Latest news with #RonSargent
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Investigation finds Kroger overcharging on sale items
Investigation finds Kroger overcharging on sale items Show Caption Hide Caption Kroger ousts long-time CEO after probe into personal conduct Longtime Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after an internal investigation found that his personal conduct was "inconsistent" with the company's ethics policy. Reuters You're shopping for your family at Kroger when you notice a sale price on Cheerios cereal and grab a box, but later at the checkout, it rings up for full price. Is it a data entry error or part of a nefarious scheme to deliberately overcharge you? A joint investigation by Consumer Reports, The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network doesn't answer the question, but found more than 150 overcharging errors at 26 stores owned by the Cincinnati-based supermarket giant across 14 states in a months-long investigation. The outlets enlisted secret shoppers who found 'expired sales labels that led to overcharges' that averaged '$1.70 per item, or 18.4 percent.' The products found that Kroger didn't honor the advertised price on Cheerios cereal, Mucinex cold and flu medication, Nescafé instant coffee, boneless beef, salmon and dog food, among other items. 'Kroger employees work quickly to correct pricing errors when they are pointed out. But for many other grocery shoppers, those pricing errors undoubtedly go unnoticed,' Consumer Reports wrote in its report. In case you missed it: Kroger interim CEO Ron Sargent to receive $4.4 million via SEC filing Kroger: We have a 'Make It Right' policy Union and Kroger employees in Colorado who are in the midst of contract negotiations blamed the company for understaffing in recent years allowing price discrepancies to affect customers, according to the report. 'They say store-level management tells front-end workers to fix price errors for individual shoppers who complain but doesn't do what needs to be done to correct the expired discount tags that are driving the problem,' the report said. Kroger officials deny intentional price discrepancies, adding its 'Make It Right' policy ensures associates can handle 'any situation when we unintentionally fall short of a customer's expectations.' 'Kroger is committed to affordable and accurate pricing, and we conduct robust price check processes that reviews millions of items weekly to ensure our shelf prices are accurate,' the company said in a statement, adding the report 'a few dozen examples … out of billions of customer transactions annually … the characterization of widespread pricing concerns is patently false.' The company also denied that labor and work hours were an issue.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Axios Harris Poll Names Kroger One of America's Most Visible and Trusted Companies
CINCINNATI, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced its inclusion among the 2025 Axios Harris Poll 100, an annual ranking of the reputations of the most visible companies in the U.S. "As America's grocer, we understand our responsibility to provide fresh, affordable food so families can make the meals they love," said Ron Sargent, Chairman and CEO of Kroger. "Every day, our teams are focused on the customer, keeping prices low and creating meaningful careers. We appreciate Harris recognizing Kroger's commitment to our customers and associates." The Axios Harris Poll is a trusted ranking of the reputations of companies most on the minds of Americans, with a framework used by Harris since 1999. Through the survey, respondents evaluate reputations against key dimensions such as ethics, trust, vision and products and services. Kroger has regularly received high marks on the survey, consistently ranking among America's most visible and trusted companies. Kroger is committed to supporting healthy, thriving communities through its signature Zero Hunger | Zero Waste impact plan. Since launching its impact plan in 2017, the retailer has provided $1.5 billion to support hunger relief, which includes 815 million pounds of surplus fresh food rescued, totaling more than 3.9 billion meals directed to communities. This year, the retailer has organized Kroger Community Days, where volunteers and communities gather to pack a million meals with U.S. Hunger. With events taking place across the country, Kroger plans on packing more than three million meals this year with associates and community volunteers. To learn more about Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste progress visit here. "Kroger's continued inclusion in the Axios Harris Poll 100 underscores the company's unwavering commitment to building communities free from hunger and waste," said Keith Dailey, Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs. "With the support of our dedicated associates, community members and customers, we are able to will provide nourishing meals for families to improve food security and health across the U.S. and work toward a future where no one has to go to bed hungry." The Kroger Co., recognized for its industry-leading benefits, culture and commitment to creating a workplace that respects and values every community, has been named a top place to work by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN™, was honored by Handshake for excellence in early career hiring, named a best workplace for diverse professionals by Mogul, earned recognition from Newsweek as One of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and ranked among Computerworld's Top 100 best places to work in IT. About Kroger At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies more than 400,000 associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through an e-commerce experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Kroger Co.
