🠈  Kroger  🠊

Kroger Stores

The Kroger Company is a leading retailer in the food, drug, department store and jewelry markets. In 2017, Kroger's operated over 2700 grocery stores, 20 convenience stores, over 269 jewelry stores, and over 1522 Fuel Centers, 37 food production plants, 42 distribution centers and over a half million employees. The company had $626 million profits on $122.7 billion in sales. Kroger trades on the NYSE with the symbol KR.

Grocery Store brands in the Kroger Family include:

Kroger reduced its large chain of convenience stores to 20 Loaf 'n Jug.

The jewelry store division includes Fred Meyer Jewelers, Littman Jewelers and Barclay Jewelers.

Kroger has its headquarters in Cincinnati with regional offices throughout the states. Kroger Real Estate handles realty transactions for the company.

Merger Chain

This section lists select events in the merger and acquisition chain of the store.

• 1883: Company founded by Bernard Kroger in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• 1916: Kroger started offering self-service shopping.
• 1936: Kroger sold 53 stores in Oklahoma to Safeway.
• 1955: Kroger acquired Henke & Pillot of Houston that had 27 stores.
  • 1872: Henry Henke, a grocer from New Orleans, opened a store in Houston.
  • 1882: Henke hired Camille G. Pillot as a bookeeper, she became a partner.
  • 1966: Kroger retired the brand.
• 1955: Kroger acquired Krambo Food Stores of Milwaukee, Wisconsin which had 18 stores.
• 1955: Kroger acquired Childs Food Stores, Inc. of Jacksonville, Texas.
• 1956: Kroger acquired Big Chain Stores, Inc. of Shreveport, La which had 7 stores.
• 1957: Kroger sold its Wichita stores to J. S. Dillon and Sons Stores Company
• 196?: Kroger opened SupeRx and Florida Choice in Florida.
• 1963: Kroger acquired the 56-store chain Market Basket out of California.
• 1972: Kroger sold its Milwaukee stores to Jewel.
• 1977: Kroger entered Charlotte. They bought some stores from BI-LO but later sold the stores back to BI-LO
• 1981-1982: Kroger sold stores in Michigan to Kessel during a labor dispute.
• 1982: Kroger sold its 65-store Market Basket chain. This was rebranded as Ralphs.
• 1983: Kroger acquired Dillon Company

  Dillon's History

  Dillons is an active Kroger brand with headquarters in Hutchnson, Ks and stores in the midwest

  • 1890s: John S. Dillon opened a general store in Sterling, Kansas
  • 1913: Dillons opened J.S. Dillon Cash Store in Hutchinson, Kansas. It did not offer delivery or credit.
  • 1917: Dillons incorporated as Dillon Mercantile Company, Inc.
  • WWI : The company was sold to investors
  • 1919: The family opened J.S. Dillon and Sons Store
  • 1921: company incorporated.
  • 1941: Clyde Dillon was killed in a hunting accident in Colorado.
  • 1957: Founder John S. Dillon died.
  • 1957: Dillons issued an IPO to raise funds for expansion.
  • 1957: Dillons acquired King Soopers

    History of King Soopers

    King Soopers is a Kroger brand with regional headquarters in Denver and stores along the front range.

    • 1947: Lloyd J. King and Charles W. Houchens opened the first King Soopers in Arvada, Co.
  • 1957: Dillons acquired 16 stores in Wichita from Krogers
  • 1966: Dillons acquired Gerbers

    History of Gerbers

    • 1933: Gerbes Super Markets, Inc. is an active brand in Missouri that was founded by Frank J. Gerbes in Tipton, Missouri.
  • 1968: Dillons changed its name to Dillon Companies, Inc..
  • 1969: Dillons was listed on the NYSE.
  • 1969: Dillon acquired City Market Inc. which had 16 grocery stores in the Rocky Mountains

    History of City Market

    City Market is a chain of grocery stores in the Rocky Mountains headquartered in Grand Junction.

    • 1924: the chain was established by the Prinster family in Grand Junction.
  • 1972: Dillons acquired Fry's Food Stores which had 28-stores, mostly in Arizona.

    History of Fry's

    Fry's Food is a brand of grocery stores in Arizona with stores configured for different marketplaces. Fry's Marketplace is a large store Fry's Mercado targets Spanish speaking markets, etc.

