Kroger leaders aren't worried about Amazon in online grocery battle

Enlarge Photo

Jim Callaway

Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen was among several Kroger executives who met with analysts and investors on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Steve Watkins

Staff Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

Email  |  Twitter  |  Google+  |  LinkedIn

Kroger Co. is aggressively going after online supermarket sales and isn't worried about a battle looming with competitors like Amazon.

That's what the Cincinnati-based supermarket operator's executives told analysts and investors on Wednesday during the company's annual investor conference held at the METS Center in Erlanger.

Amazon has started expanding its AmazonFresh online grocery order and delivery service. An analyst asked Kroger executives what they thought about Amazon's offering, especially since "they don't have to make money," as the analyst put it.

"We're not fixated by it," Kevin Dougherty, Kroger's group vice president of digital and Vitacost, said of Kroger's take on Amazon. "A decade ago, we decided we have to play our game and focus on our strengths. They may succeed, but what we do has worked for decades, and I'd want to bet on that being sustainable."

Kroger is also about to launch an online "click-and-collect" service in Cincinnati that allows customers to order online and pick up their groceries at the store. Harris Teeter, the North Carolina-based chain Kroger bought in January, has a similar system that I tested earlier this month. It had some issues, but Kroger is working to improve the system before it rolls it out to the public in Greater Cincinnati.

"We're putting processes in place to make it more efficient," Dougherty said. "You'll be underwhelmed by the visual experience, but it's designed to help customers get through a big-basket shopping experience quickly and efficiently."

CEO Rodney McMullen told analysts and investors at a dinner on Tuesday night that Kroger is optimistic about its online ordering system's potential.

Watkins covers banking and finance, insurance and sports business