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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKroger's e-commerce deal seen as warning shot in food battle
Kroger is showing some fight.
The largest U.S. grocery chain, battered by doubts that it can thrive as Amazon and Walmart siphon off food customers, took a big step last week by teaming up with Ocado, a British online grocer known for automated warehouses where robots quickly fill orders. It gives the supermarket giant a pathway to create its own delivery network.
It was the boldest e-commerce move yet for CEO Rodney McMullen, whose Cincinnati-based company is facing intense competition in an industry notorious for its thin profit margins.
This puts Kroger on an entirely different level, said Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. This is definitely a warning shot that Kroger is is serious about online retail and grocery delivery.
Kroger investors cheered the news, sending shares up as much as 5.7 percent to $26.37 the day it was announced, the biggest intraday gain in more than five months. The stock had slipped 9.1 percent this year through Wednesdays close.
Read more: https://www.news-journal.com/news/business/local/kroger-s-e-commerce-deal-seen-as-warning-shot-in/article_7200e20e-5aa8-11e8-8f96-e39a8a1ded7d.html
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Who won again?
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)They are giving up "walkin" customers that don't play fully online, maybe that is their goal because most of such people have lower incomes. They are creating space for discount grocers that offer a limited inventory and have customers bag their own purchases.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)which is replaced by speculation and other forms of non-productive activity.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Trade a non creative service for money. We make very little from the force of brainpower, except Silicon Valley and less than a handful of smaller impact region of the country. Dumbassery is admired, Trump is exhibit A.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Retail is changing rapidly in these times, but it always has been changing, most people never saw those changes during the decades as they were implemented slowly and often were not in the customers view.
forgotmylogin
(7,530 posts)Schnucks, Shop-n-Save, and I believe Dierbergs.
I think they all did it before but didn't advertise. Now there are signs on the store glass and I see workers in store uniforms with carts in the aisles all the time.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)but as you mentioned did not really advertise the service much, beyond some mentions in the weekly ad, which we found to be exceptionally curious. I worked at the store where they based the operation and it was the only store in the company with a cash register in the back room, which was a bit of a novelty. It generated sales, but from my point of view it was a pain in the backside having to work around the carts full of stuff and extra traffic. Now I believe they have all switched over to Insta-Cart as a third party service provider and it is much more heavily advertised.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)A package of Nathan's hot dogs at Smith's costs twice as much
as the identical item at Walmart.
enid602
(8,652 posts)You can't beat Walmart for processed meats, preserved and canned items. Their organic veggies are expensive, and look haggard, though.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)Or, Lidl.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Not in N.M.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)Aldi has been expanding. They recently moved into California, but they're all over the East and Midwest. Lidl has also been opening stores in the US. They're mostly in the East, for now. Haven't been to Lidl, but they opened a couple of them about 20 miles from here, so I get the sale flyers. Both stores are fairly similar in offerings and prices.
forgotmylogin
(7,530 posts)You can't beat them for staples where their prices are best, but the problem is not indulging in their more expensive gourmet products! They do a really great job at obtaining duplicates of brand-name products that become popular such as low-carb flatbreads and protein bars and produce that doesn't break the bank.
Plus it's easy to get in and out of there since the stores are smaller and more efficient because they're not stocking 20 brands of green beans.
We have Trader Joe's, which is either Aldi Nord or Aldi Sud. Good quality, but more expensive than Walmart.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)They are owned by the same family, but Aldi has mainly basic staples, along with seasonal and weekly specials. They are much less expensive than Trader Joe's.
underpants
(182,878 posts)Frosted Flakes are called something different with a polar bear instead of a tiger but the coloring of the box and the font is the same. Their mayonnaise looks just like either Duke's or Hellmann.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)I read a while back that a lot of their products are made in the same factories as many of the name brands. For instance, their pita chips are made in the same place where Stacy's chips are made. The sauerkraut comes out of the same factory that produces Silver Floss. Or, at least it did at the time I read the article. It's likely still the case.
underpants
(182,878 posts)Over the counter meds are a perfect example (aspirin, acetaminophen, etc).
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)One thing I can say about aldi is that even though they are cheap, their products are NOT inferior, and at times, far better than the supermarkets. The produce is fresh, the milk fresh, and as a side note, they often have European items no one else has. I have a ball oif edam cheese for 2.99, try to get that in a regular mart.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)Just the prices. Yeah, a lot of what the sell is often way better than the national name brands. Heck, their Winking Owl wine is my "every day" red wine. It's hard to beat at $2.89. (I am told it's actually Gallo.) The other great thing about them is that they're moving toward more organics, and getting away from a lot of artificial additives. No high fructose corn syrup or ingredients that one can't pronounce. They are about the only place in town where I can find marzipan, although that's more of a seasonal thing, sadly. Can't beat their close-outs, either.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)And when I used to get the Consumer Report magazine,
their products were often highly rated.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Because they don't have shit put on them or into them to make their color more uniform and size larger.
Cha
(297,655 posts)buy locally looks and tastes wonderful! Just for the record.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Volcanic soil is close to the best. The only thing that might be as good is Florida soil adjacent to lush wetlands.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)Especially when they have sales. I don't know about the hot dogs, but I occasionally walk through the grocery section at Walmart looking for their "extra low prices." I generally don't see them, and when I do, it's usually just a matter of a few pennies. We have a glut of grocery chains in my town. Outside of Aldi, Kroger tends to have the best deals. The Fresh Market and Publix are the worst.
Clarity2
(1,009 posts)The tax bill incentivized automation over workers. Big fat no to Krogers. Id rather pay more.
enid602
(8,652 posts)As the population ages, a smaller number of people will want or be able to go to the store for groceries on a regular basis. The chains that just improve and expand brick and mortar stores will fail.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)There are ways that a B&M store can compete with online and actually beat it, people can order online and have their stuff delivered or pick it up.
I honestly would not want a robot picking my vegetables, fruit or chicken, because a robot can miss things with them that a human sees.
enid602
(8,652 posts)I work at Safeway HQ. They offer home delivery in 39 states, and have been delivering for almost 20 years. They have one store in each area which delivers.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)It's all online. Always has been. Also 'drive up and go.'
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)ananda
(28,876 posts)I shop at HEB, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's -- in person.
GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)I wish we had one nearby. I have been to them while visiting my family in Arizona. They're like our Fresh Market chain, only they don't require you take out a second job just too pay for the stuff you buy, like FM does. They are starting to move into our area, but the closest one is a 45 minute drive. I think I just need to move to Arizona.
dlk
(11,576 posts)aikoaiko
(34,183 posts)I'd try the home delivery program.
BlueDog22
(366 posts)Kroger is Unionized.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)I will make it a point to go 20 minutes the other direction when I leave work to shop at one and deal with the over an hour ride back instead of the non-union Ingles or Food Lion bear me whenever I can.
They recently acquired Harris-Teeter but they have kept the stores, at least near me, non-union so far. So I wont shop there.
Ive gotten good at making most of my non-perishable purchases in one big trip a month. I get my produce at the farmer market or the small independent stands when they are open. I get my meat at the non-union shops near me because thats the only decent option, but Im picky on what I buy there and go to the store that sells locally raised meats and identifies what farms they are from.