, Moriarty oversaw all legal and regulatory functions within the company, including CVS Health’s $78 billion acquisition of Aetna. 

Perkins has more than 30 years of experience in the grocery industry, starting in 1982 as a courtesy clerk at Albertsons. He steadily advanced in the company and was named president of Malvern-headquartered Acme Markets in 2013. Perkins was appointed president of the Mid-Atlantic division in September 2020 when it was formed through the consolidation of Albertsons’ Acme Markets and Eastern divisions. 

Related:Kroger, Albertsons merger backlash intensifies with opposition from consumer group

Tom Lofland, who is currently Mid-Atlantic senior vice president of merchandising and marketing,  will take over for Perkins as Mid-Atlantic division president, according to Albertsons. Lofland started with Albertsons in 1990 and was previously president of the company Eastern Division.

The list of those against the $24.6 billion Kroger, Albertsons merger continues to grow. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer advocacy organization, is now calling on the Federal Trade Commission to block the merger, stating it “would result in fewer grocery stores and higher food prices — negatively impacting food and nutrition security for consumers around the country.”

In its call for FTC rejection, CSPI said the merger would control 22% of the food retail market and make it the nation’s second-largest food retailer. In addition, post-merger the combined companies plus the largest food retailer, Walmart, would control 55% of the food retail market.

The CSPI also said it was joining the “Stop the Merger” coalition, which is a national and state-level effort to oppose the deal between Kroger and Albertsons and is backed by more than 100 organizations.

Related:Largest union officially rejects Kroger, Albertsons merger