ONE of the largest supermarket chains in the US – Kroger – is undergoing some major changes in coming months.
The three radical store changes announced are intended to improve the customer experience, despite having several closed down.
Kroger is an American retail company that has been operating supermarkets since 1883[/caption]
The Kroger Co. is one of the world’s largest grocery retailers[/caption]
Proposed changes to Kroger’s stores hopes to improve the customer experience[/caption]
Kroger announced it will close 60 of its under-performing stores over the next 18 months.
It comes after the company had a failed merger with Albertsons, and they paused their internal evaluations.
Store-by-store performance reviews of Krogers have resumed though following cancellation of the deal.
The company now plans to reinvest in new openings, and close the branches that are not meeting the desired standards.
Despite incurring an accounting charge with the closures, Kroger anticipates that freed-up resources will create a “modest financial benefit”.
Money can thereby go towards improving the customer experience by providing more competitive prices, remodels of stores and new openings.
Some local news sites have confirmed where their Kroger stores are closing, as well as the UFCW union, however a full list has not been published by Kroger.
The stores known to be closing around the country are:
- Georgia: Atlanta, Alpharetta, Decatur, and Brookhaven.
- Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia: Charlottesville, Abingdon, Kingsport, and Gassaway.
- Maryland and North Carolina: North Bethesda, Arlington, Tysons/McLean, and Raleigh.
- Texas: Houston, The Woodlands, Dickinson, and McKinney.
- Washington: Seattle, Redmond, Kent, Everett, and Mill Creek.
- Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois: South Bend, Elkhart, Milwaukee, and Chicago.
The retailer has assured customers their prescriptions will be transferred to other nearby branches.
Employees will also be offered opportunities to transfer to other stores.
With planned remodelling of stores, Kroger is paving way for Marketplace locations.
This involves larger and more modern sites than are traditional for supermarkets.
They will include clothing departments, home goods, toys, coffee kiosks, cheese counters, sushi, and drive-thru pharmacies.
Kroger is also looking to strengthen their online order pickup processes.
The Marketplace in Lexington, Kentucky is an example of these changes happening, as a site that is 123,000 sq ft, with wider aisles and a greater variety of products.
Some branches are also being adapted to suit local tastes, such as in Houston which has expanded its selection of Hispanic products.
In North Texas, the “Asian experience” was also launched that provides special fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood.
For 2025, there are already plans for at least 30 major new store projects to take place on top of remodels.
Their strategy aims to increase market share and offer a more attractive and personalised experience for shoppers moving forward.
This means improving store variety, service and prices for customers, to become a more modern supermarket that is close to their communities.
Kroger are particularly focusing on expansion in areas where there is population growth.
Outdated branches will be replaced, and more competitive, customer-focused ones will be introduced.
Underperforming stores will be closed with 60 already set to go[/caption]
