On the Road: Kroger, Nashville

NASHVILLE—It might surprise you— considering they’re one of the most prolific retailers in the U.S.—but I don’t get around to too many Kroger BB #:100073 stores.

I mean, I see Fry’s and Fred Meyer and King Soopers and Harris Teeter and the list goes on, but actual Kroger Krogers? Nope.

This one was within a few hundred yards of the Publix I saw on my guerilla store tour, and it couldn’t be more different.

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Don’t get me wrong. It was great. The produce was fresh, displays were filled, and merchandising had creative flair.

The difference, however, was the emphasis on value. The first thing you see is a big sign about saving money, and saving money was emphasized over and over again, at least in the produce department.

Compared to the newer, shinier Publix, this store was basic, but not to be confused with barebones.

There were fewer SKUs in organic, but they did offer the core items.

Pricing, however, was way lower, just in a few items that I recall checking. Honeycrisp apples was something that stood out to me as being high at Publix ($3.99 conventional and a whopping $6.99 organic). Here at Kroger, conventional Honeycrisp were selling for $2.49, although there were no organic that I could find.

Both stores were busy. To each her own, I guess?

And if you’d like a refresher, check out my guerilla tour of the Publix across the street:

On the Road: Publix, Nashville