Dillons is a grocery

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

chain based in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2020 ...

, and is a division of

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...

. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and Baker's in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

. Dillons operates grocery stores throughout Kansas with major influences in and around Wichita,

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and Lawrence. Dillons also operates distribution centers in

Goddard Goddard may refer to: People * Goddard (given name) * Goddard (surname) Places in the United States * Goddard, Kansas *Goddard, Kentucky *Goddard, Maryland *Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington *Godda ...

and Hutchinson.

History

In 1890, John S. Dillon opened a general store in

Sterling, Kansas Sterling is a city in Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,248. Sterling is home to Sterling College. History For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Ame ...

, and learned that allowing customers to charge then pay later and delivering groceries to their homes was a financial and manpower strain on his business. In 1913, he opened his "J.S. Dillon Cash Store" in Hutchinson, Kansas employed a new marketing concept called cash and carry, where the store would not offer credit or delivery services. Dillon opened a second store in 1915 that he managed then placed his son, Ray E. Dillon, in charge of the original store. In 1917, the company was incorporated under the name "Dillon Mercantile Company, Inc". Due to his sons John and Ray both being overseas in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Dillon sold his company to his investment partners, but soon afterward both sons returned. They opened a new store called "J.S. Dillon and Sons Store" in 1919 and incorporated in 1921. In 1983, Dillon Companies, Inc., was acquired by The Kroger Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, creating a nationwide grocery chain. Several years later, David Dillon was named Kroger's president and COO and became CEO in 2003. Dillon retired from that position effective January 1, 2014. In 2006, Kroger opened the first Dillons Marketplace in Wichita. The concept, similar to Kroger's

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company merged w ...

chain, is of grocery and general merchandise.

Gerbes

Frank J. Gerbes founded Gerbes Super Markets, Inc. in Tipton, Missouri in 1933. The location in Tipton closed in 2007. In 1966, Gerbes merged with the Dillon Companies, and has been a division ever since. Kroger currently operates seven stores under the Gerbes banner in

Mid-Missouri Mid-Missouri is a loosely-defined region comprising the central area of the U.S. state of Missouri. The region's largest city is Columbia (population 121,717); the Missouri state capital, Jefferson City, and the University of Missouri are also l ...

. Gerbes operates in Mid-Missouri.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Supermarkets, Companies 1913 establishments in Kansas 1983 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Kansas Hutchinson, Kansas Kroger Reno County, Kansas Retail companies established in 1913 Supermarkets of the United States

History

Gerbes

See also

References

External links