Kroger and Albertsons merger includes Acme — but not the one you're thinking of

Alan Ashworth, Akron Beacon Journal
·2 min read
Acme No. 1 in Akron and the company that operates it are not part of any deal involving Albertsons and Kroger, two industry giants negotiating a merger. Albertsons, coincidentally, owns an Acme-named chain of grocery stores that operates in Pennsylvania and East Coast states.
Acme No. 1 in Akron and the company that operates it are not part of any deal involving Albertsons and Kroger, two industry giants negotiating a merger. Albertsons, coincidentally, owns an Acme-named chain of grocery stores that operates in Pennsylvania and East Coast states.

Yes, a megamerger between two U.S. grocery giants involves a chain named Acme, but no, it's not the Acme that operates stores in Summit, Portage, Stark and Cuyahoga counties.

Phew.

That confusion arose Thursday when news broke about merger talks between the nation's two largest supermarket chains. One of them, Idaho-based Albertson's, owns a chain called ACME Markets Inc., which operates 164 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Connecticut and Maryland.

But not Ohio. And not Acme Fresh Market, based in Akron.

More:Kroger and Albertsons in talks over potential merger, reports say

Grocery store giant Kroger is acquiring rival Albertsons in $24.6 billion deal announced Friday.

Acme — the Akron one, not the Albertsons one — issued an enthusiastic confirmation it is not part of the merger and stressing its local roots.

“Acme Fresh Market is proud to be locally owned and operated — headquartered in Akron, Ohio, for over 130 years!" the company's vice president of marketing, Katie Swartz, said in an email. "We are focused on creating highly satisfied customers in our 16 stores in Northeast Ohio by offering the best deals in town and friendly and fast checkouts.”

More:Acme partners with B.A. Sweeties, opens Candy Aisle' in Stow

Kroger Co. does have stores in Ohio. Plenty of them, in fact — about 200 scattered throughout 114 Ohio municipalities.

But none in the Akron area.

Nationwide, Kroger has more than 2,700 supermarkets and more than 100 Fred Meyer Jewelers locations.

The Kroger-Albertsons coupling will create a chain with a market valuation of about $47 billion, USA Today reported.

Together, the grocers will operate about 5,000 stores in the U.S. No word yet on what effect the merger could have on food prices, which jumped again in September.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kroger and Albertsons merger include Acme — but not the one you think