    • 1954: The company was founded by Donald Fry in Northern California.
    • 1960: Fry's Expanded into Phoenix.
    • 1972: The brothers sold their grocery store to Krogers and established Fry's Electronics.
  • 197?: Dillons acquired Time Saver Stores of Louisiana which had 101 convenience stores.
  • 197?: Dillons acquired Quik Stop Markets, Inc. of San Francisco which had 35 convenience stores.
  • 197?: Dillons acquired Kwik Shop, Inc. which had 54 convenience stores in the Midwest.
  • 197?: Dillons acquired controlling interests in Wells Aircraft
  • 197?: Dillons acquired Jackson Ice Cream Co.
  • 197?: Dillons acquired Bohm-Allen Jewelry
  • 197?: Dillons acquired a department store chain called D.G. Calhoun.
  • 1983: Dillons merged with Kroger, David Dillon later became CEO of Kroger.
• 1983-1984: Union workers held a strike against Krogers.
• 1985: Kroger, via Dillons, acquired Turkey Hill dairy which made ice cream.

  History of Turkey Hill

  • 1931: Armor Frey began selling milk to local farmers. He named the dairy Turkey Hill after the wild turkeys in the area.
  • 1954: Turkey Hill began making ice cream.
• 1984: Kroger formed a joint venture with Wetterau called Foodland Distributors.
• 1986: Kroger exited St. Louis. It sold stores to National, Schnucks, and Shop 'n Save.
• 1988: Kroger sold SupeRx and Florida Choice to Kash n' Karry and others.
• 1989: Kroger exited Chattanooga. It sold stores to n Red Food which were then bought by BI-LO.
• 1994: Kroger acquired multiple stores from AppleTree Market which was a Houston spin off from Safeway.
• 1999: Kroger acquired Pay Less Super Markets with 7 stores in Indiana

  History of Pay Less

  Pay Less is a Kroger brand operating in Indiana.

  • 1947: H. J. Contos founded store in Anderson, In.
  • 1960: company opened its second store in Lafayette, Indiana.
  • 2017: Kroger converted two of its Marsh Supermarkets to Pay Less.
• 199?: Kroger acquired Owen's Market which has four stores in Indiana.
• 1998: Kroger acquired Hilander Food which was founded in founded 1919 by Rose & Joseph Castrogiovanni as Sanitary Meat Market.
• 1998: Kroger merged with Fred Meyer

  History of Fred Meyer

  Fred Meyer and Fred Meyers Jewelers are active Kroger brands. The first is a chain of super markets and general stores with headquarters in Portland. The second is a chain of jewelry stores with a mix of free standing and in store outlets.

  • 1922: company was founded by Fred G. Meyer.
  • 196?: acquired Seattle-based Marketime Drugs.
  • 196?: Fred Meyer acquired The Roundup Company which was a grocery wholesaler. They owned Consumer Warehouse Foods in Soap Lake and B&B based in Kalispell, Mt.
  • 1973: Fred Meyer acquired the five store Valu-Mart in Oregon from Weisfield.
  • 1975: Fred Meyer signed long term leases with Weisfield and acquired several stores at a later date.
  • 1978: Fred Meyer passed away.
  • 1981: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Fred Meyer in a leveraged buyout.
  • 1984: Fred Meyer acquired a Salt Lake based chain of discount stores called Grand Central which was developed by Maurice Warshaw (1898-1979)
  • 1997: Fred Meyer Inc. acquired Smith's Food and Drug of Salt Lake City for about $700 million

    History of Smith's

    Smith's is a brand used by Kroger in the Utah region with a variety of names indicating the size of the store. Marketplace is the largest store.

    • 1911: The company was founded by Lorenzo J. Smith in Brigham City.
    • 1932: Smith's changed its name to Smith & Son's Market when Dee Glen Smith joined the firm.
    • 1952: Smith's changed its name to Smith's Super Markets.
    • 1997: Smith's merged with Fred Meyer
    • 2004: Fred Meyer rebranded several Utah stores as Smith's Marketplace.
  • 1997: Fred Meyer acquired Quality Food Centers (QFC) which based in Bellevue, Wa

    History of Quality Food Centers

    Quality Food Centers is a chain of food stores in Washington States.

    • 1955: Jack Croco, who had worked for Albertsons opened Lake Hills Thriftway
    • 1963: Chain renamed to QFC
    • 1974: QFC acquired A&P stores in Seattle.
    • 1986: Seattle based investment firm Sloan, Adkins & Co. acquired QFC.
    • 1987: Sloan Adkins took QFC Public
    • 1997 QFC acquired Uddenberg which owned Thriftway and Stock Market in Western Washington.
  • 1998: Fred Meyer acquired Ralphs Grocery Company of Los Angeles, California

    History of Ralphs

    Ralphs is a chain of grocery stores located in California.

