RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co.
(NYSE: KR), America's largest grocery retailer, today announced it
will offer more Americans delivery through the addition of a
new customer fulfillment center (CFC) in North Carolina,
powered by the Ocado Group (LSE: OCDO) and combining vertical
integration, machine learning, and robotics to provide an
affordable, friendly, and fast fresh food delivery service as part
of the company's seamless ecosystem.
"The acceleration of our delivery business continues with the
development of an additional customer fulfillment center, advancing
our commitment to creating career opportunities and serving
shoppers fresh food fast through interconnected, automated, and
innovative facilities and last-mile solutions across America," said
Gabriel Arreaga, Kroger's senior
vice president and chief supply chain officer. "We thank Governor
Roy Cooper for his collaboration and
support of this project, and the company looks forward to serving
new and existing customers across North
Carolina."
"As e-commerce continues to grow, I'm pleased Kroger will locate
this highly advanced fulfillment center in our state," said
Governor Roy Cooper. "From our hard
working and skilled people to our advanced transportation networks
and overall business climate, North
Carolina offers the right ingredients for a modern business
to succeed."
The North Carolina CFC, measuring 200,000 square feet, is
expected to become operational within 24 months after the site
breaks ground and will employ up to 700 associates over the next
five years.
"We're excited to come to North
Carolina in partnership with Kroger," said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions. "As
demonstrated by the two state-of-the-art CFCs already live in other
parts of the country, Ocado is helping Kroger to
establish a new high-bar in the type of quality and service that
U.S. grocery shoppers can receive online. We can't wait for
customers across North Carolina to
experience online delivery, enabled by Ocado's unique
technology."
Today's announcement confirms a previous communication stating
the Kroger Fulfillment Network would construct a CFC in the
South.
Kroger Fulfillment Network currently operates CFCs in
Groveland, FL and Monroe, OH and is slated to open sites in
California, Dallas, TX, Forest
Park, GA (Atlanta),
Frederick, MD, Phoenix, AZ, Pleasant Prairie, WI, Romulus, MI (Detroit), as well as South Florida and the Northeast, Pacific
Northwest, and West.
Media Assets
To download Kroger Delivery photography
and video, visit here.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are
Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human
Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a
million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily
through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner
names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste
communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and
investor relations site.
About Ocado Group
Ocado Group is a UK based technology
company admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker
OCDO). It provides end-to-end online grocery fulfilment solutions
to some of the world's largest grocery retailers and holds a 50%
share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the UK in a Joint Venture with Marks
& Spencer. Ocado has spent two decades innovating for grocery
online, investing in a wide technology estate that includes
robotics, AI & machine learning, simulation, forecasting, and
edge intelligence.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.