[ProtectOurFreedom]

I thought it was to improve economies of scale, streamline operations, cut costs and lower prices.

[Dr. Sivana]

I thought it was to improve economies of scale, streamline operations, cut costs and lower prices.

You get diminishing returns on economies of scale once you get past a certain size. Here in Phoenix, Fry's (Kroger) is the big dog with Albertson's/Safeway a distant second. Together they control about 2/3rds of the Phoenix area (smaller operations include Basha's/Food City/AJ's, Aldi, WinCo, Smart & Final, a handful of Hispanic places). Yes, the smaller operations might scramble to compete on price, but when Kroger bought out the two largest in Rockford, IL (Logli and Hilander), prices went up immediately. Monopolies tend to do that; ask the Epipen people. (Kroger eventually sold the entity to Schnuck's as they carved up territory in a trade).