In a listening session with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser last week, a group of Teller County residents just said no to the proposed merger of grocery conglomerates, Kroger and Albertsons,

In Woodland Park, City Market (owned by Kroger) and Safeway (owned by Albertson’s) offer competition with Walmart as a third option in the category of large grocery stores.

With a merger, the loss of competition between the two would also include the threat of job loss among the workers.

“Would a merger lead to higher prices, less variety, access, and resilience, with loss of one supply chain, and more competition? “ Weiser asked. “If we believe this merger violates the anti-trust laws, I have the authority and the obligation to bring a lawsuit to stop this merger from happening.”

Looking at the past, Weiser noted that the merger between Safeway and Albertsons a few years ago resulted in the closure of some stores of the latter.

Many in the audience felt the merger was a done deal. For instance, said Kelly Strong, distributors for Kroger and Safeway, DPI and KeHe, respectively, closed on a deal to merge June 20.

“As a result, both distributors must feel the merger is a foregone conclusion,” said Strong, Woodland Park entrepreneur and founder of Blue Moon Goodness, a line of gluten-free soups.

Weiser acknowledged that he was unaware of the distributor merger.

“Every time I go to one of these events, I learn something,” Weiser said.

Among Strong’s wholesale customers is Mountain Naturals, a small Woodland Park grocery store that markets products by local growers, farmers, and artisans.

Laurie Glauth, co-owner with Jan Green, of Mountain Naturals, spoke of the domino effect of the closure of an anchor store in a shopping center.

“A merger will only make it worse,” she said. “It’s already rigged on so many levels.”

Glauth added that consumers need competition at the distribution level, not consolidation.

“These large companies, like Kroger and Safeway, are trying to integrate their business vertically to keep more for themselves,” she said. “The net result will be fewer choices, higher prices, barriers for new suppliers and small farms being left behind as factory farming will continue to grow and swallow the little family operators.”

If the merger were to result in the closure of City Market, the smaller store, Gold Hill Square South would lose an anchor, said Mark Sievers, a retired attorney.

“All of the other businesses in that shopping center would be hurt by the loss of traffic due to the closure of City Market,” he said.

Sievers asked who in Weiser’s office would handle the details.

“We have an anti-trust division in our office, part of our consumer protection section,” Weiser said. “We do not have to follow the federal government; we can file a lawsuit on our own. But I am committed to protecting competition. But, if they convince me, based on the evidence, that this merger harms competition, then I will bring a case.”

Bonnie Sumner shops at City Market which carries local produce advertised with “Colorado Proud” signs.

“People who shop at City Market feel comfortable with the people who serve us. They know our names,” Sumner said. “And they help people who are disabled.”

While there is some turnover in the staff, there is a specific culture at City Market, Sumner added. “New people seem to understand the complexion of the store,” she said.

Carl Andersen, who owns several businesses including a construction company, expressed concerns about the potential for a loss of jobs in a county with 28,000 residents.

“Front Range areas are not as impacted by one business shutting down as a small community is,” he said. “We need protection in keeping those jobs. If you lose one store, another one is not going to hire all those people who lose their jobs; that’s not going to happen.”

In Andersen’s view, small towns have different dynamics.

“The Amazon factor of bringing everything under one roof does not work in a small town,” he said.

In Woodland Park, the two stores differ in some of the inventory, said Trevor Phipps. He also contends that prices are cheaper at City Market, adding that people come from as far away as Hartsel and other remote areas to shop there.

“If that store closes, it could create a food desert for people in rural areas,” Phipps said.

In every merger there are winners and losers, Sievers said.

“In every merger I’ve been involved in, the winner is the one who survives; it’s often driven by the executive compensation package. Who is driving the merger?” he said.

Kroger is taking over the Albertsons stores, Weiser said, “but what the combined company will look like, as far as corporate culture and executive package, I do not know.”

Weiser is touring the state, listening to people in cities and towns, gathering opinions about the proposed merger.

“Every community is different,” Weiser said. “This is democracy in action.”

Residents can weigh in on the subject at coag.gov/grocerymerger.

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