    • 1873: George Albert Ralphs founded Ralphs Grocery Company.
    • 1980: Ralphs created a combination store called The Giant which failed.
    • 1994: A private equity firm called Yucaipa Companies acquired Ralph's and combined it with Alpha Beta, Food 4 Less and Boys Market.
      • 1987: Yucaipa acquired Food 4 Less

        Food 4 Less

        Foods 4 Less and FoodsCo are Kroger brands used for no-frills warehouse style stores in California, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

        • 193?: Lou Falley, who owned Falley's stores, created the Food 4 Less brand warehouse store.
      • 1988: Yucaipa acquired Cala Bell

        History of Cala Bell

        Cala Bell was a chain of grocery stores in San Francisco.

        • 1947: seven brothers of the Cala family founded Cala Foods.
        • 1973: Cala acquired QFI supermarket in San Francisco.
        • 197?: Cala merged with Bell Markets which was founded by Dominick Bell of San Francisco in the 1940s.
        • 1988: Company was acquired by Yucaipa.
    • 1998: Merger with Fred Meyer.
• 1999: Kroger acquired JayC Foods

  JayC Food History

  JayC Foods is a chain of stores located in Indiana.

  • 1863: JayC was founded in 1863 by Swiss immigrant Jonathan Groub,
  • 19??: JayC created the Food Plus brand.
  • 19??: JayC created the Ruler Foods brand which sells food in a warehouse setting. People pack their own groceries.
• 1999: Kroger acquired Kessel Food Markets of Michigan and phased out name.

  History of Kessel

  • 1981: Al Kessel bought Kroger stores in Corunna and Saginaw, Mi which were unprofitable and in a labor dispute.
  • 1992: Kessel bought four Kroger stores in Flint.
  • 1991: Kessel acquired 13 stores from Hamady which had filed bankruptcy.
  • 1999: Kessel had 24 stores. He closed several. Converted 4 to Save-A-Lot and sold the rest back to Kroger
• 2001: Kroger acquired Baker's Supermarket from Fleming

  Baker's Supermarket

  Baker's Supermarket is an active Kroger brand in Nebraska

  • 1927: Abraham Baker opened his store in Walnut, Iowa.
  • 1971: His sons Jack and Bob took over.
  • 1972: They formed partnership with Jewel to open the "Turn Style/Baker's Family Center" in Omaha which lost money.
  • 1992: Fleming Foods acquired Baker's
• 2007: Kroger acquired 18 Scott’s Food & Pharmacy stores in Indiana from SuperValu.
• 2010: Kroger acquired The Little Clinic which was founded in 2003 in Louisville and provides basic health services.
• 2011: Kroger sold its Hilander Foods division to Schnuck Markets, Inc. which rebranded the stores.
• 2013: Kroger acquired Harris Teeter of Charlotte which had 245 stores for $2.5 billion $100 million in outstanding debt.⁶

  History of Harris Teeter

  Harris Teeter is a brand of stores in the South East. The chain was created by the combination of two grocery stores that started in the Depression. The combined store was acquired by an investment firm that eventually changed its name to Harris Teeter. As I am tracing ownership, I will start with the investment firm.

  • 1919: Rush Dickson establishes an investment firm called R.S. Dickson in Gastonia, North Carolina.
  • 1968: Rush's sons Alan and Stuart made RS Dickson and Efird Mills (makers of thread) subsidiaries of Ruddick Corporation
  • 1969: Ruddick traded on the NYSE with symbol: RDK.
  • 1969: Ruddick which had invested in Harris Teeter made it a subsidiary of Ruddick
    • 1936: William Thomas Harris started Harris Drugs in Charlotte, NC.
    • 1939: Harris opens Harris Super Market in Charlotte, North Carolina
    • 1960: Harris merges with Teeter to create Harris Teeter Super Markets, Inc. with 15 stores
      • 1939: Paul and Willis L. Teeter open Teeter's Food Mart
    • 196?: Harris Teeter acquired Tilman's Grocery in Shelby, NC.
  • 198?: Harris Teeter acquired Hunter Dairy
    • 1917: Harvey B. Hunter started Hunter Dairy
    • 1921: Hunter acquired Selwyn Dairy
    • 1937: Hunter acquired Burchmont Farm near Charlotte.
  • 1984: Ruddick acquired 54 store chain called Food World founded in Greensboro, NC in 1917 by George E. Hutchens
  • 1988: Harris Teeter acquired 52-store chain Big Star from Grand Union Company
  • 1990: Harris Teeter acquired a Borden Dairy plant.
  • 199?: Harris Teeter moved its headquarters to Matthews, NC.
  • 1993: Harris Teeter acquired the five store chain Bruno in South Carolina.
  • 1994: Harris Teeter entered the Atlanta market.
  • 2001: Harris Teeter exited Atlanta and SC.
  • 2011: Ruddick sold American & Efird, Inc. to KPS Capital Partners.
  • 2012: Ruddick changed its name to Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. and its stock symbol to HTSI,
• 2014: Kroger acquired online retailer Vitacost.com for $280m.
  • 1994: Company founded in Boca Raton as a catalog store called Nature's Wealth Company
  • 1999: Company launched Vitacost.com.
  • 2009: Company went public with symbol VITC
• 2015: Kroger announced plans to enter Hawaii,
• 2015: Kroger acquired Hiller's Market with seven stores in Southeast Michigan
• 2015: Kroger acquired Wisconsin based Roundy's which had 166 stores for $800 million.

