The Friday Checkout: Could the Kroger-Albertsons saga become a political football?

The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.

The Biden administration may have scored this week in the battle over whether Kroger will be able to combine with Albertsons, but while the sides are now girding for a showdown in court, the high-profile merger plan has already entered the political arena.

Kroger has vowed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to lower grocery prices if its merger plan prevails. But following the Federal Trade Commission’s announcement on Monday that it wants a preliminary injunction to halt the transaction, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey reiterated his support for the government’s efforts to ensure that Americans have “a food system that works for them, not massive corporations.” Other senators have also lashed out at the merger plan.

The White House recently declared that President Biden is determined to shame companies that are not passing savings on to consumers — a reference to the grocery industry. Meanwhile, consumers continue to sense that costs at the supermarket are out of line, with one shopper telling Las Vegas TV station KTNV last month that she saw “definitely triple the prices like overnight.”

As Reuters noted on Monday, Kroger and Albertsons have a sizeable presence in the presidential battleground states of Nevada and Arizona — two of the eight states that are joining the federal government’s effort to force the grocers to terminate their merger plan. In addition, Colorado and Washington state have filed their own antitrust suits to halt the grocers’ transaction.

Could all of that election-year pressure turn out to be too much for the companies to tackle?

In case you missed it

Knapp and Takeoff ramping up e-grocery fulfillment

The companies unveiled this week an expanded partnership that aims to accelerate hardware and software innovation for online fulfillment, including through a new network-strategy oriented product suite. Retailers will be able to choose solutions for fulfillment models for high-, mid- and low-volume operations, according to the emailed announcement. Takeoff and Knapp also said they are having their sales, solutions engineering and technical product teams work more closely together.

Story continues

Walmart goes for a Wonder-ous food hall

The retailer recently opened a food hall at its store in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, — the first under its new partnership with Wonder Group, a food tech company founded by former Walmart e-commerce executive Marc Lore, according to Inc..

At that store, customers can find eight restaurants, including Limesalt, Yasas, Alanza Pizza, Tejas, Wing Trip, Burger Baby, Fred’s Meat & Bread, and Room for Dessert, the Bucks County Herald reported.

Two Wonder locations are slated to open inside Walmart stores in Ledgewood and Teterboro, New Jersey, Inc. also reported.

More grocery retail media moves

Dierbergs, a family-owned grocery chain in the St. Louis region, announced Tuesday a partnership with Swiftly that integrates digital and in-store offerings to boost personalization for shoppers. As part of the collaboration, Dierbergs is tapping Swiftly's retail media network and using the technology company to power its app, which launched earlier this month.

Number of the week: 20,000

That’s the number of stores Dollar General now has. The discounter opened its 20,000 location on Saturday and has plans to open hundreds more stores this year.

What’s ahead

Upcoming earnings

United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) releases its second-quarter results on Wednesday. BJ’s Wholesale Club reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Jobs update due

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to publish employment statistics for February on Friday, giving a look at hiring trends in the grocery industry.

Impulse find

Meditate with Lidl

The discount grocer is taking steps to have the calmest team members in the industry. Lidl US announced this week a partnership with the Calm app, which provides guided meditations and sleep stories through a subscription.

Lidl US staff members have unlimited access to Calm’s full resources, including tools to help reduce stress, improve sleep and promote overall wellbeing, according to a LinkedIn post from the grocer.

This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter.