Talk:Kroger

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Contents 1 Stock 2 History 3 Loyalty Cards 4 Private Label Brands 5 Ralphs Value replacing FMV in California 6 David Dillon 7 Fair use rationale for Image:Kroger advertisement 1976.JPG 8 UFCW Strike 9 Data Centers

[edit] Stock

Kroger's stock symbol is KR. --Patricknoddy 20:30, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)User:Patricknoddy --Patricknoddy 20:30, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)User:Patricknoddy 16:30 August 25, 2004 (EDT)

[edit] History

In 1883, Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati. The son of a merchant, he ran his business with a simple motto: “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.”

It was a credo that would serve The Kroger Co. well over the next 120+ years as the supermarket business evolved into a variety of formats aimed at satisfying the ever-changing needs of shoppers. With 2,500+ stores in 31 states under two dozen banners and annual sales of more than $60 billion, Kroger today ranks as one of the nation’s largest retailers.

Many aspects of the company’s business today trace their roots to Mr. Kroger’s early efforts to serve his customers. Consider two specialty departments that today are regular fixtures in the company’s supermarkets – bakeries and meat and seafood shops. In the early 1900s, most grocers bought their bread from independent bakeries. But Mr. Kroger, always pursuing quality as the key ingredient for profit, recognized that if he baked his own bread, he could reduce the price for his customers and still make money. So he became the first grocer in the country to establish his own bakeries. He was also the first to sell meats and groceries under one roof.

Mr. Kroger also spied the promise of increasing his income by manufacturing the products he sold. It began in that first Kroger store on Pearl St. When farmers came to town with their produce, he bought far more cabbage than he could expect his customers to buy. He took the cabbage home to his mother who, following her favorite recipe, turned it into tangy sauerkraut that proved hugely popular with his German customers.

The manufacturing effort born in that back room was the beginning of what is today one of the largest food manufacturing businesses in America. Kroger operates 42 food processing facilities that make thousands of products ranging from bread, cookies and milk to soda pop, ice cream and peanut butter. Over half of the 8,000 private-label items found in the company’s stores today are made at one of these manufacturing plants. These “corporate brands” today account for an impressive 24% of the grocery dollar sales at Kroger, providing the company with a huge strategic advantage.

Yet in many other respects, Mr. Kroger would hardly recognize the company today. In response to customers who want the convenience of one-stop shopping, stores have grown much larger to accommodate more variety and more merchandise. New stores today tip the scales at 65,000 square feet or more. The shelves today are packed with up to 50,000 items ranging from basic grocery staples to more innovative fare such as organic vegetables, natural foods, and hot meals ready to eat. Kroger operates approximately 1,900 in-store pharmacies that fill 111 million prescriptions a year. Its floral shops ring up enough business to make Kroger the world’s largest florist. Kroger has even installed fuel centers in the parking lots of more than 575 stores to appeal to customers who want to gas up their cars during their shopping trip.

Acquisitions have played a key role in Kroger’s growth over the years. In 1983, 100 years after the company’s founding, Kroger merged with Dillon Companies Inc. in Kansas to become a coast-to-coast operator of food, drug and convenience stores.

The biggest merger in Kroger’s history came in 1999, when the company teamed up with Fred Meyer, Inc. in a $13 billion deal that created a supermarket chain with the broadest geographic coverage and widest variety of formats in the food retailing industry. The merger also enabled Kroger to generate huge economies of scale in purchasing, manufacturing, information systems and logistics. In an era when many larger mergers failed, the success of the Kroger-Fred Meyer merger stands out.

Today Kroger offers a store format for nearly every kind of shopper. Our formats include supermarkets, multi-department stores, price-impact warehouse stores, convenience and fine jewelry stores.

