Kroger Tied for First Place in Annual Kantar Retailer PoweRanking

CINCINNATI, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today was named the top retailer, tied for first place in the overall composite score, in the Kantar Retailer PoweRanking.

This is the first time in 20 years that Kroger has reached the pinnacle of the prestigious list, which is determined by participating manufacturers. The Kantar Retailer PoweRanking™ is designed to identify the retailers currently setting the highest standards of performance as viewed by their trading partners, and to gain insight into what makes these retailers "best in class."

In addition to being tied for the overall #1 position, Kroger ranked first in the following categories: "best retailer to do business with," best practice category leadership," "best buying teams," and "most innovative merchandising." The company also tied for first in the "clearest strategy" category.

"We deeply value our CPG and manufacturing partners' commitment to our Customer 1st Strategy," said Mike Donnelly, Kroger's executive vice president of merchandising. "We are excited about our ability to drive innovation for customers using data-driven insights from both our suppliers and our customer insights firm, 84.51°."

For more information about the Kantar PoweRanking™, please visit www.kantarretail.com.

Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 431,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,781 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering — a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service – in addition to 2,240 pharmacies, 785 convenience stores, 323 fine jewelry stores, 1,423 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.