Kroger Continues Store Expansion

Grocery retailer Kroger Co. (Cincinnati) says it’s planning to open six stores, with all of those locations in some stage of planning or construction in the Cincinnati and nearby Kentucky areas.  According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, four will be large-format Marketplace stores and two are replacement stores.

A company spokeswoman told the Enquirer that the amount of construction is on par with last year. “We do a lot of business in the last three months of the year,” says Geoff Covert, president of the retailer's Greater Cincinnati and Dayton division. “Our customer count is up pretty significantly. We're anxious to open.”

The company’s Marketplace stores, which are designed for locations where the retailer can draw 50 percent more sales than a traditional store, range from 120,000 to 200,000 square feet, and include a variety of furniture and household items, as well as a Fred Meyer jeweler and Starbucks coffee shop.

Last month, the nation’s largest grocery chain reported same-store sales increased 2.6 percent without fuel in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 ended August 15. Total sales, including fuel, were $17.7 billion compared with $18.1 billion for the same period last year. Excluding fuel sales, total sales increased 3.5 percent.