<p>With Kroger recently reporting its 40th-straight quarter of increased store productivity, the Cincinnati-based retailer is gearing up for 2014 with plans to spend an additional $330 million on capital investments such as store renovations this year over last, according to The Columbus Dispatch.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The company has launched an aggressive store-remodeling program that has helped the company boost sales. Sales at stores open for at least a year grew 3.5 percent from the year-earlier quarter. Kroger’s recent investments include a $9 million project to renovate and expand its Upper Arlington store at 1375 Chambers Rd. An additional $9.4 million on renovations at three other stores around town, spokeswoman Jackie Siekmann said in an email.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Retailers that include Target and Walmart are expanding their food offerings, and online grocers such as AmazonFresh, recently launched in San Francisco and L.A., are challenging traditional grocers in new ways. Giant Eagle also opened an upscale Market District location 3 miles from Kroger’s Upper Arlington store in 2010.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">All the competition is “moving Kroger to make its store experience more compelling,” said Alida Destrempe, U.S. grocery analyst for Kantar Retail, an industry analyst. “They’re all about experiential retailing.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow Kroger as the retailer takes on the New Year.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2013/12/26/renovated-krogers-bring-in-customers.html" target="_new"> The Columbus Dispatch</a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://ir.kroger.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=106409&p=irol-irhome " target="_new"> Kroger</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
