Kroger has had a rough 2024. The uncertain fate of its controversial plan to merge with Albertsons grabbed headlines this year, and the chain also faced financial pressures as well as a slew of new challenges.
In February, the Federal Trade Commission came out swinging against Kroger’s effort to merge with Albertsons, filing a lawsuit to block the deal on the grounds that the combination would hurt shoppers and workers.
Later in the year, Kroger defended the merger during trials in Oregon, Colorado and Washington state that cast a spotlight on the challenges it faces in running its business. The company is now awaiting decisions in those cases.
Kroger also grappled with a slew of lawsuits, top-level executive changes and other distractions even as it faces powerful competition from grocery giants including Amazon, Walmart and Costco. Kroger has seen considerable disruption in its C-suite this year, as former CFO Gary Millerchip departed for Costco and the company’s top marketing official, Stuart Aitken, said he would leave at the end of December to become president and CEO of Circana.
The grocer is also facing a lawsuit that claims it harmed workers by unlawfully colluding with Albertsons during a strike in early 2022. And in August, a pair of U.S. senators accused the company of using electronic shelf labels to push up prices and invade consumers’ privacy — accusations the grocer denies.
Here’s a roundup of some of the key issues Kroger has faced during the past 12 months.
