Kroger announced its plans to enter the Northeast offering Kroger Delivery and expand in California and Florida. The grocer will open new fulfillment centers powered by the Ocado Group to expand its operations, combining vertical integration, machine learning, and robotics to provide an affordable and fast-fresh food delivery service.
The largest grocery retailer will enter the Northeast for the first time, offering Kroger Delivery enabled by a customer fulfillment center (CFC). The facility will meet the need for same-day and next-day grocery delivery demand, the company said in a press release.
“Kroger Delivery is a thriving part of our dynamic ecosystem and is transforming grocery e-commerce and meeting a range of customer needs through the introduction of first-of-its-kind technology in the U.S. developed by Ocado,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman, and CEO. “We feel great about the momentum we’re experiencing with Kroger Delivery and our partnership with Ocado and are strategically leveraging our assets to expand our operations in existing regions as well as enter new geographies on the East Coast that leverage facilities across a growing range of sizes,” continued McMullen.
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Meanwhile, in California, Kroger will expand its existing operations and boost capacity with the addition of two CFCs. The medium and smaller-sized facilities will meet the need for same-day and next-day grocery delivery demand.
To continue driving momentum, Kroger will enter South Florida and introduce two smaller-sized fulfillment facilities. These will join the already live CFC in Groveland and “spoke” sites in Jacksonville and Tampa. It will also mark the introduction of two automated local fulfillment centers with Ocado, enabling Kroger Delivery to serve customers as fast as 30 minutes with a selection of 10,000 fresh food items and essentials and to deliver same-day and next-day orders with 35,000 items.
“The acceleration of Kroger Delivery continues with these new facilities and our continued focus on creating career opportunities and serving customers through interconnected, automated, and innovative fulfillment models that cater to different and accretive grocery shopper missions in both new and existing geographies,” said Gabriel Arreaga, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. “We have a pipeline of sites in development across the U.S., with several scheduled to open next year, and we’re excited to continue delivering the Kroger experience to more doorsteps.”
Kroger Delivery currently operates CFCs in Groveland, FL, and Monroe, OH. In addition to the newly announced five facilities, Kroger Delivery is slated to open previously announced sites in Dallas, TX; Forest Park, GA (Atlanta); Frederick, MD; Phoenix, AZ; Pleasant Prairie, WI; Romulus, MI (Detroit); and sites in the South, West, and Pacific Northwest.