A recent SupermarketNews article reported Kroger and Albertsons plan to merge in a deal valued at $24.6 billion.

According to the piece, the merger will combine two of the country’s largest supermarket retailers, “creating a national company with 4,996 stores, 66 distribution centers, 52 manufacturing plants, 2,015 fuel centers and more than 710,000 associates across 48 states and the District of Columbia.”

 The merged entity also would be the fifth-largest retail pharmacy operator, with 3,972 pharmacy locations.

Given the histories of these two organizations, we’d expect the merger will result in a “bigger and better” solution!