Kohl's Corporation

Kroger Supermarkets were started in 1883 by Barney Kroger in downtown Cincinnati. Mr. Kroger started his business with the motto: “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.” Through the years Kroger has strived to uphold this motto to its customers and to provide great service, the freshest products and expansion to meet the needs of their customer base making it one of the world’s largest retailers. Kroger now has over 2,600 stores in 34 states with $108.5 billion in annual sales. Kroger operates 37 food processing facilities and Kroger was the first grocery retailer to use the electronic scanner.

Stephen B. Huttie, president of Wooster-based Crown Retail Consultants, said nationally, the retail industry is “over-stored.” So, the news about Kohl’s closing stores is not surprising. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. closed 154 stores in the United States in

This chain is one of the 20 largest retail stores in the United States. Kohl’s is also listed in Fortune 500 in 2012. This retail store has more than 1100 locations around the globe. It also has a strong reputation and distribution. Also, their revenue performance and financial stability is high. Kohl’s also offers most of the essential products like clothing, furniture and etc.

Kohls has been struggling to stay ahead of competition in recent years, and is now trying unconventional business tactics. Kohl's has recently found itself in controversy after the corporation decided to partner itself with the internet powerhouse, Amazon. According to Forbes Magazine article, “Is Kohl's Making A Mistake Cozying Up To Amazon?”, Kohl's is one of the only off-line retail stores that is siding with Amazon. Author of the Forbes article, George Anderson, writes,” retailers attempting to slow Amazon’s advance have begun pulling their business from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud operation. Others such as Walmart have pressured technology vendors to do the same.” Kohls making this move shows they have a “if you can’t beat them

Soon after this, Kohl went to the stock market, eventually making his own business, Kohl’s Investments. Herb Kohl and his brother then inherited a store chain of 50 grocery, department, pharmacies, and liquor stores. In 1970 Herb Kohl was named president of Kohl’s. In 1979 Kohl sold the corporation and purchased the Milwaukee Bucks NBA

In 2002, Lowe’s opened 123 new stores in metropolitan areas with emphasis on populations greater than 500,000. Their opening plan includes two prototypes: 116,000 square-foot store to serve large markets and 94,000 square-foot store to serve small market.

According to the Kroger business web page, in 1883 Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store at 66 Pearl in downtown Cincinnati. The son of a merchant, he ran his business with a simple motto: Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself. It is a motto that has served him well for the next 120 years. Today, Kroger has grown to 2500 stores with $70 billion revenues, 40 food processing plants ranging from bread, milk, soda pop, ice cream and peanut butter. Kroger operates under two dozen banners, has acquired warehouses, trucking companies, and has over 14,400 private-label items (The Kroger Co., 2012).

Kohl’s Corporation (Kohl’s) is the second largest specialty department store. It sells private la-bels, national brand items, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products. It even has many of their own labels. The company operates 1,162 department stores in 49 states of the U.S. It has a web site www.kohls.com where you can buy the same items they sell in the store or their online exclusives. It also operates a nationwide loyalty program called Yes2You rewards. Throughout the year it has promotions of percentages off and Kohl’s cash. Their headquarters is located in Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

Kohl’s is a company that has been around for quite a while and inevitably has various strengths and weakness. One of the major strengths they have is their abundance of products. Vast merchandise means a wide array of customers that could potentially have a need to be met. Another strong suit of Kohl’s is their incredibly efficient supply chain.

American retailer Kohl’s has become a prevalent fixture for the purchase of discounted clothing and home goods in the mid-west for over twenty-five years. The history of the company however has roots much more modest than present day market dominance would suggest. Dating back to a Wisconsin supermarket in 1946, founder Max Kohl grew his small business to the most successful chain of supermarkets in the Milwaukee area (12). By 1962 Kohl opened his first department store in Brookfield, Wisconsin where an eclectic selection of merchandise, from sporting goods, motor oil and candy, was sold (11). In 1972, the Kohl’s Company which by then consisted of 50 grocery stores, six department stores, three drug

The Kroger Company uses the broad differentiation strategy. They have business in at least eight different market segments. They operate two thousand, two hundred and fifty-five stores across America and operate under twenty four banners. Their market position ranks among the highest in the nation. They also have a strong bargaining power because of their many endeavors into different market areas. Kroger supermarkets have been in business for one hundred thirty four years and have made a substantial contribution to the business world (Annual report, 2017).

The Target Corporation, what used to be known as the Dayton Dry Goods Co., is an American retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902. In 1962, the first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota. It is the fifth largest retailer by sales revenue in the United States behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Kroger and Costco. The company is ranked 33rd on the 2007 Fortune 500. Target operates its retailing business exclusively in the United States. It is a rival with Kmart and Wal-Mart. Target was listed in Internet Retailer's list of the top 500 retail web sites in 2007 also, this not only proves of brick and mortar sucsess but also online retail.

The Kroger Company grew in 128 years from one store to over 3,500 stores of various banners and products. The Kroger Company is the largest food and drug retailer in the United States and is growing constantly with diversity in the retail market, dealing in food, pharmacies, apparel, jewelry and fuel. Kroger is governed by a 14 member Board of Directors including a Chief Executive Officer. Kroger is a leader in Corporate Social responsibility by maintaining environmental consciousness, social awareness and energy conservation awareness. Kroger is committed to customers, builds diversity and focuses on growth. The company operates a large part of it’s own manufacturing and distribution to increase profit

Sears Holding Corporation is the fourth largest retailer in the United States and Canada. Its subsidiaries include Sears, Roebuck and Co. as well as K-Mart. The closing of the merger between Sears and K-Mart took place on March 24, 2005. Sears has more than 4,000 retail stores across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Sears offers products and services through over 2,700 branded and affiliated stores. Sears operates 894 broad-line stores and 1,354 specialty stores. Sears’ broad-line stores are mall-based locations. The specialty stores include Sears Hometown Stores that are mostly independently owned, Sears Home Appliance Showrooms, Sears Hardware Stores, Sears Auto Centers,

The Kroger brand was born in 1883, Bernard 'Barney ' Kroger took his life savings of $372 to open his first store in downtown Cincinnati. This location is by I-71 that passes the Great American Ballpark. Barney Kroger, the son of a merchant, had a simple "Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself." This was the credo that would serve The Kroger Co. well over the next 130 years as the supermarket business evolved into a variety of formats aimed towards satisfying the needs of their shoppers in as many aspects as possible. With nearly 3,619 stores in 34 states under 24 different names, such as Kroger, Dillons, Turkey Hill Minit Markets, Ralphs, Tom Thumb Food Stores, QuikStop, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and Littman Jewelers with an annual revenue of more than $70 billion. Kroger today ranks as one of the nation’s largest retailers.