CINCINNATI — The nation's largest grocer, Kroger Co., is interested in getting bigger — but not in buying struggling competitors, CEO David B. Dillon said Thursday.
Dillon said the company sees "plenty of growth opportunities" and has been considering acquisitions. But it is steering away from businesses that are marked down because they fell behind as the recession battered industry profits.
"We look at lots of things, but we're not interested in becoming someone's turnaround artist," Dillon said in an interview after the annual shareholders meeting. "We run good stores and are good at running good stores, and we don't want to buy somebody else's problem."
Dillon said Kroger is most likely to add stores in or near its current markets in 31 states. The company owns Ralphs, Dillons, QFC and other chains, along with Kroger; only Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sells more groceries in the U.S.
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Photo by Al Behrman, Associated Press