Freddy's is Portland's most popular grocery store
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Fred Meyer — known by many Portlanders as Freddy's — wins the popularity contest among local grocery stores, with 29.9% of the market as of last year.
- Safeway is a distant second and Walmart third, according to new data from Chain Store Guide, which tracks the retail and food service industries.
Why it matters: There's a big grocery store merger looming that would shuffle this chart significantly. Albertsons, which owns Safeway, wants to combine with Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer and QFC.
- That could give the combined company a 52.2% market share in Portland.
Of note: Oregon's Department of Justice joined a failed lawsuit to stop Albertsons from giving a $4 billion payout to shareholders as part of the proposal.
- A spokesperson says the department is continuing to investigate "the competitive effects of the proposed transaction" around the state.
The intrigue: While the proposed merger could have a dramatic effect here, the parent companies are focused on battling national giant Walmart, as well as Amazon's growing role in groceries.
- Walmart dominates in U.S. grocery shopping, with a 25% market share, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Erin Davis report.
Stop talking and eat! Portland's local shops fall in the "other" category that takes 8.1% of the market. A few of many special spots:
- Providore: High-end local
- Kaah Market: Latin American specialties
- Alberta Co-op: Founded by neighbors 25 years ago; you too can be an owner
- Good Neighbor Market: Black bread, frozen pelmeni and candy by the pound