Grocery giant revealed during its this month that it will shut down about 60 underperforming stores over the next 18 months. At the same time, the company intends to open new locations throughout this year and the next.
“We’re simplifying our business and reviewing areas that will not be meaningful to our future growth. Unfortunately, today, not all of our stores are delivering the sustainable results we need,” said Kroger Chairman and Interim CEO Ronald Sargent in the June 20 earnings call.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, but this will make the company more efficient, and Kroger will offer roles in other stores to all associates currently employed at affected stores.”
The specific stores targeted for closure have not been officially confirmed.
Kroger is the parent company to King Soopers and City Market. King Soopers has in 37 cities in the state, while City Market has in 27 cities, according to their websites.
When asked if any Colorado locations would be affected, a Kroger representative told The Post that there are no further details to share at this time.
Other media outlets have already facing closures in , Kentucky, Georgia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400, representing 35,000 members in retail food, health care, department stores, food processing, and other sectors across Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, announced that .
“The communities served by our members at these stores will suffer as a direct result of Kroger prioritizing Wall Street investors over their customers and hard-working employees,” said UFCW Local 400 Union President Mark Federici in a statement.
“Closing these stores will not only result in fewer good, union job opportunities, it will further limit food access in rural areas where there are few if any alternatives to buy groceries – all for a purported ‘modest financial benefit’ to the company.”
Looking forward, Kroger also expects new store openings in 2026 and beyond.
Though it was not revealed where these new stores will be opening, company leaders said they will consider sites across the country, focusing on areas where they have competitive advantages or growth potential.
On Feb. 1 of this year, . The planned closures account for about 2.2% of its total locations.
The company said Kroger held off on closing stores amid efforts to merge with fellow grocery giant Albertsons.
Kroger and Albertsons first proposed the merger in 2022. They argued that combining would help them better compete with big retailers like Walmart and Costco.
However, the Federal Trade Commission and two states, Washington and Colorado, sued to block the merger last year, saying it would raise prices and lower workers’ wages by eliminating competition.
The company expects the closures to have a “modest financial benefit” overall and plans to reinvest the savings from the closures into improving customer experience.
