New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement that will help upstate New York residents of several cities maintain choices and competitive prices when shopping at supermarkets.
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In an agreement with the companies that run the Schenectady based Price Chopper supermarket chain and the Williamsville based Tops Friendly Market supermarket chain, Attorney General James secured the divestment of 11 stores located in New York in connection with the companies’ proposed merger.
This agreement resolves an eight month investigation that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) conducted alongside the Federal Trade Commission.
The companies operating Price Chopper and Tops announced their proposed merger in February 2021.
While both companies have a large presence in the state with approximately 150 supermarkets each the companies largely do not compete head-to-head in most areas.
However, in the regions where the divestitures will occur the Capital Region, Central New York, the Mohawk Valley, North Country, and the Southern Tier the OAG found that the merger would have eliminated a direct supermarket competitor; leaving a single supermarket in three cities and, at most, one to two other supermarkets in the remaining cities.
By requiring the parties to sell the Tops stores in those cities to C and S, the largest private wholesale grocery distributor in the country, the OAG will help maintain competition in those areas.
Additionally, today’s agreement includes notice provisions that will enable the OAG to monitor additional acquisitions by the companies and help avoid future harm to competition.
Attorney General James also considered the effects of the merger on New York’s labor market. During the investigation, the OAG met with representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), the union which represents thousands of Tops employees. The UFCW has not only come out in support of the merger, but also the agreement secured by Attorney General James that protects workers’ rights and benefits. ■