the answer to this question may be Kroger company. founded in 1883 and headquartered in cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of america’s best companies for effectively formulating, implementing,

and evaluating strategies. Kroger manufacturers, processes, and distributes food for sale in its supermarkets, drugstores, and convenience stores. the company not only owns and operates 325 jewelry stores—it also owns city Market, Dillons, food 4 Less, fred Meyer, frys, Harris teeter, Jay c. King Soopers, Ofc, ralphs, and Smiths. all total, Kroger operates nearly 2,700 supermarkets,

and more than 1,300 of these have fuel centers. Kroger is recognized by Forbes as the most generous company in the United States because it actively supports hunger relief, breast cancer awareness, the military and their families, and more than 30,000 schools and grassroots organizations. the company also contributes food and funds equal to 200 million meals a year through more than 100 feeding america food bank partners. and Kroger does all of this very profitably. in fact, Kroger dominates the supermarket industry as the largest and most profitable firm. Kroger purchased Harris teeter Supermarkets in 2014.

Kroger tries every day to help consumers stretch their food budget in a variety of ways, including weekly promotions and fuel rewards. and Kroger continues to make natural and organic foods affordable and accessible to all customers, especially with Simple truth. the company’s brands (labels)

represent about 27.3 percent of total units sold and 25.8 percent of sales dollars, excluding fuel and pharmacy. Kroger appears to be perfectly vertically integrated, owning substantial parts of its supplier,

production, and distribution business network.

even the most successful firms, however, are vulnerable strategically. Kroger is concerned that two of the world’s largest supermarket chains are discussing a merger. Specifically, Dutch company royal ahold nv and Belgium-based Delhaize group are talking about combining into one company.

ahold operates giant food Stores in Maryland, virginia, and washington, Dc, where Kroger wants to build more Harris teeter Supermarkets inc. ahold also owns Martin’s food Markets stores in virginia. Delhaize operates food Lion in the South, where Kroger is strong. ahold owns Peapod,

an online grocery ordering service that delivers products to customers’ homes or lets them pick up orders at stores. Kroger is trying hard to enter the online grocery ordering and customer pickup service. ahold also operates Stop & Shop in new england and the northeast, where Kroger plans to build its first stores. Delhaize runs Hannaford stores in new england. if ahold and Delhaize merge,

that would create a company with 2,034 supermarkets in the United States, compared to Kroger’s 2,625 in 34 states, and could result in a more price competitive grocery business.

Questions

1. explain why Kroger is recognized by Forbes as one of the most generous companies in america.
is being generous consistent with (or inconsistent with) being a highly profitable? Discuss.
2. which supermarket do you shop most often and why?
3. what are the three most important criteria that determine in which supermarket you shop? Does Kroger meet your criteria?
4. what response would be appropriate for Kroger if ahold and Delhaize merge?
5. go to the website www.finance.yahoo.com, put in Kr as the stock symbol, and then click on Profile, Statistics, competitors, and Headlines. Determine whether Kroger has continued its fantastic performance lately. Use this website, among others, throughout this course to gather research about companies.
6. Determine from the www.finance.com website who are Kroger’s two primary competitors, and how is Kroger performing versus those rival companies?