Dive Brief:

• Kroger is planning to spend approximately $45 million in 2024 to remodel 15 stores in Ohio and Indiana, the grocery chain announced Thursday.

• The retailer also said it is spending about $39 million to construct a previously announced Kroger Marketplace due to open later this year in Warren County, Ohio.

• Kroger is highlighting investments in its stores as the company presses ahead with its controversial plan to merge with Albertsons.

Dive Insight:

Kroger’s disclosure about the amount of money it is devoting to the store-related projects in its Cincinnati/Dayton Division comes just a few weeks after the grocer and Albertsons unveiled a revised divestiture proposal aimed at winning approval for their embattled effort to combine.

While Kroger did not mention the merger proposal in its press release about the store investments, the company described its efforts to upgrade the retail locations as part of an ongoing effort to invest in communities and workers — both of which are key tenets of its campaign to gain clearance for the merger.

“This investment is yet another demonstration of the commitment Kroger makes each and every day to the customers and communities in which we serve,” Ann Reed, president of Kroger’s Cincinnati/Dayton unit, said in a statement. “It also reconfirms our dedication to increasing career advancement for our associates, economic growth and supporting local producers who supply our stores with high quality products.”

Kroger also noted in the announcement that the division, which encompasses stores in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, spends about $30 million per year “to improve the customer experience and increase access to fresh foods.”

The stores Kroger said it is renovating are located in Connersville, Indiana, and 13 communities in Ohio, including Sharonville, Colerain and Huber Heights.

The Kroger Marketplace the company is developing will span 123,000 square feet and include a Murray’s Cheese shop, Starbucks location and gas station as well as sell clothing. The grocer broke ground on the store last June, the Warren County Post reported.

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