You might not know that Kroger® is expanding. The company recently announced that it agreed to purchase Harris Teeter Supermarket Inc®.I don’t know if Harris Teeter® will maintain its banner name like other acquired chains have (Ralphs®, Food4Less®, Fred Meyer®, Smith’s®, Dillon’s®, Fry’s®, King Soopers®) or change its name. The announcement did state that the new division will continue to operate out of North Carolina. This structure is similar to the existing non-banner stores that maintained divisional offices versus having Kroger’s® general office in Cincinnati run everything. I don’t foresee existing Harris Teeter® shopper profiles changing, but if they do, I think they will skew toward a higher-income shopper with higher expectations. I think this because the store-brand items will switch to Kroger® private labels, and this acquisition increases Kroger’s® buying power, forwarding shoppers better prices and/or higher-quality products. In addition, these shoppers will be in an exploratory state and more open to trying new things. This is a great time to develop or improve relationships with these shoppers.
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