Two months after unveiling a plan to shutter roughly 60 underperforming stores by the end of 2026, Kroger has taken swift action this summer to wind down operations at dozens of locations.
Kroger, which operates over 2,700 stores across more than a dozen banners, did not specify in the late June announcement which banners or exact locations would be impacted.
A Grocery Dive analysis of WARN notices, union announcements and local news reports has determined the addresses for 39 stores that Kroger put on the chopping block this year — at least 18 of which have already closed.
While it’s unclear if all of these closures are related to the roughly 60-store target Kroger announced in June, understanding where Kroger is shuttering stores after its failed attempt to merge with Albertsons provides insight into how Kroger is looking to tighten its footprint.
Kroger did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. A Harris Teeter spokesperson confirmed the chain has closed five stores across three states.
Kroger is shuttering locations in major metropolitan areas
Surprisingly, only two of the 39 stores Grocery Dive tallied were on the list of stores that Albertsons and Kroger planned to divest to C&S Wholesale Grocers as part of their bid to win regulatory approval for their proposed merger. Both were Mariano’s locations in Bloomingdale and Northfield, Illinois, that closed earlier this month.
And while Kroger was initially willing to offload its QFC and Mariano’s banners to C&S, Kroger is instead electing — so far — to keep the bulk of those banners’ stores.
More than a third of the 39 stores Kroger has elected to close are ones under its name banner. The grocer is also trimming a handful of locations from its Harris Teeter, Pick ‘n Save, Fred Meyer and Mariano’s banners.
Kroger’s name banner is the most impacted so far by closings
Although Kroger is closing stores across the country, a few regions were hit particularly hard, such as the Puget Sound region, where six stores are shuttering, as well as the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, where several stores are closing.
A company spokesperson told local outlet WCMH that Dillons stores are not impacted by Kroger’s store closure plans.
Closing stores isn’t the only step Kroger is taking to improve its financial performance. The grocery company expects to complete 30 store projects in 2025 and intends to speed up new store openings in 2026, interim CEO Ron Sargent told investors in June.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with input from a Harris Teeter spokesperson.
