Kroger
America’s largest supermarket chain, running more than 2,500 stores under Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers and other local names.
8 figures on Kroger, drawn from 2 Modern MBA case studies.
The figures
US dollars1
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual revenue in billions, 2023–24 | $150B | 5th of 9 · top $648B | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
Percentages7
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of merchandise as a share of revenue, ten-year average | 78% | 2nd of 10 · top 87% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Cost of merchandise against labor and rent, as a share of revenue, ten-year average · Cost of merchandise | 78% | 2nd of 7 · top 87% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Gross margins of technology companies against retailers, 2019 | 22% | 9th of 10 · top 82% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Cost of merchandise against labor and rent, as a share of revenue, ten-year average · Labor & rent | 17% | 6th of 7 · top 26% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Operating margin of the leading data-driven Fortune 500 companies, 2013 against 2023 · 2013 | 3% | 11th of 12 · top 40% | Why AI is just big data again |
| Average operating margin over the last decade | 2.5% | 7th of 8 · top 8.9% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Operating margin of the leading data-driven Fortune 500 companies, 2013 against 2023 · 2023 | 2% | 12th of 12 · top 36% | Why AI is just big data again |
Case studies covering Kroger
Case study — Retail & brandsWhy self-checkout didn't replace cashiersAmazon's cashierless store was a thousand people in India watching cameras. Every retailer copied it anyway.15 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy AI is just big data againBig data was sold for a decade and produced nothing. The same players are running the identical playbook with AI.15 min readNew episodes
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