MORE Kroger-owned stores are shutting up shop as the chain confirms six more closures in October.
It comes as the company plans to re-shape its store portfolio and improve its financial performance.
A Fred Meyer retail store, owned by Kroger, will shut next month[/caption]
QFC, owned by Kroger, will shut up shop[/caption]
Six QFC or Fred Meyer grocery stores are shuttering as their parent company, Kroger, continues to cull yet more locations across the country.
Just 24 hours ago the firm announced plans to close Fred Meyer locations in Kent and Everett.
The two stores on the chopping board this time are in Lake City and Redmond.
One at 13000 Lake City Way NE and the other at 17667 NE 76th St.
Both will have their final trading days either on October 17 or 18 with the closure expected to affect almost 200 workers in each store.
Fred Meyer has insisted, however, that employees will be relocated.
In a statement, a company spokesperson said: “Fred Meyer is proud to serve communities across Washington.
“Unfortunately, due to a steady rise in theft and a challenging regulatory environment that adds significant costs, we can no longer make these stores financially viable.
“Despite doubling our safety and security investment over the past years, these challenges remain.
“Every associate will be offered a position at another location, and we remain committed to serving communities across Washington where we can operate sustainably.”
Per Grocery Drive’s analysis of notices and union announcements, a another 39 Kroger stores will shut this year.
At least 18 of these have already closed, divvied up among some of Kroger’s other brands like Harris Teeter, Pick’ n Save and Fred Meyer.
A total of 15 of these closures are Kroger-name stores.
It is unclear if these 39 closures are related to the 60-store target set for next year.
A few regions in the US have been hit particularly hard from the closures.
These include the Puget Sound region in Washington, and the metropolitan areas of Chicago and Milwaukee.
CHASING GROWTH
Kroger also plans to have completed 30 store projects by the end of 2025 despite the closures.
The company has also confirmed that it will offer jobs at other locations to employees who will be affected by the closures.
Chairman and interim CEO Ron Sargent told investors: “We are reassessing our capital allocation strategy to make sure we are spending our capital on projects that offer the highest returns.
“We are reviewing our non-core assets, we’re aggressively looking for ways to reduce costs throughout the company, and we expect to reinvest those cost savings directly into lower prices and additional store hours for our associates so that they can better serve customers.”
Sargent further noted that store openings are the biggest driver of market share for the company.
This also brings a renewed focus on e-commerce growth at Kroger, as it still remains unprofitable despite changing consumer trends.
The interim CEO continued: “Our customers are embracing the whole digital model of our business, and we are seeing improvements in profitability at an increasing rate.
“We must become profitable on the e-commerce side of the business. And we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
There are signs that things are trending in the right direction for Kroger, however.
In the first quarter of 2025, the company recorded a 15% rise in digital sales.
CFO David Kennerley added that Kroger expects a “modest financial benefit” from the store closures.
