Here’s a look at four recent moves the Cincinnati based grocer made:
1. It revamped existing locations
Locations in Liberty Twp., Middletown and Monroe celebrated the end of monthslong renovations in December, February and April, respectively. The changes added various dining options and renovated certain aspects of each store’s design, including tech-based upgrades.
“It’s really based on customer feedback and what folks are buying,” Kroger spokeswoman Erin Rolfes previously told this news outlet. “If they aren’t shopping in that area and we needed more space for groceries, we really try to listen to what the customers are asking for and giving that because it’s their hometown store. It’s the store they shop in every day.”
MORE: Dining out at Kroger? Store renovations aimed at providing that option
2. It replaced a longtime West Chester location with a new one
A new West Chester Township location opens on the corner of Ohio 747 and Tylersville Road, replacing a 71,000-square-foot facility that operated from 1990 until Wednesday about a half mile to the south.
The new location, which includes a Kroger fuel center outside, features a bevy of dining options inside, including pizza, chicken and sushi, and its own dining area. There’s also an entire section dedicated to Dip, Kroger’s private label, grab-and-go fashion apparel brand that includes apparel for women, men, juniors, children and babies.
3. It broke ground for America’s first high-tech customer fulfillment center
Kroger broke ground at 6266 Hamilton Lebanon Road in Monroe for new warehouse that will be the nation’s first-ever high-tech customer fulfillment center as part of its partnership with U.K.-based Ocado, one of the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailers.
Kroger is investing $55 million to build the structure — the first of 20 in the country. It will open in spring 2021, creating more than 400 new jobs.The automated warehouse facility with digital and robotic capabilities, also known as a shed, will be replicated to serve customers across America.
Ocado Solutions provides the Ocado Smart Platform as a service to retailers around the world. That platform will allow Kroger to assemble an order of approximately 50 items in six minutes with robotics in an automated warehouse instead of approximately 30 to 45 minutes with a Kroger employee picking them up from various areas of the store, according to Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions.
MORE: What robots and 400 new jobs will do inside Kroger’s new $55M Monroe facility
4. It’s looking to replace another West Chester location
Kroger wants to build a giant new marketplace at Tylersville and Cox roads and has agreed to pay West Chester Twp. $1.8 million for the senior center to accomplish the redevelopment.
West Chester Plaza owners Regency Centers were the only ones to submit a proposal for the West Chester Activity Center. The Activity Center acquisition would allow for a new 95,545-square-foot Kroger, and the grocery giant and retail center owners have even bigger plans.
MORE: Giant new Kroger Marketplace could be coming to West Chester
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