Dive Brief:
- Kroger will buy online vitamin seller Vitacost in an all-cash, $280 million deal.
- The purchase will boost Kroger's expertise in Internet sales, online technology, and home delivery.
- The deal follows several recent moves in which Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain, has sought to boost its technological skills -- teaming with the Instacart delivery service in the Seattle market and buying a digital-coupon service.
Dive Insight:
In October of 2013, Kroger's outgoing CEO Dave Dillon suggested that he wasn't worried about the rise of online grocery shopping, saying that people still liked to shop in real-world stores.
The Vitacost deal would suggest that Kroger's new CEO Rodney McMullen is far more Web savvy.