Selling goods of essential nature has been a very popular form of business and with time, there has been a vital transformation in this field of business from opening a departmental store to establishing a supermarket or a hypermarket. Let’s discuss the topic- Kroger Vs Meijer.
Before getting into a detailed comparison between America’s two famous and largely owned private grocery chains, it is very important to understand the basic nature of a supermarket and that of a hypermarket.
WHAT IS A SUPERMARKET?
A supermarket is a self-service and large-scaled retail market which offers a wide range of food and household items. It primarily provides an extensive range of grocery items to choose from. One of the main reasons behind the popularity of supermarkets is that the products are offered at relatively low prices.
WHAT IS A HYPERMARKET?
In comparison to the supermarket, a hypermarket is just like any other large-scale retail store offering somewhat similar items but these stores are comparatively larger, and also the prices of products found at any hypermarket are generally lower than that of any supermarket. It is a store that combines a supermarket and a departmental store, selling a wide range of products to the customers.
The development of these stores has been outstanding in these past years whether it is in terms of their overall market competition or services provided to the customers or for that matter their better hold on the functioning of the organization respective to the environment of the market. Hypermarkets and Supermarkets are popular among the customers because of their unique commercial presentation.
KROGER
About Kroger
Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883, The Kroger Company is an American retail company that has its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. As per the records, it is America’s largest supermarket in terms of annual sales and also the second-largest general retailer. The company has different store formats which include hypermarkets, supermarkets, superstores, department stores, and around 170 jewelry stores under the names like Fred Meyer Jewelers and Littman Jewelers.
Along with supplying food items, Kroger’s also has a hold on providing high-quality services at everyday low prices by introducing 2,250 pharmacies that offers food and medicines together. Total company annual sales totaled $132.5 billion for the fiscal year 2020.
MEIJER
About Meijer
Meijer is as popularly known as the hypermarket, is an American food chain that is spread throughout the Midwest. Headquarters of Meijer are located in Walker, Michigan, United States, and was founded by Hendrik Meijer in the year 1934 as a supermarket chain which through time and development in its functioning coined the modern concept of supermarket in 1962. The company leads majorly in groceries, clothing, footwear, gasoline, sporting equipment, electronics, housewares, and furniture, jewelry, bedding, and pet supplies. As per the latest records of January 2020, the company has a total of 70,000 employees.
At first, Meijer started by introducing various grocery items, and later in 1962, it added general merchandise to its grocery stores.
There are many aspects upon which one can draw out comparisons between two retail companies and in this context, there are two of America’s famous supermarkets.
These are some of the basis upon which these supermarkets have been compared.
- Marketing Scheme
Marketing scheme of Kroger
Every company has a different marketing strategy; similarly, Kroger’s marketing scheme involves the marketing mix framework which includes the 4Ps- Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. Kroger’s marketing strategy helps the company to achieve a particular status in the market and also it is business goals and objectives. Kroger produces its branded products under three different categories namely, Private selection, banner brands, and value brands. Products offered in these three categories vary from premium quality products, 11000 items in its stores to good quality products at reasonable prices respectively. Apart from the food products, to increase the annual revenue, the company has extended its products lines to merchandise and pharmacy groups as well. Kroger also provides financial aid to its customers in personal finance, store debit, and credit cards. Working through such a large scale and offering numerous facilities shows the efficient application of product strategy in the marketing mix of the company.
Marketing scheme of Meijer
On the other hand, Meijer found different ways of marketing its products by focusing on being dynamic and measured. They had a plan in mind for carefully thought out, market by market, and on how to continue their expansion. Beyond fulfilling the needs of various new customers from across the nation, Meijer also started developing new stores which focused on region-wise progress. To expand its reach, opening small stores was a move Meijer decided to make which is the opposite of its true nature of being a hypermarket. Also, establishing smaller stores lets retailers like Meijer get a hold of quick in and put shopping trips that customers usually favor.
Meijer’s SWOT analysis also helps the company to achieve its goals in minimum time and also in becoming one of the strongest companies in the field of the food retailing market.
The company also offers various kinds of offers and coupons on weekly basis and seasonal basis which attracts customers largely. These are the few ways that would allow a company to rise higher in the market.- Price Range
Introduction
An important factor every company keeps in mind while launching different products. It is important to understand that a supplier that to a supermarket would be able to attract consumers through its reasonable pricing policy.
For comparison, there is complete information about the price range of both the companies
Kroger’s Price Ranging Policy
Kroger has always believed in the mantra of providing the best to the customers at minimum expense and their goal is to minimize the tension customers face related to the prices when deciding where to shop. Their price policy is completely based upon the three core pillars which are designed to ensure fair and everyday consistent pricing, great feature pricing on core items to surprise and delight, and also to provide the customers with loyal customer rewards, digital coupons, best customer rewards, and Kroger’s Personal Finance rewards.
