As one of the largest retailers globally, Kroger was the highlight of the 20th century in creating and growing a grocery chain in the United States.
You may not have shopped at a physical Kroger, but chances are you have, in one way or the other, contributed to the company’s revenue windfall.
So if you want to know about Kroger and how it came to be, including its services and offers? Keep reading to know 23 statistics and trends about Kroger- its history and emerging trends, among others.
23 Kroger Statistics, Facts & Trends
1. Kroger Was Founded In 1883
Barney Kroger used to be a grocery store employee who decided to strike out on his own after being denied a partnership role at some grocery store, “The Imperial Tea.”
With his life savings of $372, he began with the name The Great Western Tea Co., which later became Kroger Grocery and Baking Co. in 1902. And just in 18 years, it has had more than 5,500 locations.
2. Kroger Is The 18th Largest Company Is The USA
The Kroger Company (Kroger for short) currently operates various retail establishments, including convenience stores and supermarkets.
Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in the U.S. and the second-largest retailer only behind Walmart. It is also the 18th largest company overall in the country.
3. 3,003 Stores And Counting
Kroger’s operation is, as of the time of this writing, in 34 different states in the U.S. and boasts of more than 3,000 locations in the country- 3003, to be specific.
Kroger’s operations are within the confines of the United States, with no overseas stores yet.
Even at that, it remains the second-largest hypermarket chain in the world. Therefore, Kroger has 100% of its share of sales attributed to the United States.
4. Kroger’s Competitors
As a grocery store, some of the top competitors for the company are Walmart, Costco, Albertsons Companies, Amazon, Publix Super Markets, and Sprouts Farmers Markets.
5. Market Share of U.S. Food and Beverage Purchases.
Kroger accounts for 8.9% of all food and beverages bought in the U.S.
That makes the company’s total sales in the U.S. 132.5bn USD while its operating profit is 2.25bn USD.
6. Non-perishables Are The Top Sales Category In Kroger Stores
As the largest grocery store chain in America, it comes as no surprise that 36% of Kroger’s revenue comes from non-perishables, which is its largest sales category.
7. Subsidiaries & Brands
The largest grocery chain in America, Kroger, has the following subsidiaries:
- Dillons
- Food 4 Less
- Fry’s
- Fred Meyer
- King Scoopers
- Ralphs
- QFC
- Harris Teeter
- Smith’s
8. Kroger’s Focus on Quality Monitoring
Kroger, as of 1930, was the first grocery store chain to embrace product quality monitoring and implementation of stringent product-testing standards.
By the 1970s, Kroger was the first-ever store to introduce e-scanning and formalized consumer research into grocery.
9. Kroger Is America’s Favorite Grocery Store
In public opinion data conducted from over 200,000 interviews, Kroger claimed the top spot in the grocery category with a favorability rating of 53% in 2017.
10. Major Stakeholder In The Organic Market
Kroger’s branded organic line- Simple Truth, is a private label with sales that exceed the annual sales of many supermarket chains in the U.S.
According to Food Business News, alone, Simple Truth did $1.5 billion in business in 2015.
11. Division of Kroger’s Stores
Kroger’s stores include:
- 2,619 supermarkets
- 782 convenience stores
- 326 jewelry stores
Also included in its operation base are 37 food processing and manufacturing plants and 36 distribution centers to supply the stores.
With these locations, Kroger boasts 161.7 m sq feet of retail space in the U.S.- and the equivalent to up to 280,000 NFL football fields.
12. Kroger Is America’s Favorite Gas Retailer
Kroger has been selling gas since 1983 but started offering fuel at its marts in 1998.
As the third-largest operator of filling stations in the U.S., in 2014, Kroger operated more than 2,000 filling stations across 37 states.
13. Innovation And Invention
The modern-day grocery store, as known to many, was invented by Kroger- beginning with the sales of bread and other staples plus general groceries so that customers would not have to shop at different stores to get everything they need.
14. Kroger’s Fine Jewelry Section
Did you know that Kroger operates a jewelry section? There are 323 jewelry stores in 30 U.S. states under the brands of Fred Meyer Jewelers and Littman Jewelers.
These stores are likely to be found inside malls and even some locations inside food stores.
15. Kroger Is The Fifth Largest Drugstore In The U.S.
Kroger operated 1,947 pharmacy stores in 2013, and this grew to 2,111 in 2014.
It is renowned for filling prescriptions, selling prescription drugs, and providing primary medical services by nurse practitioners.
This takes place in the company’s brand, Little Clinics.
16. Kroger’s Fleet
As of 2013, Kroger had operations of 2,770 semi-tractors and 10,500 semi-trailers.
The purpose is to keep up with its store supplies. Kroger could make 3,300 deliveries per day with the fleet, driving about 329 million miles in the same year.
17. Location And Distribution Of Kroger Stores Across The U.S
California has the most Kroger locations, with 335 stores dedicated to groceries. It has the second largest store in Ohio- the home turf of Kroger, where it operates 212 stores.
Texas is the third largest, with 203 stores. Florida has the fewest number of Kroger supermarkets, with only one Harris Teeter store.
18. Kroger Has 435,000 Employees Across The Country
With over 3000+ stores nationwide, Kroger employs a massive workforce of 435,000 employees, which is growing yearly.
19. Kroger’s AI-digital Tool
In recent times, one of the prominent trends in the grocery industry is the news that Kroger has launched an artificial intelligence-based digital tool that can suggest recipes based on photos of the food items.
This is part of the efforts of retailers to turn to technology and make meal preparation and shopping incredibly easier.
20. Grocery Trends According To Kroger
According to predictions for top trends in grocery stores and the retailer’s products, Kroger says making comfort foods such as cheese and white cheddar macaroni, quick-cook risotto, and others is here to stay.
It bears on how customers have adapted to the challenges in the past year. It is also a pointer to how many have embraced making food at home as part of their routine.
From the analysis, more than half of Kroger shoppers claimed to experiment with different flavors at home.
Thus, there will be a boost in beverage and food products. It will also include benefits such as better digestion, improved energy level, cognitive health, and stress management.
21. Kroger Launches NOWstalgia
With the increase in demand for foods and flavors that can bring back childhood memories, Kroger has added new foods to its grocery shelves that can fascinatingly produce nostalgic flavors.
With the launch of Noshtalgia, Kroger aims to give its customers a way to share their food memories in a new podcast. Customers can now stream Noshtalgia on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, and other platforms.
22. Kroger’s partnership with Ocado
In 2019, Kroger announced plans to build robot-driven fulfillment centers, which begin operations in 2021.
As a result, it will get a fresh boost in handling the pace of e-commerce orders.
23. Kroger’s Flexibility And Ability To Adapt To Change
Despite the rapidly changing nature of the grocery business, Kroger has maintained dominance for years.
Its continual delivery and service of meeting the needs of hungry people in many millions have made it a famous name for giving consumers the best experience through manufacturing, stocking, checking, marketing, delivering, or managing.
To learn more about Kroger, you can see our related posts on whether or not Kroger is a franchise, the Kroger shoplifting policy, and the Kroger dog policy.
Conclusion
Despite its involvement in various initiatives, Kroger is not resting its oars yet as it remains dedicated to its purpose of ‘feeding the human spirit.’ There is also a continuity of its offer of seamless shopping experience under different brand names.
