KROGER AREA MERCHANDISES SENIOR-CITIZEN PRODUCT LINE

CINCINNATI -- A line of products used primarily by senior citizens has been added at 76 Kroger Co. stores here and in Dayton, Ohio.

is over age 50, which, he said, "represents the largest single demographic age group" in the market area.

To meet the needs of older adults and strengthen the supermarket division's customer base, Kroger has signed on Atlanta-based Mature Mart Inc. as its principal supplier of such products as seven-day pill organizers, tweezer magnifiers and a small device used to split pills in half.

According to Alexis Abramson, president and founder of Mature Mart, the company had been supplying other Kroger divisions since May, 1996. With the addition of the Cincinnati/Dayton division last month, Mature Mart's products are now carried at more than 650 Kroger stores.

"As a result of our success with Kroger, we've taken on a brokerage team to look at expanding to other retailers, including supermarkets, pharmacies, drug and mass retailers," Abramson said.

She anticipates establishing agreements with two or three more major supermarket chains within the next six months.

Mature Mart's items are typically merchandised at the pharmacy counter, in point-of-purchase displays that offer 16 products. "But we're expanding into HBC," Abramson noted.

"Some Kroger locations don't want the line stuck in the pharmacy, so they've requested power panels and in-line displays for HBC," Abramson reported.

The supplier ships from a central warehouse in Jesup, Ga.