U.S. District Court in Denver today ordered King Soopers to end its Buy Groceries/Get Gas program, which gave shoppers discounts on gasoline purchases.
The supermarket chain since January has waged a court battle launched by gas-station operators on the Western Slope who claimed the grocery chain was selling gasoline below cost.
A section of a nearly 70-year-old Colorado law prohibits retailers from selling gas below their wholesale costs. The law was intended to protect small businesses from unscruplous practices of larger rivals. Twenty-three other states have similar laws to Colorado’s Unfair Practices Act.
“We believe our program complies with the law, however the Federal District Court ruled that the Buy Groceries/Get Gas program violated the Colorado law …” King Soopers said in a statement issued today. “As a result of this ruling, we are immediately changing our program to abide by the court’s decision.”
Customers who have earned fuel rewards they haven’t redeemed will be eligible for “alternative rewards” that will be explained on register receipts issued before Dec. 15, the company stated.
The court’s ruling does not alter the King Sooper’s ability to offer its longstanding discount of 3 cents per gallon of gas.
The case against King Sooper’s involved Parish Oil and Ray Moore Tire & Petroleum in Montrose. The two small gas-station owners claimed that their businesses were jeopardized by grocery chain’s discount program.
