I'm wondering, why aren't there any Kroger stores in ALL of the DC area, let alone NoVa, Maryland surrounding DC (Montgomery, Prince George's), SoMD, and DC! To get to Kroger, someone has to drive 80-100 miles, where those exist on the I-81 corridor, Richmond Metro, even Baltimore! There of course are Krogers in other sections of Maryland and Virginia, but NONE in the DC area!!! If you go out west, there are 1,000+ Kroger stores, as well south, and north too!

Somebody, tell me the reason why there are 0 Kroger locations in the DC area.

I heard somewhere that Kroger was a failure here back in the '60s, but I don't understand that. Maybe Kroger still might be in a pre-emerging market here, local opposition may prevent stores here, or the Kroger company has not planned opening stores here, or who knows? Maybe Kroger in fact may have stores here.

C'mon! This is the exact same as no Hobby Lobby and Sonic here.

If you're driving 80-100 miles just to go to Krogers I'd say you need help.

Um, what portion of the DC grocery market is underserved by grocery stores? PG and DC, maybe. But you've got SFW, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Giant, Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Food Lion . . . what would be the segment that Kroger's would go after? I think they're not further north than Charlottesville. Why would they want to go into NoVa?

OTRA Wrote:
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> If you're driving 80-100 miles just to go to
> Krogers I'd say you need help.


Nope. I was just wondering here.

Wow; not complicated Wrote:
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> Um, what portion of the DC grocery market is
> underserved by grocery stores? PG and DC, maybe.
> But you've got SFW, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter,
> Giant, Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Food Lion . .
> . what would be the segment that Kroger's would go
> after? I think they're not further north than
> Charlottesville. Why would they want to go into
> NoVa?

But, there always can be MOAR competition, and a bigger chance to fill vacant spaces. BTW, you forgot Walmart Supercenter, Super Target, and BJs.

GO Kroger for DC Area! :P

Still waiting for a reason...

Krogers is mostly in the Midwest and Southeast, incluing Virginia and NC. But DC Metro area, its like "GIANT" has a hold on it and won't let anything else in. Since Giant is such a big store, Krogers would be its main competitor and that wouldn't be pretty. There are no Giants (that Im aware of) south of DC Metro so that means Kroger's can have its way there. Also Nova has lots of other good stores like Safeway and Food Lion. I would rather see a "Fresh Market" here, though. Its a NC chain that has some stores in Virginia.

When I lived down south Kroger was more expensive and a farther drive. Not that I don't support competition in the market, I just don't think they stand to gain anything by moving here.
The only thing I could see happening is if they buy out a supermarket chain and reformat the stores into the Kroger brand.

Krogersinthehouse Wrote:
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> Krogers is mostly in the Midwest and Southeast,
> incluing Virginia and NC. But DC Metro area, its
> like "GIANT" has a hold on it and won't let
> anything else in. Since Giant is such a big store,
> Krogers would be its main competitor and that
> wouldn't be pretty. There are no Giants (that Im
> aware of) south of DC Metro so that means Kroger's
> can have its way there. Also Nova has lots of
> other good stores like Safeway and Food Lion. I
> would rather see a "Fresh Market" here, though.
> Its a NC chain that has some stores in Virginia.

But, that's OK. Why not? Giant can have SOME COMPETITION!!! :D

I used to go to the Krogers in Blacksburg and it sucks. It's only a notch above Food Lion which isn't saying much.

I used to go to the Krogers in Blacksburg and it sucks. It's only a notch above Food Lion which isn't saying much.

Back in the 60's there was a Krogers in Springfield and I think one at Loehmanns plaza when Loehmanns was just a couple of stand alone stores.

To many grocery stores in this area. Krogers would have to have something very special to make it in the market around here.

"Weird Al" Yankovic Wrote:
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> Still waiting for a reason...

Grocery chains move into AREAS that are underserved and/or market segments that are underserved.

Why would Kroger want to move into NoVa? The competition is brutal already.

Store robbin NIGGERS

Giant is Kroger in this region thats why.

