Walk into a Ralphs supermarket in California or a King Soopers in Colorado, and you might get a feeling vaguely familiar to shopping at Kroger. The signs are different, the store layout isn't quite the same, and local products mingle with store-brand ones - but the shopping experience still has a Kroger-ish ambiance. There's a reason for that, and you might not like it. About 20 favorite "hometown" regional grocery brands across America are actually part of the same huge Kroger family.
EVgo will build at least 150 fast charging stalls per year through 2035 at Kroger, Foods Co., Fred Meyer, Fry's Food Stores, Harris Teeter, King Soopers and Smith's Food and Drug locations across the U.S. Each station will feature up to 16 high-power stalls. The charging operator didn't say just how powerful these stalls would be, but the Salt Lake City location, which is a Smith's store, has 12 350-kilowatt chargers that can charge up to 24 cars simultaneously.
Shares in the FTSE 250 company jumped as much as 16% in early trading on Friday before settling nearly 7% higher, offering brief respite for a business that has seen its market valuation collapse from £22 billion during the pandemic boom to barely £1.6 billion today. The payout follows Kroger's decision to cancel the opening of a fourth Ocado-powered customer fulfilment centre in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of two facilities previously scheduled for 2026.
Kroger is one of the major grocery chains in America, with a vast selection of products from name and private label brands. Kroger's private label brands are booming because they offer quality products for a much lower price than name-brand competitors. Unfortunately, Kroger's private label brand, Simple Truth, fails to deliver in the yogurt department. In a taste test of 10 frozen yogurt brands, the Simple Truth raspberry cheesecake Greek frozen yogurt bars were one of our least favorites.
Kroger, one of the country's largest grocery chains, followed suit by launching digital coupons in the late-aughts. Those clickable savings are now accessible via an app and the company's website, which are linked to rewards cards. However, the process hasn't been embraced by all shoppers, particularly anyone who lacks reliable access to the internet or a smartphone, along with the capability to navigate those communication technologies.
The proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons faced significant opposition, leading to its rejection due to concerns about reduced competition and increased consumer prices.
