Editor's note
Larry DeBoer, formerly at Purdue, is the recognized authority on Indiana’s property tax. When questions arise, it’s Larry who is called. We do the same on this week’s Who Gets What? podcast. You can get those answers at your favorite podcast site or at mortonjohn.libsyn.com.
The courts have said “NO” to Kroger’s $25 billion offer to buy/merge with Albertson’s grocery stores. It doesn’t matter Kroger’s is not available in many Indiana towns and Albertson’s is non-existent in Indiana. This has national implications according to the courts and experts on monopoly practices.

To the courts and the experts, K and A, if I might use fewer keyboard strikes, are traditional grocery stores. The judgements were made on that basis.

It’s a good basis if you look at the published data The latest numbers I found showed the top 20 grocery chains had two-thirds (66.6%) of U.S. grocery sales in 2016, up from two-fifths (39.2%) in 1992.

Which brings us to the question, What is a grocery store? I’ve bought bookcases and tables from Aldi’s. I got mushrooms, meat, and ice cream from Walmart and a camping stool from Albertson’s many years ago.

Costco is an adventure in shopping with patio furniture, pants, fresh fish, bagels, and booze. Costco is the store where finding what you want is made exciting by a staff that moves products around frequently, forcing you to pass inviting items not on your shopping list. Alternatively, without explanation, a staple in your fridge is no longer available.

Once up a time, you carried a list of desired products to the grocer’s where a clerk gathered your items and asked about your attractive daughter. Today, you visit Whole Foods, Fresh Market or Fresh Thyme, places where choices are “curated” for the discerning, well-heeled shopper. No one knows you or your indecisive daughter/son.

K/A is not to be until a new set of judges, legislators, and administrators in Washington reconsider the anti-trust laws. That could be tomorrow.

The world has changed and will continue to do so. It does not mean the concept of monopoly is wrong. It does mean its definition and contemporary examples must be restated.

Or we can just leave it all alone and let the businesses take care of themselves. Kroger sells alcoholic products in Indiana, but not in all states in which it operates. Some places CVS, the drug chain, also offers beer, wine, and hard liquor for those “medicinal needs” ordinary pharmaceuticals may not ameliorate.

Kroger is the go-to-place for flowers when the anniversary is remembered on the day of occurrence. Amazon and Kroger both offer delivery to your home just as did the bicycle-riding youth from that 19th century grocer.

Successful businesses grow, often too big for their managerial britches. They try to adapt to consumer changes and the changes of their competitors, but those adaptations can fail. Government is there to protect consumers and workers. We’ll see if this current administration believes a K/A merger is consistent with the public interest.
Morton J. Marcus is an economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His column appears in Indiana newspapers, and his views can be followed his podcast.

© 2025 Morton J. Marcus

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