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The Kroger Co.

Grocery Retail & SupermarketsFounded 1883
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Acquisitions

Kroger Acquisitions

5

Major Deals Covered

$17.3B

Disclosed Deal Value

What are Kroger's biggest acquisitions?

Kroger's largest disclosed acquisition here is Fred Meyer Stores for $13.5B in 1999. This page covers 5 major deals from 1999 to 2018, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.

Major deals covered
5
Largest deal
Fred Meyer Stores ($13.5B)
First deal
1999
Most recent
2018
CompanyYearPricePurpose
Fred Meyer Stores1999$13.5BKroger's acquisition of Fred Meyer Stores for approximately $13.5 billion in 1999 was the largest in the company's history at that time and represented a transformative geographic and format expansion. Fred Meyer operated approximately 800 stores across the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Mountain West, and Mountain States, primarily in large-format multi-department locations selling groceries alongside clothing, electronics, hardware, and jewelry. The deal gave Kroger immediate scale in markets where it had limited or no presence and added a premium multi-department format capability that complemented its supermarket-focused portfolio.
Harris Teeter Supermarkets2014$2.5BKroger acquired Matthews, North Carolina-based Harris Teeter Supermarkets for approximately $2.5 billion in January 2014, adding 227 stores across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a premium supermarket banner with a strong reputation for fresh food quality, store cleanliness, and customer service. Harris Teeter operated in markets including Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, the Washington D.C. Metro area, Richmond, and coastal Carolina markets where Kroger had limited or no presence. The acquisition provided immediate scale in high-growth Sunbelt markets with attractive demographic profiles.
Roundy's Inc. (Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, Mariano's)2015$800.0MKroger's acquisition of Roundy's Inc. For approximately $800 million in 2015 added three distinct grocery banners: Pick 'n Save and Metro Market in Wisconsin, and the premium Mariano's banner in the Chicago metropolitan area. The deal represented Kroger's entry into the Chicago market - one of the largest U.S. Metro areas in which it had lacked significant presence - as well as a meaningful expansion in Wisconsin, where Pick 'n Save was the leading conventional supermarket banner. Mariano's, positioned as a premium urban grocery experience, provided Kroger with a format for urban and affluent suburban markets that differed from its traditional suburban supermarket model.
Vitacost.com2014$280.0MKroger's acquisition of Vitacost.com, an online natural health and organic food retailer, for approximately $280 million in 2014 represented an early strategic move to build digital commerce capabilities at a time when most traditional grocery retailers were still treating e-commerce as a peripheral experiment. Vitacost operated as a pure-play online retailer selling vitamins, supplements, natural foods, and health products through its website, with a customer base concentrated in the health-conscious consumer segment that Kroger was simultaneously trying to capture with its Simple Truth organic brand launch.
Home Chef2018$200.0MKroger acquired Chicago-based meal kit company Home Chef in 2018 for $200 million upfront, with earnout payments that could raise the total to $700 million. The deal gave Kroger a meal kit brand to sell both by subscription and in its stores.
What companies has Kroger bought?
Major acquisitions by Kroger documented here include Fred Meyer Stores (1999), Harris Teeter Supermarkets (2014), Roundy's Inc. (Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, Mariano's) (2015), Vitacost.com (2014) and Home Chef (2018).
What is Kroger's most recent acquisition?
The most recent Kroger acquisition documented here is Home Chef, in 2018, for $200M.

Home Chef

2018

$200M

Why

Kroger acquired Chicago-based meal kit company Home Chef in 2018 for $200 million upfront, with earnout payments that could raise the total to $700 million. The deal gave Kroger a meal kit brand to sell both by subscription and in its stores.

Impact

The Home Chef acquisition gave Kroger a branded meal solution that could be sold both through the subscription e-commerce model and as a physical in-store product - a hybrid model that addressed the subscription model's high churn rates by allowing occasional or lapsed subscribers to purchase individual meal kits at retail without a recurring commitment. The ability to manufacture Home Chef kits and sell them across Kroger's 2,700+ stores created an immediate distribution advantage that no pure-play meal kit company could match.

Outcome

Home Chef kits are sold in Kroger stores' fresh departments alongside the online subscription business, giving Kroger a prepared-meal offering that competes with restaurant and takeout spending.

