BUSINESS UPDATE: Albertsons on Country Club faces closure – American Press

Albertsons on Country Club in Lake Charles may close its doors.

Albertsons and Kroger have released a list of stores they plan to sell if regulators approve a merger. This location is on the list.

Mary Kaye Eason is a juror for the Calcasieu Parish Police Department’s 8th District, which represents the area where both stores are located. She is also a shopper at Albertson’s.

“It’s the store closest to my home,” she said, “and I like the smaller size, the smaller shopping experience. I’ll miss it, but I understand the federal regulations that govern corporate mergers and the business costs that come with having two stores in close proximity.”

The list includes 578 other stores that will be transferred from the merging companies to C&S Wholesale Grocers, as well as six distribution centers and one dairy. The Albertsons location on Ryan Street is not on the list. In Louisiana, only two stores will be closed: the Country Club Albertsons and the store at 105 E. Southfield Road in Shreveport.

The merger was announced two years ago, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit to stop it because it would harm workers, shoppers, suppliers and the public. The merger affects about 20 percent of the U.S. grocery market, USA Today reported. The USDA said that if approved, one in six grocery workers would be affected. Some are unionized.