CINCINNATI, OH - The retail landscape is a competitive one, and this fact has only been amplified by the recent shifts caused by the pandemic. Kroger is one company ever at the forefront of successful grocery strategies, investing more than $830 million to support and safeguard associates, customers, and communities during this time. Today the company reported its first quarter 2020 results, providing a Restock Kroger progress update on the three-year transformation plan in addition to an update to the COVID-19 response.
“Under Restock Kroger, we have made significant investments over the last several years to establish a seamless digital ecosystem, strengthen Our Brands and our personalization capabilities, and to enhance product freshness and quality. These investments helped Kroger deliver improved results in 2019, a strong start to the quarter, and very much came to the forefront as we provided our customers with the fresh food and essentials they have needed during the pandemic,” said Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen.
According to the report, Kroger significantly exceeded its sales expectations for the quarter, hitting $42 billion in the first quarter, compared to $37 billion for the same period last year. With a record sales increase of 92 percent, Kroger is poised to surpass big-name e-commerce competitors such as Amazon and Walmart.
Though extensive specifics of the company’s expectations were not spelt out, we at ANUK have reason to believe that this monumental sales update will open the doors for explosive growth.
“While we expect to exceed the outlook shared in our April 1 business update for identical sales without fuel, adjusted FIFO operating profit, adjusted EPS, and adjusted free cash flow, the company is not able to forecast the extent of such upside for the reasons mentioned above,” explained CFO Gary Millerchip. “Kroger's financial model has proven to be resilient throughout the economic cycle. We remain confident in our business model as well as our ability to generate strong free cash flow and achieve sustainable and attractive total shareholder returns.”
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