Source →

Roundy's Inc. (Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, Mariano's)

2015

$800M

Why

Kroger's acquisition of Roundy's Inc. For approximately $800 million in 2015 added three distinct grocery banners: Pick 'n Save and Metro Market in Wisconsin, and the premium Mariano's banner in the Chicago metropolitan area. The deal represented Kroger's entry into the Chicago market - one of the largest U.S. Metro areas in which it had lacked significant presence - as well as a meaningful expansion in Wisconsin, where Pick 'n Save was the leading conventional supermarket banner. Mariano's, positioned as a premium urban grocery experience, provided Kroger with a format for urban and affluent suburban markets that differed from its traditional suburban supermarket model.

Impact

The Roundy's acquisition gave Kroger a foothold in Chicago, the third-largest U.S. Metropolitan market, through the Mariano's banner's approximately 30 locations. Pick 'n Save's dominant position in Wisconsin - particularly in the Milwaukee metropolitan area - added a market where Kroger had previously had no presence and where the competitive dynamics were favorable for a well-capitalized operator. The combination of the three banners created a Midwest cluster that complemented Kroger's existing Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky operations.

Outcome

The Mariano's banner has performed competitively in the contested Chicago grocery market, though Chicago's dense competitive environment - featuring strong regional operators, Jewel-Osco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's as well as aggressive expansion by Aldi and Lidl - has made the market challenging. Pick 'n Save has maintained its strong position in Wisconsin as a value-oriented conventional supermarket leader. The Roundy's acquisition overall has been accretive to Kroger's earnings and geographic diversification, though some underperforming Mariano's locations were subsequently closed or remodeled.

Source →

Harris Teeter Supermarkets

2014

$2.5B

Why

Kroger acquired Matthews, North Carolina-based Harris Teeter Supermarkets for approximately $2.5 billion in January 2014, adding 227 stores across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a premium supermarket banner with a strong reputation for fresh food quality, store cleanliness, and customer service. Harris Teeter operated in markets including Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, the Washington D.C. Metro area, Richmond, and coastal Carolina markets where Kroger had limited or no presence. The acquisition provided immediate scale in high-growth Sunbelt markets with attractive demographic profiles.

Impact

Harris Teeter significantly extended Kroger's geographic reach into some of the fastest-growing population markets in the United States, including the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, the Charlotte metro area, and the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. The premium banner positioning allowed Kroger to compete for upper-income suburban households that might not consider a standard Kroger-banner location, broadening the company's demographic coverage beyond its traditional middle-income core.

Outcome

Harris Teeter has remained a high-performing banner within Kroger's portfolio, consistently generating comparable-store sales growth at or above the company average and maintaining the premium quality positioning that made it attractive to the acquirer. The banner's strong fresh food departments and curated specialty selection have served as a learning laboratory for quality improvements that have been selectively applied across the broader Kroger store network.

Source →

Vitacost.com

2014

$280M

Why

Kroger's acquisition of Vitacost.com, an online natural health and organic food retailer, for approximately $280 million in 2014 represented an early strategic move to build digital commerce capabilities at a time when most traditional grocery retailers were still treating e-commerce as a peripheral experiment. Vitacost operated as a pure-play online retailer selling vitamins, supplements, natural foods, and health products through its website, with a customer base concentrated in the health-conscious consumer segment that Kroger was simultaneously trying to capture with its Simple Truth organic brand launch.

Impact

The Vitacost acquisition provided Kroger with a functioning e-commerce operation, an existing customer base of health-oriented online shoppers, and digital fulfillment experience that informed the company's subsequent investment in broader digital grocery capabilities. The health and wellness category alignment between Vitacost's assortment and Kroger's Simple Truth brand created cross-selling and brand development operational efficiencies in a segment where consumer spending was growing rapidly.

Outcome

Kroger sold Vitacost in fiscal 2025 as part of its eCommerce strategic review, ending its ownership of the online vitamins and wellness retailer.

Source →

Fred Meyer Stores

1999

$13.5B

Why

Kroger's acquisition of Fred Meyer Stores for approximately $13.5 billion in 1999 was the largest in the company's history at that time and represented a transformative geographic and format expansion. Fred Meyer operated approximately 800 stores across the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Mountain West, and Mountain States, primarily in large-format multi-department locations selling groceries alongside clothing, electronics, hardware, and jewelry. The deal gave Kroger immediate scale in markets where it had limited or no presence and added a premium multi-department format capability that complemented its supermarket-focused portfolio.

