Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen Discusses Big Changes at Harris Teeter
Kroger has some big plans in store for Harris Teeter following the completion of its $2.5 billion acquisition. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen recently discussed some of the big changes ahead for Harris Teeter and its future growth potential.
McMullen noted that Harris Teeter can add stores in its current markets, such as Charleston, South Carolina, and build market share, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. “The biggest surprise is probably the opportunity for Harris Teeter to grow the business where they are,” he said.
The acquisition also allows Kroger to expand its own operations with Harris Teeter’s 227 stores across the U.S. Kroger employees have already taken Harris Teeter’s ideas about how to prepare each store with ads and promotions and spread those across the chain, said McMullen. “For us, when you merge, you’re all on the same team,” he added.
By embracing change in the past decade, Kroger was able to shift its focus to its customers rather than competition. Even in an intense market, Kroger has successfully achieved a streak of 41 straight quarters of generating same-store sales growth, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
“Change is fun,” said McMullen. “It’s fun doing something that has not been done before. If it was easy, it would’ve been done before.”
Harris Teeter has already announced it was lowering its prices on top of achieving better efficiencies thanks to the acquisition. What else could this retailer be planning…and how will the market react? One thing’s for sure – it’ll be an interesting few months ahead.
