Four things you should know about Kroger, which is planning to return to San Antonio this year
, ranging from pizzas and yogurt to paper towels and beauty products. Also like H-E-B, the products are sold in what it calls “tiers”: Where H-E-B has the more upscale Central Market brand, Kroger has its Private Selection brand.
The company grew fast during the 2010s, becoming a world leader in automation to make supply chains more efficient. In 2011, it opened its first international office in Krakov, Poland. In 2017 and 2018, it entered partnerships with supermarkets in Spain, France, Sweden and Canada. Since then, it has expanded into Japan and Australia.
“We know Ocado’s value is not just its current capabilities, but also in how quickly they innovate to serve a rapidly developing online consumer market,” Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO, wrote in a 2019 letter to shareholders. “What is really exciting about Ocado is that their model to deliver to customers is significantly less costly than our existing model.”