In southern and Central Virginia, your choices are Food Lion, Kroger, and Harris Teeter with perceived classiness going from least to most, respectively.

Ukrops or whatever it is now called is in Richmond.

404ed Wrote:
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> Ukrops or whatever it is now called is in
> Richmond.


Karn's

My guess is profit margin and as above the amount of competition. Unlike other industries, the grocery business profit margin is razor thin at best. 2-4% tops.

I wish the Safeway near me had some nearby competition. The place is filthy the clerks are rude and lazy. On a Saturday they have no more than two registers open. Sadly Kroger would not be big enough to offer the kind of competition to close this Safeway.

Ya know "Hoping", i was just running that through my mind. I had to go pick up a cake at Swiss Bakery on Braddock and realized I needed a couple regular items. I have mentally tuned out what a piece of absolute shit that Safeway is right next to the bakery. Why? No real competition.

Head over to Ballston or Alexandria these days, all the stores have been revamped because guys like Harris Teeter and Wegmans have been sucking the life out of Giant and Safeway.

My last experience at Safeway. Trying to buy some salad at the salad bar, no containers to be found.

Me to deli clerk" do you have some containers for the salad bar.

Deli clerk: What for?

Me: Well so I can buy a salad.

Deli clerk gives me the big sign as I am interupting his afternoon jerk off time I guess. He comes back some small container that might hold a radish.

Me: Ok thanks so much

Proceed to self checkout where of four registers three are broken.


I know its my own fault but the other nearest store is Giant about five miles away and there must be ten total parking spaces for the whole lot. You have to drive around for ten minutes to get a spot.

Giant isnt much better. They must send the managers that fuck up to the one in Kings Park. One Saturday the place was packed and they had one register open, one stinking register at 5pm. Even the damn 7-11 has two registers open. Never again.

A Harris Teeter or Wegmans would crush the Giant and Safeway in Burke. Neither place gives a shit about the customers and it shows. Love to see both of them fail.

I am giving serious consideration to moving into Alexandria. They have redone alot of the downtown area and got rid of some of the trashy spots. Nice places to eat, waterfront and plenty of good grocery stores. All within walking distance too. You wont get a SFH but I have some friends that live in the condos which are very nice.

The korean stores will murk there prices.

Tough One Wrote:
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> My guess is profit margin and as above the amount
> of competition. Unlike other industries, the
> grocery business profit margin is razor thin at
> best. 2-4% tops.


When they figure in the DC niggers shoplifting loss the 2-4% profit margin will go negative %. Everything goes to shit in DC because the DC niggers stealing and robbing everything. These stores know what going on in DC. The only business that haven't failed in DC is parking tickets because the niggers won't steal the meters. All the whites that live in DC go to Virginia stores to shop safely, just look in the parking lot of a Safeway and count the number DC license plates.

I grew up with Krogers nearby. Aside from any sentimental value, I prefer Wegman's for quality and selection. Whole Foods for some variety.

Those living in Mom's basement won't understand.

Kroger is an ordinary run-of-the-mill grocery store. To enter the market here and succeed, you have to be exceptional, like Wegman's.

Kroger would fail here like Food Lion has.

Word on the street is that a racist man in Richmond named Meade Skelton Harasses employees and then blogs about them. I wouldn't be surprised if they want to try and contain that sort of mindset to the south, and not lure him anymore northward.

They can fill the spot on Columbia Pike where the Magruders and Bloom failed in the past few years.

"Weird Al" Yankovic Wrote:
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> I'm wondering, why aren't there any Kroger stores
> in ALL of the DC area, let alone NoVa, Maryland
> surrounding DC (Montgomery, Prince George's),
> SoMD, and DC!

Why not ask them?

https://customer.kroger.com/comments/comments.aspx/

I speculate a couple reasons.

1) Real estate prices. There seem to be a lot of places that don't seem to want to attempt to compete in the DC area. Roy Rogers, Cracker Barrel, others I can't remember off the top of my head. You can look at their location maps and see a gaping hole around DC (and for others, other major cities). Given the high cost of real estate in this area, I'm suspecting that's a factor.

