Both Albertsons Cos. and The Kroger Co. are moving on from the chief executive officers who were at the helm for their failed $24.6 billion merger deal.

Rising in importance over the last eight years, the ability to provide customer savings via pricing, promotions and rewards now accounts for 38% of a grocery retailer’s long-term success.

The nation’s second-largest conventional supermarket operator took a good first step in the post-merger period by topping the high end of Wall Street’s earnings estimate for its fiscal 2024 third quarter and posting increased net and identical sales.

With the merger pursuit now over, Kroger said the company is “ready to deploy its capacity” with a “strengthened balance sheet” that will it to resume share repurchases after a more than two-year pause.

Albertsons announced the breach-of-contract suit against Kroger immediately after reporting its termination of the merger deal.

The $24.6 billion merger deal between Kroger and Albertsons has been blocked by a federal court in Oregon and a state court in Washington.

Kroger sees the combination with Albertsons — the largest-ever US conventional supermarket merger deal — as a way to build the scale to better compete with mass chains as well as discount grocers and online retailers.

Albertsons was voted the ‘People’s Voice’ winner for best shopping and retail app in the 28th annual Webby Awards earlier this year.

The megaretailers will pause their merger until five days after the Denver District Court rules on the merits of an antitrust case centered around the acquisition.

WunderEggs, a plant-based hardboiled egg formulated from almonds, cashews, coconut milk, turmeric extract and black salt, bested 60 participants and won first place.