During #Antitrust Trial, Exec Admits #Kroger Jacked Up Milk and Egg Prices Above Inflation

"The U.S. #grocery sector—dominated by Kroger, #Walmart, and a handful of other major companies—profited hugely during the Covid-19 pandemic as corporate giants exploited supply chain disruptions to aggressively jack up prices."

Jake Johnson
Aug 28, 2024

"A top Kroger executive admitted under questioning from a Federal Trade Commission attorney on Tuesday that the grocery chain raised its egg and milk prices above the rate of inflation, a concession that came as no surprise to economists who have been highlighting #corporate #PriceGouging across the U.S. economy in recent years.

"Andy Groff, Kroger's senior director for pricing, said during a court hearing on the FTC's legal challenge to the company's proposed acquisition of #Albertsons—its primary competitor—that Kroger's objective is to 'pass through our inflation to consumers.'

"Groff's comment came in response to questioning about an internal email he sent to other Kroger executives in March. In that note, Groff observed that 'on milk and eggs, retail inflation has been significantly higher than cost inflation.'

"A Kroger spokesperson told Bloomberg in a statement that the email was 'cherry-picked' and 'does not reflect Kroger's decadeslong business model to lower prices for customers by reducing its margins.'

"But Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at the Groundwork Collaborative, noted Wednesday that 'execs all over the economy were saying this stuff on their earning calls back in 2021.'

"'This was not a secret,' Mabud added."

Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/kroger-egg-prices

#CorporatePriceGouging #Inflation #CEOPay #ObsceneProfits #FoodInsecurity #PeopleAndPlanetOverProfits