2) Market saturation. Grocery stores are already in place in suffiicent quantities in most neighborhoods. It's not like demand for grocery stores can go up substantially without new places for people to live, and we're reaching a saturation point with that as well. If they were to try to break into the market, they'd have to do it in an area with a new development or neighborhood. Then you have the marketing question. If that new neighborhood goes up, are people going to go to the unfamiliar Krogers' or the known quantity Giant/Safeway? You have to do the advertising to get Krogers' name out there and in the public consciousness. More money.

I think Krogers' would have to think there's a good chance of making a long-term play in DC, and they just don't think it's worth it. If you look at the experience of other new grocery stores like the one that used to be where the Big Lots is, it is hard to break into this market.

"Weird Al" Yankovic Wrote:
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> I'm wondering, why aren't there any Kroger stores
> in ALL of the DC area,

Short answer, HISTORY.

Krogers were in the DC area in the 1960s along with Giant, Safeway, A&P, Magruders, Cooks and probably several others. However there weren't very many of them and they pulled out in the face of some very stiff competition, especially from Giant. Given what Giant has become it is easy to forget what an innovative and well managed company it was back in those days.

Krogersinthehouse Wrote:
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> Krogers is mostly in the Midwest and Southeast,
> incluing Virginia and NC. But DC Metro area, its
> like "GIANT" has a hold on it and won't let
> anything else in. Since Giant is such a big store,
> Krogers would be its main competitor and that
> wouldn't be pretty. There are no Giants (that Im
> aware of) south of DC Metro so that means Kroger's
> can have its way there. Also Nova has lots of
> other good stores like Safeway and Food Lion. I
> would rather see a "Fresh Market" here, though.
> Its a NC chain that has some stores in Virginia.

In the early 1970s, Super Giant, where you could buy groceries and tires, became the first in the nation to use the IBM scanners. To afford the technological advancement, Super Giant got rid of everything except the core grocery business and became Giant Food.

An agreement was made with Krogers that Giant would not go south of Fredericksburg if Krogers would not go north. Their was more to this agreement, but that is the simple explanation.

Meade's Hillbilly Cousin Wrote:
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> In the early 1970s, Super Giant, where you could
> buy groceries and tires, became the first in the
> nation to use the IBM scanners. To afford the
> technological advancement, Super Giant got rid of
> everything except the core grocery business and
> became Giant Food.
>
> An agreement was made with Krogers that Giant
> would not go south of Fredericksburg if Krogers
> would not go north. Their was more to this
> agreement, but that is the simple explanation.


I remember a little different. Giant Food was owned by the Cohen family whose head was Israel (Izzy). Izzy created the Super Giant concept in the late 50's, but only a few Giant stores were Super Giants, most were regulat sized grocery only stores.

Izzy was a visionary, but I guess his super store idae was ahead of it's time. Izzy was running department stores with groceries before Sam Walton had opened his first Walmart store.

Izzy was also a good employer, who believed that his business could be very successful without screwing his employees. Pretty quaint, eh?

Of course Giant and Safeway suck. They are unionized. Every organization saddled with a union will fail. They're staffed with lazy, overpaid, self-entitled lib employees who don't give a shit about customers or service, and take no pride in what they do.

Right To Work Wrote:
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> Of course Giant and Safeway suck. They are
> unionized. Every organization saddled with a
> union will fail. They're staffed with lazy,
> overpaid, self-entitled lib employees who don't
> give a shit about customers or service, and take
> no pride in what they do.

You need to look at how involved the unions really are.
Compared to years ago, you will find that they are not that involved.
Giant and Safeway are pushing them out.
The days of union grocery workers are gone.

I remember as a child going to Krogers in Pittsburgh. But they got rid of them as well in the 80's. Now they only have Giant Eagle which use to be Kroger's competition. But I prefer Wegmans over Giant/Safeway or Krogers any day.