Dive Brief:
- Kroger plans to break ground on three Kroger Marketplace stores in North Texas in 2026, according to an emailed press release.
Two of the stores will be in the cities of Fate and McKinney, while the third location will be announced at a later date, the company said.
The announcement comes as Kroger continues to expand its large-scale Marketplace format, particularly in regions where strong regional competitors like H-E-B are growing.
Dive Insight:
Kroger’s upcoming locations in Fate and McKinney aim to capture the rising number of consumers in those areas, the grocer said.
“Kroger is working hard to keep pace with North Texas’ explosive population growth, ensuring communities have access to fresh, affordable groceries and essential items,” Rudy DiPietro, president of the grocer’s Texas Division, said in a statement.
Kroger appears to have a lot of confidence in the large-scale format that ranges from 99,000 to 130,000 square feet and includes full-service grocery, pharmacy and expanded general merchandise. The newest Kroger Marketplace store opened in October in the Bonds Ranch area of Fort Worth, according to the announcement. That store is part of a roughly $160 million investment the grocer made in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that also includes three Kroger Marketplace stores under construction in Little Elm, Anna and the Sendera Ranch community of North Fort Worth.
This all comes as Texas-based H-E-B continues to invest in these markets. In 2023, H-E-B opened a store in McKinney, growing its presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Earlier this year, H-E-B announced it bought a nearly 10-acre property in Dallas that it plans to use for its first namesake store in the city.
Kroger is also opening Marketplace locations in Kentucky, where regional powerhouse Publix is making inroads. Earlier this year, Kroger rolled out a “deli of the future” prototype at a new Marketplace store in Edgewood, Kentucky.
Of the more than 210 stores that Kroger operates in Texas, more than 100 are in North Texas and East Texas, according to the announcement.
Along with its brick-and-mortar fleet, Kroger noted that it has an e-commerce fulfillment center in Southern Dallas and that it has expanded delivery options in North Texas with Instacart, Uber Eats and DoorDash.
