Kroger Fine-Tunes Structure

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. has no interest in centralizing its operations, as one shareholder suggested it do at last week's annual shareholder's meeting here, “but we are moving down a path that will change our structure,” David Dillon, chairman and chief executive officer, told attendees.

“We want to increase the strength of our organization closer to the customer, which is what we do at the division and zone offices, and we also want to improve support from the general organization. So we are moving some people from division offices closer to the stores and working on centralized programs at the general office based on strong feedback from the stores.”

Asked why Kroger didn't participate in the “Undercover Boss” television show, Dillon said, “It would require me to mislead employees. But I encourage our executives to shop at the stores anonymously, as I do, to experience the process as a customer would — we try to fix things that way, rather than on television.”