KROGER REPORTS GRAND JURY INDICTMENT OF RALPHS SUBSIDIARY IN CALIFORNIA
Strongly Disputes Charge that Illegal Hiring of Striking Workers was Sanctioned by Company

CINCINNATI, OH, December 15, 2005 -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) today confirmed that it has been notified by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against Ralphs Grocery Company ("Ralphs"), a wholly owned subsidiary, in connection with the illegal hiring of replacement workers during the 2003-2004 labor dispute.

Ralphs and Kroger have been fully cooperating with an ongoing U.S. Attorney's Office investigation of this matter.

The Company has previously acknowledged that during the 141-day grocery strike, a number of its store managers violated explicit Company policy by rehiring striking workers and allowing them to work under false names and/or false Social Security numbers. Ralphs has taken disciplinary action against the management individuals involved. The Company has also made voluntary contributions to employee benefits plans, and has corrected records with the Social Security Administration and other government agencies in all cases where the Company was able to identify hourly employees who worked under false documentation during the strike.

"Ralphs regrets that a number of its store managers took it upon themselves to violate Company policy and federal law in order to rehire striking workers. Although we believe many of these managers acted for humanitarian or personal reasons, their actions nonetheless were wrong and contrary to explicit Company policy," said Paul Heldman, Kroger's senior vice president.

While acknowledging limited improper hiring took place in some stores, Ralphs said it takes issue with allegations by the U.S. Attorney that the rehiring was approved by the Company or deliberately overlooked or condoned as part of a plan by Ralphs to prolong the strike.

"We strongly dispute the claim that the behavior of some store managers reflected a corporate plan devised to further the Company's position during the prolonged labor negotiations. The federal prosecutors simply have this wrong. Ralphs hired more than 50,000 temporary workers during the strike and we believe less than 1% or about 200 of them were locked out employees who were rehired unlawfully. We regret that misconduct, but it had no effect whatsoever on the duration or outcome of the labor dispute," Mr. Heldman said.

The labor unions involved previously filed charges making similar allegations with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB is the expert federal agency with jurisdiction over labor disputes. The NLRB investigated the matter and dismissed the claims. An administrative appeal of that dismissal is pending before the NLRB in Washington. Kroger said it is confident that the NLRB's dismissal will be upheld.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains. At the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2005, the Company operated (either directly or through its subsidiaries) 2,510 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 32 states under two dozen local banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Smith's and Smith's Marketplace, Fry's and Fry's Marketplace, Dillons, QFC and City Market. Kroger also operated (either directly or through subsidiaries, franchise agreements, or operating agreements) 792 convenience stores, 431 fine jewelry stores, 567 supermarket fuel centers and 42 food processing plants. For more information about Kroger, please visit our web site at www.kroger.com.

Editor's Note: An indictment is only an accusation filed by a prosecutor in order to bring a criminal case; it is neither evidence nor proof of the allegations set forth in the document.

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