  History of Roundy's

  Roundy's Supermarket is a Kroger brand based in Wisconsin which includes Pick-n-Save, Copp's, Metro Market and Mariano's.

  • 1872: William E. Smith, Judson Roundy and Sidney Hauxhurst established Smith, Roundy & Co. in Milwaukie as a warehouse distributor.
  • 1975: Pick-n-Save started as a warehouse food store in Milwaukie which grew to over 100 stores.
  • 2002: Willis Stein & Partners took the company private.
  • 2010: company opened Mariano's supermarkets named after CEO Bob Mariano.
  • 2012: company held an IPO.
  • 2013, Roundy's purchased 11 Dominick's stores from Safeway and rebranded them Mariano's.
• 2016: Kroger rebranded the Scott Food as Kroger and ended the brand.
• 2016: Kroger invested in Lucky's Market which is based in Boulder, Co.
• 2017: Kroger acquired Murray's Cheese.

  History of Murray's Cheese

  Murray's Cheese is specialty cheese store found with 350 locations inside Kroger stores:

  • 1940: Founded in Greenwich Village, NY by Murray Greenberg.
  • 197?: Louis Tudda acquired the firm.
  • 1991: Rob Kaufelt acquired the store and began adding cheese varieties from around the world.
• 2017: Kroger opened a convenience store called Fresh Eats MKT with prototype in Blacklick, Ohio.
• 2018: Kroger sold 762 convenience stores to British based EG Group
• 2017: Kroger acquired 11 stores from the Marsh Supermarkets bankruptcy. Kroger renamed two as Pay Less.
• 2018: Kroger acquired Home Chef for $200 million.
  • 2013: Company was founded by Pat Vihtelic in Chicago to create meal kits.
  • 2016: Catterton invested $40 in Home Chef.
• 2018: Kroger launched a project called Stratum with web site 8451.com which offers brand and shopping cart analysis based on customer data.
• 2019: Inmar acquired You Technology, LLC which is a digital coupon platform.⁸
• 2019: Peak Rock Capital acquired Turkey Hill for $215 million. Sale reduced Kroger's debt.⁷

profile page

References:

1. Funding Universe - Dillons (Drawn 9/6/2018)
2. Funding Universe - Kroger (Drawn 9/6/2018)
3. Wikipedia - Kroger (Drawn 9/6/2018)
4. Kroger - Kroger acquires Scott Food (Drawn 9/6/2018)
5. Fortune - Kroger acquires VitaCost (Drawn 9/8/2018)
6. Funding Universe - Harris Teeter (Drawn 9/8/2018)
7. Kroger - Turkey Hill Sale (Drawn 10/14/2019)
8. Kroger - YouTech Sale (Drawn 10/14/2019)

Directory Listings:

• Coconino County - Shopping: Fry's Food
• Phoenix Color - Grocery Stores: Fry's Foods
• Yavapai County - Shopping: Fry's Food
• Boulder Color - Grocery Stores: King Soopers
• Colorado Springs Color - Grocery Stores: King Soopers
• Denver Color - Grocery: King Soopers
• Durango Colorado - Food: City Market
• Fort Collins Color - Grocery Stores: King Soopers
• Garfield Colorado Links - Shopping: City Market
• Grand Junction - Food: City Market
• Pueblo Color - Shopping: Loaf 'N Jug
• Steamboat Springs Me - Shopping: City Market
• Box Elder County - Shopping: Smith's Food and Drug
• Carbon County Color - Shopping: Smith's Food
• Cedar City - Shopping: Smith's Food and Drug
• Davis County - Grocery Stores: Smith's
• Davis County - Business: Layton Dairy
• Logan Utah - Shopping: Smith's Food and Drug
• Moab - Shopping: Kroger
• Ogden, Utah - Grocery Stores: Smith's Food
• Park City, Utah - Food: Smith's Food
• Provo Utah - Grocery Stores: Smith's Food
• Saint George - Food: Smith's Food
• Salt Lake Sites - Grocery Stores: Smith's Food and Drug
• Vernal, Utah. US - Shopping: Smith's Food and Drug
• Wasatch Color - Shopping: Smith's Food and Drug

Prev ~ ~ Index ~ ~ Next