Kroger to open biggest East Coast store

RICHMOND, Va. Kroger is looking to take hold on the East Coast, with its biggest store planned for Richmond, Va. According to a report by local paper, Style Weekly, the company plans to open a 120,000-square-foot "Marketplace," store which, aside from groceries, usually contains a bank and a jewelry store.

According to the report, the store will be built on the site of the Cloverleaf Mall and Kroger reaffirmed its commitment to building on the site in a letter to county administrator Jay Stegmaier last December.

Kroger reported total sales increased 2.2% to $17.2 billion for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2. Adjusting for the extra week in the fourth quarter of the previous year, total sales increased 10.2%. Identical-supermarket sales increased 5.3% without fuel, based on the same 12-week period in both years.

Kroger could not be reached for comment.