Is One of Maine’s Largest Grocery Store Chains in Jeopardy?

People get very picky about where they buy their groceries.

I suppose that in life, you get kind of attached to certain habits or ways of doing things. Chances are, you have fairly strong opinions about which brand of car you drive, what brand of jeans you like, and certainly where you buy your groceries. That's a hot-button topic that people can get pretty heated about.

Some folks are dyed-in-the-wool Hannaford shoppers, and that will probably never change. And of course, there are hardcore Shaw's devotees that would never consider shopping anywhere else. But is that going to change in the coming weeks/months for people who shop at Shaw's?

Shaw's parent company is merging with another grocery chain.

All 19 Shaw's stores in Maine are owned by Alberstons. At the moment, there's a lot of heat about whether or not Albertsons will be bought by Kroger in a $24+ billion deal, according to the Press Herald. It's been established in the press that there will likely be some store closures if the merger happens.

Some states could be losing 50-100 stores. This is prompting a lot of folks to ask what the fate of Maine's Shaw's locations would be. The Press Herald article indicates that not much will probably change, but it's just too soon to tell. On the other hand, a co-worker was speaking to a Shaw's employee recently and asked that very question.

That person indicated from that they had no idea what would happen, but had been hearing that Kroger's prices were cheaper and that by and large, they paid more. So it would seem some employees might be happy about this situation.

Will any of it even happen?

Even though all the parts are in place, as recently as yesterday, Washington state was trying to put the brakes on the merger, citing it could lead to higher prices, store closings, and potential layoffs. This will all have to be addressed by the FTC and get final approval.

The merger still seems set to go through in the early part of this year, and then maybe we'll get some clearer indication if this will affect one of Maine's largest grocery chains. For now, cross your fingers and hope for the best for all parties.

Betcha Kroger's and Albertson's are both on this list... Maybe even Hannaford?