LETTER: Grocery chain merger would hurt Las Vegas consumers

Your Tuesday editorial “blessing” the proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger is woefully misguided and must have been written by someone who does not shop for groceries in Las Vegas. The merger would absolutely impact prices of groceries here.

Everyone who shops gets three flyers each week showing sales, including digital coupon sales. One is from Albertsons, one is from Smith’s and one is from Smart & Final. While the editorial refers to Walmart as a competitor, it rarely places grocery items on sale and, in general, its everyday prices are higher than the sale prices for Smith’s and Albertsons. If the merger is permitted by the Federal Trade Commission, it will cost Las Vegas shoppers millions of dollars because the merged entity will not have to compete for customers through weekly discounts.

The FTC should block this anti-competitive merger, and the Nevada attorney general’s office should support the FTC position.