BAYS PROMOTED TO PRESIDENT OF DILLON STORES

CINCINNATI, OH, January 10, 2003 -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced that John Bays has been promoted to president of Dillon Stores, which operates 110 stores in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He succeeds Bob Colvey, who has announced his retirement after 40 years with the Company.

Mr. Bays, 51, previously served as vice president of merchandising in Kroger's Delta division in Memphis, Tennessee. He had held that position since 2001. Prior to that, he was vice president of operations for three years. Mr. Bays joined the Company in 1967 as a clerk at a Kroger store in Oak Hill, West Virginia operated by Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division. He was later promoted to store management in another area of the state. Mr. Bays also held a series of management positions in the division, including zone manager, director of operations, and director of meat merchandising. He was promoted to Memphis in 1997.

Mr. Colvey had been president of Dillon Stores since 1993. Prior to that, he was vice president of marketing for the division. He joined Kroger in 1963 as a carry-out at the Company's former Market Basket division in Los Angeles. His later assignments included store management, facility engineering, grocery merchandising and district management.

"We are very grateful to Bob for his many contributions over the past 40 years," said David B. Dillon, Kroger's president and COO. "Under his leadership, Dillons has expanded its store base and sharpened its focus on serving customers. We are confident that John's experience in merchandising and operations will serve him well as Dillons builds on its reputation as one of the premier food retailers in the Midwest."

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains. At the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2002, the Company operated (either directly or through its subsidiaries) 2,461 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 32 states under approximately two dozen banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Smith's, Fry's and Fry's Marketplace, Dillons, QFC and City Market. Kroger also operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) 783 convenience stores, 441 fine jewelry stores, 341 supermarket fuel centers and 41 food processing plants. For more information about Kroger, please visit our web site at www.kroger.com.

« Go back