Hell yes. Same way gas stations and convenient stores won't stay, and even the liquor and gambling places have bullet proof glass and iron gates all over the doors and windows. Scumbags don't care, they'll run off business in their own neighborhoods and then blame everyone but themselves.
Does Jesse Jackson have a case? He is in Cincy today to protest
In my opinion, no. Each store has to be independently solvent and be able to pay its own expenses. Stores with high risk behaviors ( Theft, high turnover, bad work processes and most importantly horrible management) simply are very hard to run. Kroger is a business and it needs to make money. True, i believe it is on a path to lowering its integrity and ability to be a viable contender in the grocery market. The Processes and policies are designed to be a one size fits all solution. Unfortunately, every community and even store within an area is vastly different. They truly stopped investing in their own employees despite the corporate mindset and what they say they want to do. I could go on, but, in the end it needs to bring home the bacon after the bills are paid. They closed store 500 in Toledo after 15 years of running red.
Not to mention changing demographics, a store that was profitable 30 years ago may no longer be able to turn a profit as the community changes. I also read an article on this that I think said one or more of these stores had been running in the red for well over a decade or two. If true then it demonstrates a consistent pattern of loss, any novice businessman would know to cut their losses eventually. Add to that razor thin margins in the grocery business and there's no other choice.
Are they closing million dollar stores just because they hate nigs, or are they closing ghetto stores because they are losing money?
Corporations can't afford to be racist. At the end of the quarter, it's dollars and stockholders, nothing more and nothing less.
Kroger can't even afford to care about their own employees. How can they possibly care about some SJW food desert nonsense when dollars are on the line?
The only reason stores close is because the shoplifters are running them out of business.
I'm not racist. I've seen some pretty messed up white people shoplifting in stores too. But when you rob a store blind, or live in a community where you aren't making any effort to stop the problem, then don't complain when the store packs up and leaves town.
I actually liked how he phrased it "I see Consumers, It is a Consumer problem or a Management problem", that it was as simple as that. So if it was a "Management problem" they would have eliminate expenses, which would include not having associates, stocked less fresh product (Shrink) and not spend a dime on store upkeep. Wait, staffing I'm sure was a minimal is it could be, specially with a union contact. Eliminate produce/meat/deli would have caused an on going PR problem. Then not spending money on upkeep would have just given the company another PR problem. Last I checked, they spend $$ on Walnut Hill & Vine (Cincinnati/Dayton) to update them, because of the PR issue a few years ago. Also, when a company tells you years ago the store is not profitable and not even braking equal, it being open another 2-4 more years is a gift. (While the Walnut Hills neighborhood might be going through a transformation, its basically a dead neighborhood)
That is *exactly* what happened with a store near me. Their U Scan clerk transferred into my store and the *public* reason that Kroger gave was there "was no room for expansion" of the store but internally the store was being shoplifted out of existence due to the changed demographics of the area. I lived across from that store for 10 years back in the day and it was a great place to shop. But surrounding apartment complexes taking low-income residents completely changed the area and many business are going out of business or leaving the area.
It's laughable to me that some neighborhoods feel entitled to have businesses around them. If your neighborhood breeds a culture of irresponsibility, hatred for law enforcement, and disrespect towards outsiders, then I can't imagine why any business would want to stick around. Kroger policy is essentially "We can't prevent anyone from stealing even if they tell it to our faces," so with that in mind I completely understand why they want nothing to do with high-theft neighborhoods.
Here in ATL weve seen stores closing in different parts, some even with fuel centers or stores not all that old. BUT its not just kroger! Walmart market and Publix closing some stores too. I read and hear about the community complainin theyre not being supported but why did those companies close shop? Theft & other crime! Theres still a few Krogers left in those bad areas but the community still complains about them too! Now theyre getting all the EXTRA type customers that caused the other stores to close so how long before another Kroger closes because the REAL problem moved there?
If the community is full of crime and corruption making the stores unprofitable & sometimes even unsafe to work or shop in, is it the companys fault or the communitys fault? That aint racism. THe only color Kroger cares about is GREEN as in money.
