Kroger owns its grocery chains through subsidiaries that trade under local banners: Ralphs, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Fred Meyer, QFC, Smith’s, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Mariano’s, Pick ‘n Save and others, plus the data business84.51°, the meal-kit company Home Chef and Murray’s Cheese. As of 31 January 2026 it operated 2,697 supermarkets in 35 states and the District of Columbia, and it reported sales of $147.6 billion in fiscal 2025.
Kroger's subsidiaries list (Exhibit 21.1 to its 10-K) shows entities such as Dillon Companies, Fred Meyer Stores and Smith's Food & Drug Centers, each doing business under several store names.
02
Local banners keep local loyalty
Kroger says its stores operate under banners with strong local ties and brand recognition, so a shopper in Denver sees King Soopers and one in Phoenix sees Fry's.
03
Its own products
Our Brands, including Private Selection, Kroger and Simple Truth, represented over $39 billion of sales in fiscal 2025. Kroger owned 33 food production plants as of 31 January 2026.
04
Data and media on top
84.51° analyses shopper data and Kroger Precision Marketing sells retail media to consumer brands; Kroger calls these alternative profit businesses.
What changed in 2025-26
The Albertsons deal ended in court
After the merger with Albertsons was terminated, Albertsons sued Kroger on 10 December 2024 seeking a $600 million termination fee and other damages. Kroger denied the claims and filed counterclaims on 17 March 2025.
Robot warehouses closed
After a 2025 review of eCommerce, Kroger closed automated fulfillment centres in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin; Frederick, Maryland; and Groveland, Florida in January 2026 and cancelled a planned site in Charlotte. Fiscal 2025 results include $2.5 billion of fulfillment network impairment and related charges.
Non-core businesses sold
Kroger sold Kroger Specialty Pharmacy in fiscal 2024 and Vitacost.com in fiscal 2025, narrowing the group around its supermarkets.
AI shopping agents named as a risk
The fiscal 2025 10-K warns that AI agents that autonomously research, compare and purchase products for consumers could disintermediate Kroger from the customer relationship if they prioritise price or speed over retailer loyalty.
Kroger's main subsidiaries and what they trade as
Dillon Companies, LLC
Trades asKing Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Baker's, Gerbes
BusinessSupermarkets
Fred Meyer Stores, Inc.
Trades asFred Meyer, QFC
BusinessMulti-department stores and supermarkets
Smith's Food & Drug Centers, Inc.
Trades asSmith's, Fry's
BusinessSupermarkets
Harris Teeter, LLC
Trades asHarris Teeter
BusinessSupermarkets
Roundy's and Shop-Rite, LLC
Trades asMariano's, Pick 'n Save, Metro Market
BusinessSupermarkets
84.51 LLC
Trades as84.51°
BusinessData analytics
Relish Labs LLC
Trades asHome Chef
BusinessMeal kits
What it means for you
Check the parent before you compare grocers: Ralphs, King Soopers and Harris Teeter all report into Kroger.
Read Kroger's alternative profit businesses (data and retail media) as a second business built on top of grocery traffic.
If you sell consumer goods, plan for Kroger's own labels as competitors: Our Brands sold over $39 billion in fiscal 2025.
Note why three automated fulfillment centres closed: Kroger says they had not met operational or financial expectations, and it now serves online orders from stores, third-party delivery and its remaining automated sites.
Prepare for AI shopping agents: clean product data, prices and availability will matter when software builds the basket.
The Business Engineer lens
Kroger’s real asset is its loyalty data, which feeds 84.51° and its retail media arm. The Business Engineer view is that AI agents test that asset directly: if the agent owns the shopping decision, the grocer that keeps the customer relationship keeps the margin.
Its subsidiaries trade as Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Foods Co., King Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Baker's, Gerbes, Fred Meyer, QFC, Smith's, Fry's, Harris Teeter, Mariano's, Pick 'n Save and Metro Market, among others, plus 84.51°, Home Chef and Murray's Cheese.
How many stores does Kroger have?
As of 31 January 2026 Kroger operated 2,697 supermarkets in 35 states and the District of Columbia; 2,250 had pharmacies and 1,731 had fuel centers.
