RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America's largest grocery retailer, today announced it will offer more Americans delivery through the addition of a new customer fulfillment center (CFC) in North Carolina, powered by the Ocado Group (LSE: OCDO) and combining vertical integration, machine learning, and robotics to provide an affordable, friendly, and fast fresh food delivery service as part of the company's seamless ecosystem.

"The acceleration of our delivery business continues with the development of an additional customer fulfillment center, advancing our commitment to creating career opportunities and serving shoppers fresh food fast through interconnected, automated, and innovative facilities and last-mile solutions across America," said Gabriel Arreaga, Kroger's senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. "We thank Governor Roy Cooper for his collaboration and support of this project, and the company looks forward to serving new and existing customers across North Carolina."

"As e-commerce continues to grow, I'm pleased Kroger will locate this highly advanced fulfillment center in our state," said Governor Roy Cooper. "From our hard working and skilled people to our advanced transportation networks and overall business climate, North Carolina offers the right ingredients for a modern business to succeed."

The North Carolina CFC, measuring 200,000 square feet, is expected to become operational within 24 months after the site breaks ground and will employ up to 700 associates over the next five years.

"We're excited to come to North Carolina in partnership with Kroger," said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions. "As demonstrated by the two state-of-the-art CFCs already live in other parts of the country, Ocado is helping Kroger to establish a new high-bar in the type of quality and service that U.S. grocery shoppers can receive online. We can't wait for customers across North Carolina to experience online delivery, enabled by Ocado's unique technology."

Today's announcement confirms a previous communication stating the Kroger Fulfillment Network would construct a CFC in the South.

Kroger Fulfillment Network currently operates CFCs in Groveland, FL and Monroe, OH and is slated to open sites in California, Dallas, TX, Forest Park, GA (Atlanta), Frederick, MD, Phoenix, AZ, Pleasant Prairie, WI, Romulus, MI (Detroit), as well as South Florida and the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and West.

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About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

About Ocado Group
Ocado Group is a UK based technology company admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker OCDO). It provides end-to-end online grocery fulfilment solutions to some of the world's largest grocery retailers and holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the UK in a Joint Venture with Marks & Spencer. Ocado has spent two decades innovating for grocery online, investing in a wide technology estate that includes robotics, AI & machine learning, simulation, forecasting, and edge intelligence.

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.