Craig Kirby restocks deli items Monday at the Lucky’s Market on Bloomington’s south side. Jeremy Hogan | Herald-Times
An alliance has been formed in the Bloomington grocery store wars.
Kroger has announced a strategic partnership with Lucky’s Market aimed at helping accelerate growth in new and existing markets. The partnership aligns with a market trend of large supermarket corporations, such as Kroger, pairing with independent, natural food-oriented grocers such as Lucky’s. The main point being driven home by officials of both companies, though, is that local shoppers may not be able to tell a difference.
“We really, if anything, don’t anticipate any changes,” said Ben Friedland, Lucky’s vice president of marketing. “The way this deal was structured, it was an opportunity to allow Lucky’s to remain what Lucky’s is. The store’s name isn’t going to change to Kroger, the products aren’t going to change, so in the day to day, the Bloomington community isn’t going to see anything different.”
The financial details of the partnership remain shrouded, but Kroger’s contribution continues to be referred to as “significant” and a “meaningful investment.” According to a news release, Lucky’s was founded in 2003 and has a headquarters near Boulder, Colorado. Lucky’s Market and its affiliates employ more than 1,800 associates in 18 stores across 13 states throughout the Midwest and Southeast United States, including a location on South Walnut Street in Bloomington. When shoppers purchase items under Lucky’s private label, “L”, the independent market reinvests 10 percent of those profits into the surrounding communities.
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