Did Kroger buy Albertsons?
No. The merger was terminated, and the two companies are now suing each other over alleged breaches of the merger agreement.
Does Kroger own Home Chef?
Yes. Relish Labs LLC, which does business as Home Chef, is listed among Kroger's subsidiaries in its fiscal 2025 10-K.
The complete explainer, cleaned up and reformatted for mobile.
In short
Kroger sold $147.6 billion of goods in fiscal 2025 through 2,697 supermarkets in 35 states and DC, under banners such as Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, Smith’s and Fry’s. 2,250 of those stores have pharmacies and 1,731 have fuel centers. Its own label, Our Brands (Simple Truth, Private Selection, Kroger), brought in over $39 billion of sales.
Sources: Kroger Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, year to January 31, 2026 (SEC EDGAR). Analysis by The Business Engineer.
How we source: figures on this page come from the company’s own filings (SEC 10-K, 10-Q and earnings releases, or its annual report), with the period stated next to each number. Last refreshed October 2026. Our methodology.
Video: Kroger, explained in about a minute. Tap for sound. Built from the company’s own filings.
Kroger is an American retail and multi-department store company that operates in the United States. The company was founded in 1883 by Bernard Kroger who used his life savings to open a small grocery store in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Over its long and successful history, Kroger has inherited various subsidiaries via mergers and acquisitions. Today, Kroger is the largest true supermarket operator in the United States with over 2,750 stores across 35 states. The company also owns fuel centers, pharmacies, department stores, jewelry stores, and in-store medical clinics.
Subsidiary / Division
Business Category
Key Differentiator
Integration Strategy
Kroger
Grocery Retail and Supermarkets
Leading grocery store chain in the U.S.
Serves as the core business, operating a network of grocery stores, supermarkets, and related retail outlets.
Ralphs
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in Southern California.
Expands Kroger’s presence in California, offering a variety of grocery products and services.
Fry’s Food Stores
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain primarily in Arizona.
Provides grocery shopping options in the Arizona market, complementing Kroger’s broader retail network.
Fred Meyer
Hypermarket and Department Stores
Hypermarket and department store chain.
Offers a combination of grocery, general merchandise, and other retail products, providing a one-stop shopping experience.
King Soopers
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in Colorado.
Expands Kroger’s presence in Colorado, offering grocery products and services.
Smith’s Food and Drug
Grocery Retail
Supermarket and drugstore chain.
Provides a range of grocery and pharmacy services, catering to customer convenience and health needs.
Harris Teeter
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Expands Kroger’s footprint in the Southeastern U.S., offering grocery and related services.
QFC (Quality Food Centers)
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in the Pacific Northwest.
Enhances Kroger’s presence in the Pacific Northwest, offering grocery products and services.
Dillons
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in Kansas and surrounding states.
Provides grocery shopping options in the Kansas and surrounding markets.
Roundy’s Supermarkets
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in the Midwest.
Expands Kroger’s presence in the Midwest, offering grocery products and services.
Mariano’s
Grocery Retail
Supermarket chain in the Chicagoland area.
Enhances Kroger’s presence in the Chicago market, providing grocery and retail services.
Kroger Health
Healthcare and Wellness Services
Health clinics, pharmacies, and wellness services.
Integrates healthcare and wellness services into Kroger’s retail locations, offering convenience and accessibility.
Kroger Personal Finance
Financial Services
Financial and money services.
Provides financial services, including prepaid debit cards and money transfer services, enhancing customer convenience.
Kroger Technology
Information Technology and Services
IT solutions, digital innovation, and analytics.
Drives digital innovation, data analytics, and technology solutions to improve operations and customer experiences.
Kroger Manufacturing
Food Manufacturing
In-house food production and manufacturing.
Produces private-label food products, ensuring quality and value for Kroger’s customers.
Kroger Brands
Private-Label Brands
Range of private-label products.
Offers a diverse range of private-label products across various categories, giving customers quality and value options.
Kroger Logistics
Supply Chain and Logistics
Supply chain and distribution solutions.
