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External Analysis of Kroger (KR)

At the time of me drafting this post, Kroger (KR) stock on the NYSE was 52.78 (-1.09%).  Visit https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KR/financials/.

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Exactly what is external analysis?  External analysis involves scanning, monitoring, and gathering intel on your competitors.  Staying up to date on supermarket news via company retreats, district or national conferences and meetups, visiting various store locations, and reading articles on sites like the Wall Street Journal can help you stay relevant and put your company in a better position financially. 

Visiting various store locations is important because each store is different, and they have their own identity and dynamics.  Each store has its own customer base.  The tastes of customers vary over time and as a business, it is up to you to stay up to date.         

Vegetables in a supermarket“/ CC0 1.0

Kroger’s mantra is Full, Fresh, and Friendly and Fresh For EveryoneFull because product should be in stock.  If the product is not on the shelf, then the effort should be made to look in other parts of the store for the product desired by the customer or offer a suitable alternative.  Fresh because Kroger is in the business of bringing fresh product to their customers.   No one should eat spoiled food.  In fact, food still in good condition is donated to a food bank before it goes to the landfill.  This is part of their Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative.  With this initiative, food waste is reduced, and more people have access to fresh food.  Friendly because Kroger is in the business of providing great customer service, and you should be friendly to your customers.  You need customers to return to your store.  Kroger employees smile at customers upon entry and provide a sincere thank you for shopping with them prior to you leaving the store. 

People are more concerned about what they are putting into their bodies and how we are treating the global environment.  Kroger has organic products on their shelves.  They also have a local section where you can find products made by local citizens.  How do Kroger know which product to carry?  How do they know which coupons to send you in the mail?  Part of this comes from the loyalty card. 

This card is serious business.  Family members playful fight over the loyalty card.  Your loyalty card is attached to your phone number.  If you do not have a card, you can get one from the cashier, ask the customer behind you for their card, or you can enter your number at the POS and any savings will be provided to the number on file.  In one visit to your local Kroger, you can get your groceries, gas for your car, medications/prescriptions filled, vaccine shots, propane tank exchanged, keys made, wire money overseas, recycle old cell phones, or rent a Rug Doctor to clean your carpet at home.  This is a strength for Kroger.  They have such a variety.  They carry their own label of products.  One product I like is the French goat cheese and marinated vegetables pizza under the Private Selection label. 

As I end this blog post, I would also like to highlight another strength for Kroger which is their marketing.  They created commercials using kroji’s which are animated characters like the ones you may see on social media.   

Next blog post will touch more on the internal environment of Kroger. 

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