A little more than three months into his new job, Kroger CEO Greg Foran has announced the grocery chain is going to cut prices so it can compete with other low-price grocery giants Aldi, Walmart, Trader Joe\u2019s, Costco and others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not exactly clear which products will see a decrease in cost or when the price slashing will begin, but according to an interview Foran had with Bloomberg<\/a>, the plan to cut costs for consumers will begin as a test before being rolled out to all stores nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cKroger plans to import more products directly and hone its use of technology to help fund the cuts,\u201d Grocery Dive writes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think about our business a bit like a Formula One race. There\u2019s a lead group of cars that are doing a very good job,\u201d Foran said in his interview. \u201cOur objective is to get out of the midfield and start lapping faster, make up the gap on the first-group cars and then ideally pass them.\u201d<\/p>\n Kroger also owns and operates Ruler, a much smaller discount grocery chain that primarily sells Kroger products. There is no indication that the price cuts will make their way to Ruler stores. The company\u2019s stated goal is discounted pricing in\u00a0Kroger-branded stores.<\/p>\n Foran said customer \u201cbaskets\u201d are down, which means shoppers are trying to buy fewer products and get them for the lowest price. He cited a plethora of reasons as to why customers are shopping the way they are, including the Iran war, gas prices and the economy\u2019s uncertainty.<\/p>\n \u201cNot everyone\u2019s basket is the same,\u201d Foran added. \u201c(The price cuts) need to be across thousands of products, and it has to be something that passes the common sense piece with customers.\u201d<\/p>\n