KROGER BUYS SIX THRIFTWAY STORES 2004-07-12 (1)

CINCINNATI -- Kroger here last week said it finalized an agreement to acquire six Thriftway stores in its headquarters market here from Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla. Terms were not disclosed.

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The sales were part of Winn-Dixie's previously announced plan to sell or close 156 stores in various markets.

Kroger had been reported to be interested in eight Thriftways. Subsequent reports said the company remained interested in three other Thriftways in the market in addition to the six it agreed to acquire.

Two of the stores Kroger said it will buy are within Cincinnati city limits. The others are located in Florence, Ky.; Goshen, Ohio; Blue Ash, Ohio; and Amelia, Ohio.

The stores will become part of Kroger's Cincinnati division, which has 103 stores in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

"We're planning to remodel and upgrade the stores over the next several months and will reopen the stores under the Kroger banner as those renovations are completed," Gary Rhodes, a Kroger spokesman, told SN.

He said the stores would not be converted to either the Marketplace or Fresh Fare formats. The acquired stores average about 53,000 square feet, according to reports.