What’s the one word that best sums up the past year for the Ohio-based grocery giant? Merger. In July of last year, Kroger announced that it would acquire the grocery chain Harris Teeter, based in North Carolina. The $2.5 billion purchase closed in January, adding 227 Harris-Teeter stores to the company’s 2,414 Kroger-branded stores. Pre-merger, Kroger netted $1.52 billion in earnings for 2013; the company expects continued growth in 2014, between 10% and 14% for the year, with Harris Teeter on the books.