Kroger’s Store-Less Expansion Model Looks Like The Future

Kroger’s Store-Less Expansion Model Looks Like The Future

Kroger may not have found the treasure of the Sierra Madre, but the grocery giant appears to have struck grocery retailing gold with its use of automated warehouses, spoke hubs and micro-fulfillment centers to move into markets without having to open stores. The nation's largest supermarket operator announced last week that it plans to expand Kroger Delivery, including into markets where it currently has no physical store presence (Northeast U. S.) and expand in another (Florida) where it first began its digital-only push earlier this year. "If this works, it will demonstrate the extendability of a strong brand enabled by efficient logistics," wrote RetailWire BrainTrust panelist Jeff Sward, founding partner of Merchandising Metrics, in an online discussion last week. "We already know that physical stores boost the e-commerce business in a given area, but this scenario may test the 'necessary but not sufficient' equation. The brand is the store, through whatever channel they execute." "Kroger is establishing itself nationally via a modern retail strategy," wrote Melissa Minkow, retail industry lead at CI&T. "I expect many more retailers to initiate partnerships that allow them access to consumers they wouldn't be able to access conventionally." Kroger entered the Central Florida market to