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Kroger's leadership upheaval marks most turbulent year since COVID-19
Kroger's leadership upheaval marks most turbulent year since COVID-19 Show Caption Hide Caption What are those robots at Kroger Meet 'Barney.' Kroger's new test robot checks prices, shelves for missing items Between the abrupt March resignation of CEO Rodney McMullen, two changes of its chief financial officer and the departure of its top marketing officer in December, Kroger is seeing the biggest changes among its senior executives ranks since the COVID-19 pandemic, company disclosures show. Further change was revealed April 15 when Kroger disclosed Joe Kelley, its head of the King Soopers & City Market division in Colorado, was being promoted to senior vice president of retail divisions, one of Kroger's top roles overseeing store operations. He is replacing Kenny Kimball, who has been listed as one of Kroger's top dozen executives for the last three years, who will lead its Smith's Food and Drug division in Utah as president. The latest switch marks the fifth exit among Kroger's top executive ranks in just over a year. When Kroger files its annual proxy statement next month, it will likely list two or three of its five highest-paid executives who no longer work for the company. The last time Kroger saw so much change was in 2021 when five top executives left amid the COVID-19 pandemic. No timeline yet on finding next Kroger CEO Interim CEO Ron Sargent, a Kroger board member and former Staples CEO, took over at the retailer after the sudden exit of McMullen. CEO for more than 11 years, McMullen resigned amid an investigation into his 'personal conduct' that 'was inconsistent' with the grocer's policy of business ethics, the grocer announced March 3. In case you missed it: Kroger interim CEO Ron Sargent to receive $4.4 million via SEC filing Sargent, 69, said on a conference call a few days later Kroger would conduct a national search for a successor and consider both internal and external candidates for the CEO position. The company hasn't given a timeline for naming McMullen's permanent successor. Kroger disclosures show McMullen's departure was hasty: The company said it came about after the board 'was made aware' of the undisclosed conduct and 'immediately' hired an outside lawyer to investigate 10 days before the resignation. The company hasn't offered additional detail about the conduct, other than to say it was 'not related to the company's financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.' Recent departures began with top accountant leaving for Costco At Kroger the recent spate of resignations, retirements and other changes began 13 months before McMullen left: On Feb. 5, 2024, Kroger's chief financial officer Gary Millerchip left the grocer to take another job. Days later, Costco Wholesale revealed the company hired him for the same job. A review of the company's respective proxies suggest a good reason: Millerchip's total compensation package has more than doubled from $5.7 million in 2023 to $14.3 million in 2024 at the membership warehouse retailer. That same day, Kroger named its corporate controller, Todd Foley, as the interim CFO, but made it clear it was looking elsewhere for a 'permanent' replacement. The retailer said Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger's senior vice president of operations, was replacing Aitken. On Feb. 12, Kroger announced it had tapped a Pepsico executive for the top accounting job: David Kennerley, who was the beverage company's CFO for Europe, would take over in April. It added interim CFO Foley would retire at the end of the first quarter. On March 11, Kroger named Yael Cosset, previously its chief information officer, its new executive vice president and chief digital officer, with oversight of the grocer's newly-formed eCommerce business unit. On April 15, Kroger announced Kelley's promotion along with other divisional changes in the wake of his move. Based in downtown Cincinnati, Kroger employs 409,000 workers nationwide, including roughly 20,000 in Greater Cincinnati. Kroger operates 76 stores in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, employing 14,500 associates.
