Kroger plans to close around 60 U.S. grocery stores over the next 18 months to improve efficiency and profitability
ByDEE-ANN DURBIN AP business writer
Kroger plans to close around 60 U.S. grocery stores over the next 18 months to improve efficiency.
The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company announced the plan during a corporate earnings call last Friday. The company hasn’t said which stores it plans to shutter, but said the closures will happen around the country. It also said employees at impacted stores will be offered jobs at other locations.
“We see this as an opportunity to move these closed store sales to other stores, and we think that should improve profitability,” Kroger’s interim Chairman and CEO Ronald Sargent said during the call.
Sargent also said Kroger plans to open at least 30 stores this year and will accelerate its store openings in “high-growth geographies” next year.
A message seeking details of the company’s plans was left Wedn