McMullen added that if the retailer’s natural food sales were compared to those of other natural foods retailers, Kroger would be the second-largest retailer “out there on a standalone basis by a pretty wide margin.”
Looking ahead, McMullen said Kroger has plans to grow its presence in natural and organic products.
“If you look at the market share opportunities for us, we can easily see how that business could double from where we are today,” he said. “But we don’t see it as something that’s a dream to double our business. We actually have a pretty good plan in place that will get us significantly along the way on getting there in a reasonable period of time.”
He said Kroger is driven to grow the category, because “that is where the consumer is headed.”
“We think the growth there is because customers overall — Our existing customers continue to buy more and more organic and natural foods, plus the younger generation buys a higher share in those categories,” McMullen said.
McMullen made his comments during a conference call with financial analysts to discuss the retailer’s third-quarter results for fiscal 2013, ended Nov. 9. Net income for the quarter was $299 million, equal to 58 cents per share on the common stock, down 6 percent from $317 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Sales for the quarter were $22,505 million, an increase compared with the previous year when sales were $21,807 million.
