Article: KROGER STORES STILL WORKS IN PROGRESS EXECUTIVES WANTED TO OPEN STORES QUICKLY TO AVOID LOSING CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES.(BUSINESS)

After waiting more than a decade to get into Hampton Roads, Kroger's No. 1 mission when it got the keys to Hannaford's stores was to open them as soon as possible.

The risk of waiting until the stores were just right was greater than opening them while they were still works in progress.

As Kroger spokesman Archie Fralin toured the 10 stores Sunday, he explained that if they had closed the stores for extensive renovations, they would have run the risk of losing much of the 1,100-person work force they needed, and of letting their consumers develop different shopping patterns.

``There's no question that it has made some bad first impressions, but ...

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