Kroger Co. said it will eliminate the Food 4 Less banner in the Las Vegas marketplace early in 2015 by closing eight Food 4 Less stores and converting six others to the Smith’s Food & Drug Store banner.
Kroger already operates 30 Smith’s stores in the area.
The company said it decided to streamline its operations in Las Vegas “for a number of reasons,” which it did not enumerate. Bryan Kaltenbach, president of Food 4 Less, the Kroger warehouse division based in Southern California, said joining the two store groups “will help us to better serve the community.”
The company said all Food 4 Less associates will be offered the opportunity to join the Smith’s team.

In what the company said was an unrelated move, the Ralphs division of Kroger plans to close four Southern California stores on Nov. 8. A company spokeswoman said all are underperforming.
The stores are spread across the region — in Long Beach, Newhall, Oceanside and Santa Clarita. Earlier in the year Ralphs closed six Southern California locations, leaving it with 226 prior to this week’s additional closings.