CINCINNATI, OH – Kroger may be in moves to expand its portfolio even further into the supermarket realm with new possibilities on the horizon, pending Walgreens upcoming acquisition of Rite Aid, and Kroger's interest in the soon-to-be divested stores. 

As Walgreens will need to sell some of Rite Aid’s stores, analysts have marked Kroger as a potential prime bidder given its rumored buying interest in the stores more than a year ago, according to the Cincinnati Business courier.

Walgreens stated that with the acquistion’s close by the end of the year, it was willing to sell up to 1,000 Rite Aid stores. However, experts predict that it will likely only need to sell around half that number. 

So just where does Kroger come in? While Kroger is the nation’s fifth-largest pharmacy operation with 2,200 in-store locations, experts are speculating that Kroger could use the purchase of Rite Aid stores even further than just a pharmary expansion to boost its supermarket sales.

The potential purchase could see Kroger using the prime Rite Aid locations to build its own supermarkets in the surrounding area, or branching out further into the urban format trend that Kroger has been investing in.

Walgreens’ parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance reached a deal with the Rite Aid in October of last year to acquire the chain’s 4,600 stores.

Kroger officials have yet to comment on the prospective acquisition of stores.

Will Kroger soon be working up a Rite Aid bid to launch its supermarket chain even further into the nation’s reach? AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the situation develops.

Kroger Co.