Kroger CEO Greg Foran laid out a three-part plan to make the company “America’s favorite grocer” at its 2026 Investor Update in New York on Oct. 20, setting new long-term targets of approximately 3 percent comparable sales growth, excluding fuel and pharmacy, in 2029.
The plan rests on three priorities: winning with the customer, driving profitable digital growth and modernizing how the company operates. Foran, who noted he took the role 250 days earlier, offered a candid assessment of how Kroger lost share: inconsistent store execution, operating costs that grew faster than sales, a value position that didn’t keep pace as promotions became overly complicated, and capital investments that didn’t produce expected returns while competitors expanded.
“The result is we lost share. We own that,” Foran said. “The good news is that Kroger can address these issues.”
Foran pointed to the assets already in place: approximately 2,700 stores in 35 states, a roughly $18 billion e-commerce business, a $40 billion Our Brands portfolio and approximately 95 percent of sales tied to a Kroger loyalty card. Americans spend approximately $2.5 trillion a year on food, he noted, including more than $1 trillion on food at home, a market that remains fragmented.
“Let me be clear: the ingredients to win are already inside Kroger,” he said. “Our job is to bring the teams together and execute our strategy consistently and with excellence.”
More than 100 stores planned
The plan calls for opening approximately 110 new stores in high-return markets through 2029, sharper everyday prices with simpler promotions, and $4 billion in annualized cost savings by 2029 to self-fund the investments. Kroger is also targeting 3 to 6 percent compound annual growth in adjusted EBITDA and 7 to 11 percent compound annual growth in adjusted net earnings per share from 2027 through 2029.
Foran closed the day by describing an unannounced visit to an Indiana store where seafood sales were up more than 80 percent and rotisserie chickens more than 50 percent. “The balance from here is simple: less time talking about the plan, and more time delivering it,” he said. “Now we execute.”
In the next installment: Mary Ellen Adcock talks pricing, promotions, store formats of the future