Food Lion, Stop & Shop, And Giant To Merge Into One Of America's Largest Supermarket Chains

Food Lion, Stop & Shop, and Giant owners announced on June 24 that they are planning to combine these shops to create one of the largest supermarket chains in America.

According to The Washington Post, Giant and Stop & Shop are owned by a company in the Netherlands called Ahold, which is acquiring Belgium-based food retailer Delhaize. Food Lion is owned by Delhaize.

As of now, all stores are anticipated to keep their names and no stores will close. The deal is expected to be completed in 2016 and the resulting company will be called Ahold-Delhaize.

Grocery chains are finding that they need to merge in order to survive. With competition from warehouse stores like Costco, discounted grocery stores like Aldi and Trader Joe's, and retailers like Walmart and Target, these companies are having a hard time. Ahold and Delhaize are expected to save about $560 million in annual costs three years after the merger, according to The New York Times.

Combined, Ahold and Delhaize currently have 6,500 stores in the United States and Europe.