ONCART'S END HALTS KROGER ATLANTA, DALLAS HOME DELIVERY

LINDA PURPURA

CINCINNATI -- Kroger Co. here has discontinued home delivery of groceries to customers in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta markets because OnCart, Lombard, Ill., has ceased operations.

OnCart supplied fulfillment and delivery services for home-shopping customers, while the Kroger stores operated as fulfillment centers.

Approximately 80 stores in the Dallas KMA, which became a part of the Houston KMA earlier this year, and 150 stores in the Atlanta KMA were affected by the situation. Kroger executives declined to provide details on the number of customers being served or the number of home-shopping orders it had been fulfilling.

"Our feeling was that even though the business itself was OK, but not dramatic, we had every intention of continuing to provide that service. We were disappointed that [OnCart] went out of business," said Paul Bernish, spokesman for Kroger.

The people most affected by the end of this service are "the elderly who are also infirm or restricted to the home, or for whatever reason can't get out as much as they would like to," he added.

Kroger is currently evaluating whether there is sufficient demand to get back into home delivery in these markets. Kroger continues to offer home delivery in the Columbus, Ohio, area through a partnership with Peapod, Evanston, Ill.

OnCart, formerly known as third-party provider Shoppers Express, also recently severed its relationship with Quality Food Centers, Bellevue, Wash.