Kroger’s Profits Improve

The Kroger Co. (Cincinnati) announced its quarterly results, in which it saw shares rise as much as 13.6 percent. The spike is credited to the grocer’s strong performance in the holiday season so far.

The retailer’s holiday strategy to compete with rivals Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.), Aldi (Essen, Germany) and Amazon/Whole Foods Market (Seattle) has been lowering its prices with aggressive discounts, as well as expanding online services, including home grocery delivery and its ClickList curbside pickup program, reports Reuters.

Kroger posted its best-ever Black Friday results on its general merchandise this year, and it expects fourth-quarter sales at identical stores open at least one year to exceed 1.1 percent.