Ten Harris Teeter stores in the greater Baltimore/DC region are being sold to the owner of Piggly Wiggly, a prominent supermarket company in the South and Midwest.
Harris Teeter has been owned by Kroger since 2014. Now Kroger is planning to merge with Albertsons, which means more than 400 stores nationwide will be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers.
That includes 10 Harris Teeter locations in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Kroger has not confirmed which locations would be affected.
There are 18 Harris Teeter stores in Maryland. That includes two in Baltimore City, one in Columbia, one in Severna Park, and one in the Ellicott City area.
C&S Wholesale Grocers supplies to more than 7,500 markets and stores, including Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union stores.
C&S said in a statement:
We have a strong foundation of retail experience with our Piggly Wiggly® franchise and corporate-owned stores in the Midwest and Carolinas and the reopening of our iconic Grand Union — totaling more than 160 retail locations — all of which demonstrate C&S’s ability to deliver solid retail performance.
The Associated Press notes that Kroger and Albertsons are merging in hopes of better competing with Walmart, Amazon and other new grocery providers.