Optimizes supply chain operations, ensuring efficient delivery of products to Kroger’s retail locations.
City Market
City Market is a supermarket brand that was founded in 1924 by Paul, Frank, Leo, and Clarence Prinster.
City Market was acquired by the Dillon Companies in 1981, which then became part of Kroger when the two companies merged in 1983.
The Business Engineer view: Kroger is a traffic business that monetizes the basket three ways
Source: Kroger Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, year to January 31, 2026 (SEC EDGAR). Analysis by The Business Engineer.
Read the list of Kroger companies as one machine, not a collection of logos. The banners bring the visits. Our Brands turns those visits into margin: over $39 billion of sales, about a quarter of the total, on labels Kroger controls, and about 20% of those units come out of its own 33 food plants. The remaining layer is data: the loyalty-card traffic feeds Kroger Precision Marketing, the retail media business the 10-K describes as carrying an attractive margin relative to grocery.
The mix is shifting toward the pharmacy counter. Pharmacy rose from 9.6% of sales in 2023 to 12.3% in 2025, while supermarket fuel fell from 11.1% to 9.2% as pump prices dropped. That is a trade-off, not a pure win: the 10-K says higher pharmacy sales carry a lower gross margin rate. Pharmacy matters less for its own profit than for the trip it creates, a regular reason to come back to the store.
2025 also showed the cost of betting on the wrong model. Reported operating profit halved to $1.9 billion because of $2.5 billion of fulfillment network impairment and related charges, the same year Kroger exited fulfillment centers in markets where it does not operate stores. Excluding those items, adjusted FIFO operating profit rose 5% to $4.9 billion, and eCommerce sales still grew 16%. The lesson: Kroger’s online growth works when it rides on existing stores, not when it builds a parallel network.
The compression: Kroger’s moat is local density plus a shopper it can identify. The Albertsons merger, which would have added scale, was terminated, so growth now has to come from more of each household’s basket, not more stores. Compare with P&G, which sells the brands Kroger competes with on its own shelves.
QFC
Quality Food Centers (QFC) is another supermarket chain with a strong presence in Washington state.
The company was founded by Jack Croco, a former Albertson’s employee who opened his own grocery store in Bellevue.
Over the 70s, 80s, and 90s, QFC expanded into surrounding counties and states with multiple acquisitions. The company was acquired by Fred Meyer in 1997 that was itself acquired by Kroger the following year.
Smith’s Food and Drug
Smith’s Food and Drug, affectionately known as Smith’s, is a regional supermarket chain that was founded in 1911 by Lorenzo Smith.
Smith’s was acquired by Kroger at the same time as QFC as part of the Fred Meyer deal.
This deal was the one that elevated Kroger to the largest supermarket chain in the country and also the nation’s largest supplier of milk and eggs.
Mariano’s is a grocery store chain that was founded relatively recently in 2010. The chain sells items such as smoked ribs, oysters, liquor, cheese, sushi, gelato, and smoothies.
Mariano’s expanded quickly in the Chicago area with 34 stores opening in the first five years of operation. When Kroger acquired Milwaukee-based supermarket chain Roundy’s in 2015, it also took control of Mariano’s in a deal worth around $800 million.
Food 4 Less (Foods Co)
Food 4 Less and Foods Co are no-frills grocery store chains operating in Illinois, Indiana, and Southern California where customers must bag their own items.
There are also other stores scattered around the country as part of franchise deals with different wholesale food companies.
Home Chef
Home Chef is a meal kit and food delivery that provides ingredients and recipes to customers in the United States every week. Each delivery contains fresh and pre-portioned items in recyclable packages that are ready to cook.
Kroger is an American retail and multi-department store company that operates in the United States. Kroger is the largest true supermarket operator in the United States.
Kroger subsidiaries include supermarket chains QFC, City Market, and Smith’s Food and Drug, with all three moving under the Kroger brand after acquisitions of other companies.
Kroger also acquired Chicago-centric grocery store chain Mariano’s in 2015 when it purchased Milwaukee-based chain Roundy’s. Kroger also owns discount chain Food 4 Less and food delivery service Home Chef.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
