If true, it will be very tight lipped amongst the executive ranks. Nobody store or potentially even division level will know. However, I do believe there was truth to there being talks. I have no idea if it will come to fruition, but although Target is the larger corp by market value, I believe Kroger wanted to be the one acquiring them which I haven't seen any analyst actually mention. Terms of a M&A this large would surely take some time given the current status of each companies' credit, their respective balance sheets, & post-M&A plans. There is one thing for certain, however. Kroger needs a large non-foods shift away from being a pure grocer and they know this. Margins will only get slimmer on foods, and in order to keep their status they'll need to branch out substantially.
The union would scan out the entire inventory of KY and would bend over so hard they'd need chiropractors.
I think the whole thing is speculation.
"Kroger is ok-ish at grocery and terrible at GM. Target is ok-ish at GM and terrible at grocery. Wouldn't it be crazy if they got together to fight Walmart?"
What would happen with the Union if this happened? Even our Admin was asking about this.
It depends entirely on the details of the merger. Notice of the sale would have to go to any affected union groups where they can usually bargain. Due to the sheer size of Kroger and Target, I believe they'd probably remain intact without any changes as the PR nightmare that would ensue is not worth the hassle. Now, the contracts could definitely be renegotiated, however. There may be a subsequent push to unionize Target employees in areas of overlap subsequently or de-unionize in areas that are right to work states, it really depends on how the management teams from both sides of the table want to pursue.
Now, there's been a decent amount of time since the last bit of news has been released related to major changes to Kroger. I'd assume there's probably something in the works now, but what it is we probably won't know as management teams are more concerned with keeping the talks private since that alleged leak.
It's probably true that they're talking. Kroger has been eager for another acquisition for a while now. Whether or not it would happen is another. The amount of debt that would be acquired is risky. Not too mention the logistics of the transition. Both companies have a similar number of stores. imagine the cost of transitioning that number of stores to either Target or Kroger systems or a mixture of both.
It could be successful if they strategize correctly and plan carefully, but it could also just saddle one company with the debt of 2 and be unable to increase sales enough to pay it off.
