Kroger Chairman and CEO David Dillon accepted SN's 2008 Retail Excellence Award on Nov. 10, at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, where top executives from Kroger prepared several dishes as part of a team-building exercise at the college’s culinary school. David Orgel, editor-in-chief of SN, presented the award, noting that Kroger’s “customer first” strategy has prepared the company for today’s economy and beyond. The 2008 Retail Excellence Award was sponsored by Kraft Foods.
Executives from Kroger and Kraft watch as the award is presented.
Denny Belcastro, Kraft; Rodney McMullen, Kroger; Dan Bagan, Penton Media; David Dillon, Kroger; Dan Hegarty, Kraft; Don McGeorge, Kroger; Dean General, Kraft; Jerry Rymont, SN; and Ron Jaques, Kraft.
Denny Belcastro, Kraft; Don McGeorge, Kroger; and Dean General, Kraft.
Dean General, Kraft; Mark Van Buskirk, Kroger; and Ron Jaques, Kraft.
Rodney McMullen, Kroger; David Dillon; Kroger; David Orgel, SN; and Don McGeorge, Kroger.
Kroger employees who participated in the team-building exercise at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Chairman and CEO David Dillon, center, holds the 2008 SN Retail Excellence Award.
Don Becker, Rodney McMullen, Chris Hjelm and Kevin Dougherty, all of Kroger.
Texas, store in the wake of Hurricane Ike. The store was able to receive 15 truckloads of product before opening, and was primarily offering ice, water and canned products, along with a limited variety of perishables. The cookout, staged in the store’s parking lot on a large barbecue grill, attracted residents, rescue workers and members of clean-up crews.
Ralphs returned to the downtown area of Los Angeles last year after a 50-year hiatus. The chain, founded in 1873, became part of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. through the 1999 merger between Kroger and Fred Meyer. The 50,000-square-foot store is an example of Kroger’s Fresh Fare concept, designed for more upscale shoppers and featuring a strong emphasis on perishables and prepared product.
Kroger Co. acquired Hutchinson, Kan.-based Dillons in 1983, getting with it the company’s current chairman and chief executive officer, David Dillon. Other banners currently part of Kroger’s Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes, Baker’s and certain Food 4 Less stores in the Midwest. Kroger opened the first Dillons Marketplace in 2007 in Wichita, Kan.
Value-added prepared foods Dillons and other banners help Kroger maintain profit margins.
Kroger’s Fry’s division, acquired as part of its 1983 merger with Dillon Cos., is one of the chain’s largest operators of Marketplace stores. These multi-department stores offer grocery and pharmacy as well as GM products including living products, electronics, home goods and toys.
The Marketplace stores can measure over 100,000 square feet and carry a full grocery offering.