Kroger's e-commerce deal seen as warning shot in food battle

[TexasTowelie]

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 Wednesday’s 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]

1. Robots replace workers.

Who won again?

[Blue_true]

3. Get used to it. Executive levels are disconnected from the real world.

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]

17. And the loss of jobs leads to a loss of productive economic activity,

which is replaced by speculation and other forms of non-productive activity.

[Blue_true]

20. Yes. We have become mostly a nation of traders.

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]

2. Interesting

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 customer’s view.

[forgotmylogin]

28. All of my local grocery stores started delivery and are competing now.

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]

33. Schnucks was doing it for years

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]

4. My local Kroger's chain, Smith's ...

A package of Nathan's hot dogs at Smith's costs twice as much
as the identical item at Walmart.

[enid602]

7. Walmart

You can't beat Walmart for processed meats, preserved and canned items. Their organic veggies are expensive, and look haggard, though.

[GoCubsGo]

9. You must not have an Aldi in your town.

Or, Lidl.

[left-of-center2012]

10. Nope

Not in N.M.

[GoCubsGo]

15. Hopefully, they will find their way to your neck of the woods soon.

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]

29. I love Aldi!

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.

[enid602]

11. Aldi

We have Trader Joe's, which is either Aldi Nord or Aldi Sud. Good quality, but more expensive than Walmart.

[GoCubsGo]

14. Nope. They are not the same.

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]

26. I love how Aldi's uses the same colors and fonts as the name brands

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]

31. It wouldn't surprise me if it is all the same stuff.

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]

34. I'm almost sure that they are

Over the counter meds are a perfect example (aspirin, acetaminophen, etc).

[DonCoquixote]

30. yes, but

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. Oh, I wasn't insinuating that the quality was cheaper.

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]

18. I like Trader Joe's

And when I used to get the Consumer Report magazine,
their products were often highly rated.

[Blue_true]

21. Organic vegetables tend to look worst than the alternative.

Because they don't have shit put on them or into them to make their color more uniform and size larger.

[Cha]

27. The organic veggies and fruits I

buy locally looks and tastes wonderful! Just for the record.

[Blue_true]

38. Showoff. You only have some of the best possible soil in Hawaii, thanks to what is happening now.

Volcanic soil is close to the best. The only thing that might be as good is Florida soil adjacent to lush wetlands.

[GoCubsGo]

8. I actually find better prices at Kroger.

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]

5. We need to fight the replacement of workers

The tax bill incentivized automation over workers. Big fat no to Krogers. I’d rather pay more.

[enid602]

6. Markets

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]

22. Stop & Shop has home delivery originating from their brick and mortal stores.

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]

24. delivery

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]

25. Just add online ordering, or promote it more and they surpass what Kroger is trying to do. nt

[enid602]

37. Online

It's all online. Always has been. Also 'drive up and go.'

[Blue_true]

39. Then there should not be any issues. nt

[ananda]

12. We don't have a Kroger here.

I shop at HEB, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's -- in person.

[GoCubsGo]

35. I love Sprouts!

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]

13. A Few Years Ago, Kroger Successfully Lobbied Against Equal Pay in Texas

[aikoaiko]

16. I've been using Kroger's click-list program. Its good for regular items.

I'd try the home delivery program.

[BlueDog22]

19. Union

Kroger is Unionized.

[Lee-Lee]

36. Yep- Kroger is one of the few unionized grocery chains

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 won’t shop there.

I’ve 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 that’s the only decent option, but I’m picky on what I buy there and go to the store that sells locally raised meats and identifies what farms they are from.

[Gothmog]

23. I shop at Kroger and like Kroger