Throughout its rich history, Kroger has served as a pioneer in the supermarket industry. During the 1930s, it was the first grocery chain to routinely monitor product quality and test foods offered to the customer. In 1972, Kroger became the first grocery retailer in America to test an electronic scanner. It was installed in a store in suburban Cincinnati, and visitors from around the country attended the event. Technology continues to play an important role in Kroger’s store operations today. For example, more than 1,600 Kroger stores now offer self-checkout, which allows customers to scan their own groceries and pay for them without any assistance from a cashier. Also in the ‘70s, the company became the first grocer to formalize consumer research. Kroger soon was interviewing more than a quarter-million shoppers each year to find out what they wanted in a supermarket. That feedback prompted Kroger to introduce unpackaged produce and service specialty departments such as delis.

With dozens of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers around the country, Kroger also has one of the largest privately owned truck fleets in the country. Trucks moving merchandise and supplies among our stores, warehouses and manufacturing plants log more than 100 million miles annually.

The business principles that made the first Kroger store successful in 1883 – service, selection and value – continue to guide the company’s operations today. From one tiny grocery store in Cincinnati more than a century ago, Barney Kroger laid the foundation for what today ranks as one of the largest companies in America.

[edit] Loyalty Cards

Kroger is one of several grocery stores that uses a loyalty card. All Kroger owned stores will accept any card from the Kroger Company. For example, the Fry's VIP Club Card can be used at Smith's Food & Drug just like the Smith's Fresh Values Card can be used at Fry's Food & Drug. The Kroger Plus+ Card can be used at any of the Kroger family of stores. Kroger associates have been advised not to accept non-Kroger loyalty card at the checkouts or at U-SCAN (self checkouts). At U-SCAN, Kroger installed cameras, which are used to allow the U-SCAN supervisor to ascertain from their podium that customers are scanning all items on the counter and do not have the capacity to determine the authenticity of a loyalty card scan.

• Why are we even talking about what Non-Kroger loyalty cards can be taken at a Kroger owned store, or if an Kroger employee can be fired for letting a customer use a non-Kroger card at a Kroger store (it is an integrity issue though that is why an employee can be fired for it) But Maybe we should have more relevant information, information that belongs in an encyclopdedia, about this company such as it's long history, it has been around since 1883. Instead of information that belongs on a website on how to con a supermarket chain, or get certain promotional prices that you normally would not qualify for. (Hypernick1980 04:24, 23 March 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Private Label Brands

In regards to the merge suggestion: The For Maximum Value article is a stub which seems like it is as complete as it can get. Perhaps a section on Kroger's private label brands (names, manufacturing, what sorts of products, etc.) could be more relivent here. Zytron 06:56, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

agree Kroger is not only the largest traditional supermarket chain in the United States but also is one of the largest manafactuers of food products in the U.S. so it would naturrally be a good addition to a page on the company .Hypernick1980 21:09, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

DONE Zytron 17:23, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ralphs Value replacing FMV in California

I work at a Ralphs (a Kroger owned store) in Southern California, and a few months ago, Ralphs starting phasing out FMV and replacing it with "Ralphs Value" brand. Everything except for the name and artwork on the package remained the same.

Is Kroger doing this at other stores as well?

[edit] David Dillon

The article on David Dillon can use a bunch of work. Would someone who has some knowledge on him and his family's history be willing to lend a hand in cleaning that up? Metros232 19:59, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Key Retailing-- this is the way kroger is planing to get rid of the union by 2010

What does Key Retailing have to do with the union?

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Kroger advertisement 1976.JPG

Image:Kroger advertisement 1976.JPG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 05:14, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] UFCW Strike

I think we should add a section in regards to the current potential UFCW strike and about the membership of the union.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070609/supermarkets_union.html?.v=1 http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070609:MTFH64643_2007-06-09_16-19-10_N09273580&type=comktNews&rpc=44

[edit] Data Centers

Kroger has two data centers, down from 18 in previous years, which handle various data technology such as Customer Loyalty Programs (Kroger Plus Card), self-checkout, Time and Attendance, Pharmacy systems, and various warehouse and distribution systems.

I removed this line for the Distribution/Logistics section for the following reasons: 1. The source linked to a corrupted PDF. 2. I work for Kroger's IS&S (IT) Dept, and know that we have more than 2 data centers (There are 3 alone in a half hour drive from my location). 158.48.6.139 (talk) 20:02, 28 February 2008 (UTC)