Kroger Opens 500th Supermarket Fuel Center

CINCINNATI, OH, July 21, 2004 -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced the opening of its 500th supermarket fuel center.

The fuel center opened at the City Market store at 128 South Townsend St. in Montrose, Colorado. It is the same town where Kroger opened its first supermarket fuel center in 1998.

Kroger now operates supermarket fuel centers in 29 states. Ohio leads the way with 67 sites, followed closely by Texas (58 sites), Georgia (41 sites) and Kentucky (39 sites).

“Gasoline is a natural addition to Kroger’s one-stop-shopping strategy because it offers our customers tremendous convenience and value. Fuel centers also allow Kroger to build on our decades of experience in the convenience store business,” said Robert Moeder, Kroger vice president of convenience stores and supermarket petroleum.

Kroger currently has more fuel centers than any other traditional supermarket retailer in America, according to a survey published last year by Supermarket News, an industry trade magazine.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains. At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2004, the Company operated (either directly or through its subsidiaries) 2,536 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 32 states under two dozen banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Smith’s, Fry’s, Fry’s Marketplace, Dillons, QFC and City Market. Kroger also operated (either directly, through its subsidiaries, franchise agreements, or operating agreements) 794 convenience stores, 439 fine jewelry stores, and 42 food processing plants.

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