Strategic Moves Are Paying Off For Kroger

Grocery retailer Kroger, second only to Walmart in sales, recently reported strong revenue and profit performance, including the 48th consecutive quarter of higher same store sales and 7th consecutive quarter of earnings growth. All this despite a stagnating retail – including grocery – environment. The reason for Kroger’s continuing success can be traced to several key strategies. The company was among the first traditional grocers to apply customer data analytics to keep up with shopping trends. It has bet heavily on the move to natural, organic and “locally grown” foods. It has borrowed heavily from Walmart’s playbook. Some of its stores now look like Walmart supercenters, featuring high-margin general merchandise, health clinics, in-store pharmacies, and a mix of private-label and premium products.