Meijer’s Price Ranging Policy-
Meijer which operates 190 supercenters throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana is progressing through its commitment to offer the best possible and reasonable price on essential and most popular items along with the introduction of a new saving category “Everyday Best Price.” All the respective products which fall under this category are guaranteed to be of the best quality and lowest price. It continues to offer discounts and schemes on different lines of products and ensures that customers find them affordable. Another policy introduced by Meijer was “Price Drop” which allows numerous products that represent special buys or promotions from suppliers and are also reduced in price to maintain the sale for a longer period. Meijer has also tried to evolve through time by introducing different categories of products such as electronic equipment, medicines, apparel offerings, and many more.
Outline of the comparison
Generally, Kroger is cheaper than Meijer but this is major because of the increased purchasing power Kroger possesses over 2000 active stores as compared to 240 active stores of Meijer.
- Sustainability
Introduction
Keeping in mind the premium quality expectations of the customers, many supermarkets make sure to keep this factor on the top of their priority list. Sustainable foods are produced in facilities that protect crop diversity, conserve natural resources and minimize their impact on the environment by producing the best quality food alongside.
Retailers believe in the concept of sustainability which minimizes the negative impact of various products on people as well as the environment. Retail Industry Leaders Association has a strong belief that 93% of global consumers expect brands to be concerned about the wellness of the environment and also be supportive when it comes to social causes.
Kroger’s Sustainability Projects and Aims
Kroger is currently a member of the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)’s Standards Advisory Group for the Food and Beverage Sector. This group of volunteer industry experts is appointed to advise SASB on the emerging issues that should be considered in the standards development process. This initiative taken up by Kroger is very evident in the fact that the company is very much inclined towards sustainability. By donating 18 cumulative meals( food & funds) to the communities, circulate as much safe and nutritious food as possible to feed in their community through the Zero Hunger initiative lets company achieve social support in the market.
Other long term goals were taken up by Kroger’s include –
Zero waste ( recycling over 200M pounds more plastic, continue to integrate reusable plastic containers, and testing new technologies that reduce waste in the supply chain)
- Food Waste Recycling ( reduce total waste generation on the retail supermarkets, improve food waste diversion from landfills in retail supermarket’s)
- Climate Impact ( achieve 40% electricity saving in almost all the supermarkets, reduce refrigerant emissions by 9% in our retail stores annually)
- Packaging ( reduce plastic resins by 10M pounds, increase the recyclability of plastic packaging, increase certified virgin fiber from well-managed forests for paperboard packaging)
- Water Reduction ( achieve 5% water savings in supermarkets, achieve 3% annual reduction in water consumed per unit produced in their plants)
Meijer’s Plan for Moving Towards a Sustainable Production
For Meijer as well it has always been keeping the needs of customers and protecting the environment at first. As a company, they understand the urging need of maintaining environmental sustainability in their day-to-day operations and functioning. At every step, they tend to minimize the impact which is caused by the production of different products and also highlight the issue that it is the responsibility of every firm or citizen to make improvements through their smart decisions and innovations which would ultimately benefit the customers and the community.
- Numerous gases produced through transportation, refrigerant gas leakage, electricity, and natural gas usage cause a major impact on climate, which is why Meijer decided to focus on reducing carbon emissions through the following initiatives-
- Energy efficiency ( Using less energy in stores, distribution centers, and offices)
- Refrigerant Management ( by minimizing the refrigerant produce)
- Renewable Gases (to keep the stores running, a lot of energy is consumed throughput. So to reduce that Meijer has decided to invest in those resources which would help reduce carbon footprint)
- Waste production is a major concern that needs to be resolved to prevent pollution. The company plans on reducing as much waste as possible through various ways like-
- Recycling ( one of the best ways to reduce waste is by finding an alternate method of decomposing instead of landfilling)
- Plastic bag and film recycling (decreasing the use of single-use plastic bags irrespective of their convenience while shopping grocery)
Meijer’s goals towards a sustainable environment are very convincing as they focus upon-
- Leadership in energy and environmental design(LEED)
- Brownfields ( by launching new stores on previously industrial sites, they intend to reuse the existing infrastructure and economic facilities of the community)
- Green Infrastructure ( using rainwater and groundwater as their main source of functioning, Meijer believes in cherishing nature)
Outline of the comparison
Every company has its ways of contributing towards its community and environment and so do Meijer and Kroger. Both the food retail chains have established different ways of becoming the best in the market alongside letting nature also benefit and nurture.
Conclusion
The supermarket industry has been regulated with different laws and regulations constantly for a better experience for the customers and tp the sellers as well. It also helps the people to acknowledge different aspects of the business while being in sync with concepts such as sustainability
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Kroger own Meijer?
Both the companies are individually and privately owned grocery chains in America. But in comparison with Meijer, Kroger has comparatively more reach to its customers because of the huge number of stores it has.
- Is Meijer more expensive than Kroger?
In terms of the costs of its essential products, Kroger is considered to be cheaper than Meijer and majorly due to Kroger’s purchasing power. On the other hand, Meijer is a hypermarket which eventually makes it a bit more expensive as compared to Kroger which is a supermarket and also has numerous small stores for quick shopping trips.