MSOL, MAOL, MBA, and Bachelor’s Degrees in Organizational Leadership in Ohio

Leadership Transforms a Local Cincinnati Store Into the Nation’s Largest Retail Grocer

From the moment he spent his $372 life savings on opening his first store in Cincinnati, Barney Kroger was committed to the grocer’s golden rule: never sell anything that you wouldn’t want yourself.

In addition, he also placed a premium on innovation, normalizing grocery store amenities we all take for granted today.

Grocers of Kroger’s time in Cincinnati would buy bread from bakers and resell it. Kroger figured that he could bake this staple at his own store, save money, and offer a fresher product. Ditto for an in-store butcher. His store was also the first where customers could browse for products on their own isle-to-isle and take them home immediately, as opposed to waiting for a delivery.

That was all 140 years ago. While Kroger-the-grocery-outlet has grown and its leadership changed, the original values founded by Kroger-the-person haven’t. This is thanks to the company’s organizational leaders who ensure that consistency and company goals are held in common by all members of the team.

Today Kroger operates around 2,800 stores in 35 states under its namesake title as well as recognized brands like Ralph’s, Fred Meyer, and QFC. Its team number half-a-million full-time employees. It’s total revenue based on the preceding 12 months is $146 billion, and over the past five years investors have seen an amazing 81% return. Kroger is one of the world’s largest food retailers, and the largest grocer in America.

And this is all to say nothing of Kroger’s fresh history and its leaders who’ve made headlines.

The company has recently merged with drugstore chains to expand its national reach into this niche, and its biggest deal to-date was its $13 billion merger with Fred Meyer in 1999. Kroger’s growth has continued steadily throughout the 2010s and 2020s.

New leadership, including board member and politically-connected Elaine Chao who served as the leader in two presidential cabinet positions under W. Bush and Trump, has Kroger eyeing a potential $24.6 billion merger with the nation’s second-largest grocery chain, Albertson’s, tentatively scheduled for completion in early 2024.

Though some analysts put the odds of this merger being approved by government anti-trust regulators at 35%, it’s nevertheless an ambitious move by Kroger’s leadership that will keep its competition on their toes, shake up the marketplace, and keep Kroger in the headlines.