Kroger Has a New Sheriff — Here's What It Means for You

Foran started his retail career at 17 stacking shelves at a Woolworths in New Zealand. By 20 he was running the store. That origin story tells you everything about how this man operates. He is not a merchant in the McMullen mold. He is an operator, through and through.

At Walmart U.S., Foran delivered 20 consecutive quarters of comparable sales growth by going back to basics: cleaner stores, wider aisles, higher in-stock rates, better produce and meat, and a relentless focus on the customer experience at shelf level. He famously told reporters that most of Walmart's stores were not up to standard, at a company where that kind of candor was essentially unheard of. He fixed them anyway.

At Walmart, Foran's operational discipline flowed directly to supplier expectations. When store standards go up, the bar for what earns and keeps shelf space goes up with it. Vendors at Walmart under Foran learned quickly that velocity, in-stock performance, and clean item data were non-negotiable. That same expectation is coming to Kroger.

This is a shift from the McMullen era, which was heavily focused on acquisitions and category management strategy. Foran is less interested in the big strategic play and more interested in whether the fundamentals are working. For CPG brands that means your TDP productivity, your fill rates, your promotional compliance, and your scan data accuracy are all going to matter more than they have in recent years.

Kroger has already signaled where this is heading. In its most recent earnings call, Foran's team outlined five growth priorities including store investments, pricing, e-commerce profitability, private label expansion, and supply chain modernization. Kroger introduced more than 1,100 private label products in fiscal 2025, up from about 900 the year before. That number is going up under Foran, not down.

For branded CPG vendors, that means the competition for shelf space is intensifying from the inside. Kroger's own brands are getting better and more aggressive. Your item has to justify its spot with hard performance data, not just a strong buyer relationship.

On the digital front, Kroger expects its e-commerce business to turn a profit in the first half of 2026 and is expanding its retail media business rapidly. Foran has been direct about the connection, noting that Kroger's media business is tied to e-commerce momentum and that the runway to accelerate growth is long. For vendors this means digital shelf presence, digital coupon investment, and KPM spending are becoming table stakes, not optional upgrades.

Three things, and none of them are complicated.

Kroger has a new sheriff. He came up from the floor, he fixes the fundamentals, and he does not tolerate underperformance at shelf. That is actually good news for brands that are doing the work. It is a serious wake-up call for brands that aren't.