A hammer with a banana? Kroger may partner with hardware chain Ace.
Kroger continues to look beyond its core grocery business for growth. After diving into meal kits, serving up its first restaurant and announcing last fall that it would start its own clothing line, the Cincinnati-based retailer may diversify further into hardware sales.
Should this partnership move to fruition, the Cincinnati-based grocer likely sees an opportunity to nab more customers. While Kroger isn’t exactly a name synonymous with power drills and caulk guns, Ace is one of the top brands in the hardware business, and the world’s largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative, according to the company. It sees annual revenue of more than $5 billion, and reported $1.34 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2017, up 9.1% from the year-ago period.