David Dillon - CEO of Kroger Co.
The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce's Annual Luncheon on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 was a great event for any business owner in the Cincinnati region. With over 100 of Cincinnati's most significant businesses attending, David Dillon (CEO of The Kroger Company) spoke about Kroger's efforts to stay relevant in a declining market with many uprising competitors.
Kroger saw the growth of Wal-Mart and Maijer's in the grocers market almost a decade ago and knew exactly what they needed to do to withstand the turmoil they would be presented with in the upcoming years. It was necessary, as Dillon says, to focus on meeting the customer's needs and making the customer the #1 priority.
Kroger has undergone a major revamping in the recent years; from incorporating national branding like Starbucks and Fred Myers Jewelers to giving the customer incentives like a 3-cent reward for being eco-friendly and 10-cents off each gallon of fuel to their loyal Kroger Plus shoppers and even giving away free ice cream to their online patrons from social networks like Twitter. Kroger has walked in the footsteps of progress set forth by Dell and AT&T and it has paid off. Despite the profound presence of Target, Wal-Mart, and Maijers in the Cincinnati area, Kroger still maintains the highest customer loyalty margins of all the grocers in the region.
David told the amazing story of Krogers' 126 year legacy and the growth and trials that they have experienced along the way. After the luncheon, Dillon spoke of his admiration for competitors such as Publix (Florida) and Wegmans (New York), and even the retail giant, Wal-Mart, stating that they have learned what Krogers is trying to learn and sometimes quicker.
Despite all the competition, economical stress, and numerous Union strikes, Krogers has succeeded in taking a chain of 5000 micro-storefronts earning an annual revenue of $200 million and prosper into a dominate force of 2600 super grocery stores spread across 36 states and boasting annual earnings of $76 billion. Our congrats to Krogers for the immense success and for keeping Cincinnati in the public-eye as a leader in agricultural commerce.
Comments
That picture isn't Michelle Kellison, it's her boyfriend, Andrew Jacob Stephens.
He's a convicted felon, an illegal bulk email spammer, and he certainly isn't a real estate examiner.
Here's the proof:
www.spamhaus.org/rokso/listing.lasso?file=1175
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