Bear Stearns details retail initiatives: Conference highlights companies' growth strategies.(Bear Stearns' Eighth Annual Retail, Restaurant and Apparel Conference)(Brief Article)

NATIONWIDE DSNRT REPORT -- At Bear Stearns' Eighth Annual Retail, Restaurant and Apparel Conference in New York, held Feb. 27 to March 1, executives discussed prospects of an array of companies, and, among them, Rodney McMullen, Kroger executive vp of strategy, planning and finance, told DSN Retailing Today that the company is "thrilled with the results" from Fry's Marketplace, converted last year from Fred Meyer units operating in Tucson, Ariz.

He said the evolution of the marketplace format was indicative of the capabilities Kroger had developed due to its acquisition of Fred Meyer.

Still, he added, the economics of the concept, at least at present, don't …