Company Overview
Highlights
Second-largest seller of groceries in the United States (behind Wal-Mart). First grocery to incorporate bakeries and butchers under the same roof as groceries. First grocery to scientifically test food products.
In 2007, agreed to acquire 18 Scott’s Food & Pharmacy stores in Indiana from SUPERVA and 20 Farmer Jack stores in the Detroit area.
Partnered with Disney Consumer Products in 2006, giving Kroger more than 100 Disney-branded food items.
Sold Cala Foods and Bell Markets in San Francisco area to DeLano Retail Partners, also in 2006.
With 3,650 stores across the country under more than 20 brands, Kroger is the largest grocery chain in the country. It operates in the supermarket, convenience store, and club/warehouse, with brands that include not only Kroger, but Quik Stop, Kwik Shop, Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Food 4 Less, and PriceRite. The company owns about 42 food processing plants that supply its markets with some 10,000 private-label products, accounting for about a quarter of the company’s grocery sales.
Kroger has been growing through acquisition: buying Fred Meyer outright (a purchase that included the Ralphs, Smith’s, and QFC chains), and buying supermarkets from Albertson’s and Winn-Dixie in Texas. While the supermarket world is notoriously cutthroat, Kroger has been cutting prices while improving service and product selection to hang on to customers to compete with Wal-Mart Supercenters and other nontraditional grocery sellers, with some success. Wal-Mart operates Supercenters in more than half of Kroger’s markets.