Albertsons exec: C&S Wholesale Grocers will be ready to compete with Kroger, Albertsons

At first, Susan Morris, chief operating officer at Albertsons, was disappointed when she learned stores would have to be sold as part of the Kroger, Albertsons merger.

Morris, however, told the court last week that she warmed up to the idea and is ready to make the stores acquired by C&S Wholesale Grocers unique to Kroger and Albertsons, according to a Bloomberg report.

Morris was questioned by the Federal Trade Commission on Sept. 5 at the Kroger, Albertsons antitrust merger trial in Portland, Ore.

She acknowledged sending an email to Albertsons’ executives expressing her concerns about the divestiture plans when the merger was announced in the fall of 2022.

However, Morris now believes the merger and everything that comes with it is what is needed to increase competition in the grocery industry.

Albertsons announced in July that Morris would become president and CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers, which will acquire 579 Kroger and Albertsons stores if the merger is allowed to go through.

Morris became executive vice president and chief operating officer at Albertsons in January 2018 after holding a variety of roles at the Boise, Idaho-based grocer. She has more than 38 years of experience in the grocery retail industry.

At the FTC trial, Morris expressed excitement about leading C&S Wholesale Grocers and said she sees it as an opportunity to run an operation separate from Kroger and Albertsons.

C&S will have to change the name of 286 stores in the deal, which will take place over a two-year timeframe, Bloomberg said. 

Morris told the court she played a role in the store name changes when Albertsons acquired American Stores in 1998 and Safeway in 2015, but she denied any direct involvement in the purchases.

In that Safeway deal, more than 200 stores were sold to Haggen in Washington, and the operation went bankrupt.

Morris said C&S has plans to grow the business once the 579 stores are acquired.