![]() ![]() They feature “garage door” entrances and produce in wooden crates for a farmers’ market feel. Lucky’s stores are smaller than a traditional supermarket or a Whole Foods. The Sharons worked directly with produce distributors to sell organic produce for lower prices while also saving shelf space for traditional products such as Oreo cookies and Coca-Cola.Ībout 10 years after opening the first Lucky’s, the Sharons opened a second location in a nearby Colorado city and set their sights on opening more grocery stores in the Midwest. ![]() Lucky’s got its start in late 2002, when Bo and Trish Sharon spruced up their North Boulder Market and renamed it Lucky’s Market. Big brands like Celestial Seasonings and grocers such as Wild Oats Markets got their start there. The concept behind Lucky’s was honed in Boulder, a haven for natural foods. Lucky’s founder Bo Sharon and a spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request for comment. As a result, Kroger decided to divest its interest in the company.” In a statement to CNN Business, a Kroger spokesperson said, “As part of a portfolio review, we made the decision to evaluate strategic alternatives in relation to our investment in Lucky’s Market. “We grew too quickly believing that Kroger was in this for a strategic, long-term commitment,” said a source close to Lucky’s. Kroger controlled Lucky’s board and oversaw an aggressive growth plan that backfired. Organic and mass grocers squeezed Lucky’s, but so did strategic mistakes. Lucky's Market, founded in Boulder, Colorado, positioned itself as an affordable organic grocer. Supermarket bankruptcies have spread, claiming Tops Market, Southeastern Grocers, A&P, Fairway, and just this week, Earth Fare, a natural foods chain with 50-plus stores in the Midwest and Southeast. Lucky’s struggles are a symptom of growing pressure on smaller grocery chains in an industry with wafer-thin margins, rising competition and consolidation from big chains. And Lucky’s founders have put in a bid to buy six of the company’s stores, including the Boulder location that got the whole thing started. The company is striking deals with grocers to rescue some of its stores. Weeks later, Lucky’s said it planned to shutter 32 of its 39 stores.Īnd last month, Lucky’s filed for bankruptcy. (KR)announced in December it was pulling its investment in Lucky’s. Lucky’s, a grocer with a loyal base of shoppers has collapsed, thousands of workers’ jobs are up in the air and suppliers have been bruised by the loss of a valuable customer. “We expect to learn a lot from each other,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said at the time.īut less than four years into the deal, the partnership is over. We grew too quickly believing that Kroger was in this for a strategic, long-term commitment.” Kroger would get an inside look at a trendy grocer to firm up its position in natural and organic foods and to woo new shoppers. The partnership seemed to make sense for both companies: Lucky’s, which had 17 stores dotting college towns from Colorado into the Midwest, would receive a cash infusion to help it expand. Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chain, took a majority stake in Lucky’s Market, a Boulder, Colorado, grocer known for its farmers-market-style stores that aimed to make natural foods more affordable. In 2016, a homegrown grocery chain hit the big time.
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