Impact

The Fred Meyer acquisition substantially expanded Kroger's geographic footprint into the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West, regions that have subsequently developed into some of the company's most profitable market clusters. The multi-department format - particularly the Fred Meyer stores in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska - established a retail model for markets where a single large-format location serving multiple product categories could achieve economics unachievable by supermarkets operating in the same footprint. The jewelry retail component, inherited from Fred Meyer's Fred Meyer Jewelers division, added a non-food revenue stream that continues to operate within the multi-department format.

Outcome

Fred Meyer remains one of Kroger's most recognizable and commercially successful banner brands, consistently generating strong comparable-store sales performance in its Pacific Northwest core markets. The multi-department format has proven resilient against the specific competitive threats that have pressured conventional supermarkets, as the breadth of the merchandise offering creates a more complete shopping destination that is harder for specialized competitors to replicate.

Source →

The Kroger Co.'s Growth & Acquisition Strategy

After the Albertsons merger was blocked in December 2024, Kroger shifted to organic growth and capital returns. Its current priorities are price and fresh-food execution in stores, a reset eCommerce model that leans more on store-based fulfillment and third-party delivery after exiting several automated fulfillment centers, faster growth in Our Brands, pharmacy and health services, and scaling Kroger Precision Marketing. The 2025 eCommerce strategic review targeted $400 million of eCommerce operating profit improvement in 2026. Kroger has also returned cash through the $7.5 billion buyback completed in fiscal 2025 and a new $2 billion authorization.

How The Kroger Co. Makes Money

Kroger makes money by selling food and household goods at high volume and low margin, then layering higher-margin businesses on top of the store traffic. The core is supermarket retail across roughly two dozen regional banners. Our Brands private labels such as Kroger, Simple Truth, and Private Selection, many made in Kroger-owned food plants, earn better margins than national brands. In-store pharmacies and fuel centers add visit frequency, with Fuel Points tying grocery spending to gas discounts. On top of that sit the Alternative Profit Businesses, led by Kroger Precision Marketing and the 84.51° data science unit, which sell targeted advertising and insights to consumer brands using loyalty-card purchase data. Those businesses produced $1.5 billion of operating profit in fiscal 2025.

Kroger Acquisitions FAQ

Did Kroger acquire Albertsons?

No. Kroger agreed in October 2022 to buy Albertsons for $24.6 billion including debt, but a federal judge blocked the deal in December 2024 and Albertsons terminated it.

When did Kroger acquire Fred Meyer and why was it historic?

In May 1999, Kroger completed a transformative $13 billion merger with Portland-based Fred Meyer, Inc. The acquisition added Ralphs, Quality Food Centers (QFC), and Smith's, making Kroger the largest retail supermarket chain in the United States.

When did Kroger acquire Harris Teeter?

In January 2014, Kroger acquired upscale Southeastern grocery chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. for $2.5 billion, adding over 225 high-volume supermarkets in affluent Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern markets.

When did Kroger acquire Roundy's and Mariano's?

In December 2015, Kroger acquired Midwestern supermarket operator Roundy's, Inc. for $800 million, expanding into Wisconsin (Pick 'n Save, Metro Market) and securing a premier footprint in urban Chicago with the upscale Mariano's banner.

When did Kroger acquire meal-kit pioneer Home Chef?

In May 2018, Kroger acquired leading meal-kit company Home Chef for $200 million (with earnout incentives up to $700 million), scaling meal kits across thousands of store locations and nationwide e-commerce subscriptions.

When did Kroger acquire vitacost.com to accelerate e-commerce?

In August 2014 Kroger acquired Vitacost.com for about $280 million to add online wellness retail and ship-to-home capability. Kroger sold Vitacost in fiscal 2025 during its eCommerce review.

When did Kroger acquire full control of data science firm 84.51° (dunnhumbyUSA)?

In 2015, Kroger bought out its joint venture partner dunnhumby to form 84.51° as a wholly owned data science subsidiary, retaining top predictive analytics talent and proprietary customer purchasing algorithms.

What is Kroger's strategic criteria for grocery retail acquisitions?

Kroger targets regional grocery leaders with top market share in attractive geographies, high customer loyalty, and unionized workforces where Kroger can inject its Our Brands private label, 84.51° data science, and national purchasing power.

What grocery chains does Kroger own?

To become a massive national giant, Kroger executes highly aggressive acquisitions of regional chains. In 1999, they executed a massive $13 billion mega-merger with Fred Meyer (which also owned Ralphs and QFC), instantly giving them dominance in California and the Pacific Northwest. In 2014, they bought Harris Teeter for $2.4 billion to completely dominate the wealthy Southeast.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.