Dillons is a grocery
supermarketA supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain based in
Hutchinson, KansasHutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. Hutchinson's nickname is The Salt City but is referred to locally as Hutch. The population was 40,787 at the 2000 census...
, and the flagship banner of Dillon Stores Division, one of the regional segments of The
Kroger CompanyThe Kroger Co. is an American retail supermarket chain and parent company, founded by Bernard Henry Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$76 billion in sales during fiscal year 2008. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume ...
. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
, Baker's in
Omaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
and Food 4 Less stores in
NebraskaNebraska is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha....
and
Springfield, MissouriSpringfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Greene County. On July 1, 2008, the estimated population was 156,206. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 426,144, is ranked 114th in the U.S., includes the counties of Christian, Dallas,...
. Dillon's is the dominant grocery retailer in the
WichitaWichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2006 estimated population of 361,420 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas...
metropolitan area with 18 stores and over 50% market share.
Dillon's operates a dry grocery warehouse in
Goddard, KansasGoddard is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,037.-Geography:Goddard is located at ....
, in addition to frozen foods and perishable warehouses in Hutchinson.
Dillons is a grocery
supermarketA supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain based in
Hutchinson, KansasHutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. Hutchinson's nickname is The Salt City but is referred to locally as Hutch. The population was 40,787 at the 2000 census...
, and the flagship banner of Dillon Stores Division, one of the regional segments of The
Kroger CompanyThe Kroger Co. is an American retail supermarket chain and parent company, founded by Bernard Henry Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$76 billion in sales during fiscal year 2008. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume ...
. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
, Baker's in
Omaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
and Food 4 Less stores in
NebraskaNebraska is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha....
and
Springfield, MissouriSpringfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Greene County. On July 1, 2008, the estimated population was 156,206. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 426,144, is ranked 114th in the U.S., includes the counties of Christian, Dallas,...
. Dillon's is the dominant grocery retailer in the
WichitaWichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2006 estimated population of 361,420 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas...
metropolitan area with 18 stores and over 50% market share.
Dillon's operates a dry grocery warehouse in
Goddard, KansasGoddard is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,037.-Geography:Goddard is located at ....
, in addition to frozen foods and perishable warehouses in Hutchinson. A bakery manufacturing plant and dairy are also in Hutchinson. The dairy produces cultured dairy products and private-label milk for all Dillon's stores. Dillon's previously operated (until the late 1990s) dry grocery warehouses in Hutchinson and
Lenexa, KansasLenexa is a city in the central part of Johnson County, located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. The population was estimated to be 43,434 in the year 2005. It is the fourth most populous city in the county. As a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, Lenexa is...
.
In 2006, Kroger opened the first
Dillons Marketplace in
Wichita, KansasWichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2006 estimated population of 361,420 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas...
. The concept, similar to Kroger's
Fred MeyerFred Meyer, Inc. is a chain of hypermarkets founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon by Fred G. Meyer. The company was one of the pioneers of one-stop shopping, eventually combining a complete grocery supermarket with a drugstore, clothing store, shoe store, fine jewelers, home decor store, home...
chain, is of grocery and general merchandise.
History
Dillons was founded in the early 1900s by John Summerbell (J.S.) Dillon under the name J.S. Dillon & Sons in Sterling, KS. J.S. Dillon and his sons, Ray and Clyde, operated the company as it grew for several years. Clyde was killed in a snowstorm in 1941, but Ray continued to run the company until his children were old enough to take over. Starting in the 1960s, Ray's sons (Ace and Dick) and Clyde's son (Paul) ran the company through the late 1980s, when they began to retire. Over those years, Dillons merged with several other grocery chains including Frys, King Soopers,
City Market-United States:* City Market , listed on the NRHP in Indiana* City Market , listed on the NRHP in Iowa* City Market , listed on the NRHP in Missouri...
, as well as the convenience store chain Kwik Shop. When Ace, Dick, and Paul retired,
David DillonDavid Dillon is the CEO of Kroger in Cincinnati, Ohio. Born in Hutchinson, Kansas, Dillon graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1969. Dillon is an Eagle Scout and was a senior patrol leader in Boy Scout Troop 301, of which his father was Scoutmaster. Dillon attended the University of Kansas,...
, Paul's son became the president of Dillons, becoming the fourth generation of the Dillon family to serve in a leadership role of the company. Before becoming president, Dave had worked in several divisions in positions ranging from a freezer stocker to truck driver.
In 1983, Dillon Companies Inc. was acquired by The Kroger Company of Cincinnati, OH, creating a nationwide grocery chain. Several years later, Dave Dillon was named Kroger's President and
COOA chief operating officer or chief operations officer is a corporate officer responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the corporation and for operations management...
and became CEO in 2003, and still serves in that position today.
Marketplace Format
The First store to receive this new Marketplace Format was store #20 located at Central and Rock Rd in East Wichita in 2006. The Marketplace format more than doubled the size and added many new selections to the store. The second store to become a Marketplace is store #49 located at 21st and Maize Rd in NW Wichita. Store 49 also has a Fred Meyers Jewelry store and a Starbucks located inside. There are also two other Marketplace stores there is one located in
Andover, KansasAndover is a city in Butler and Sedgwick counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,698. Located almost entirely in Butler County, it is part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area. Andover is well-known because of the tornado that hit the city in...
and the newest one is located in
Derby, KansasDerby is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. Formerly known as El Paso, it is a suburb of Wichita. The population was 17,807 at the 2000 census. Derby was recently named one of the "10 Best Towns for Families" by Family Circle magazine....
.