If the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America thought it was going to hurt a nationwide grocery chain’s bottom line by boycotting and picketing its stores, it was sadly mistaken. Kroger announced a 21% gain in profits for the third quarter over the same period last year.
Moms Demand Action, founded by media executive Shannon Watts and financed largely by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, began its campaign against Kroger in August when the grocery giant decided to continue its policy that each store would conform to local law, according to Cincinnati.com.
“Our long-standing policy on this issue is to follow state and local laws and to ask customers to be respectful of others while shopping,” Kroger said in a statement. “We know that our customers are passionate on both sides of this issue, and we trust them to be responsible in our stores.”
If local law allowed for the concealed carry of weapons, that was fine with Kroger. Open carry? No complaints from the grocer.
Those on the left predicted doom and gloom for the nation’s largest grocery retailer.
“Kroger is a nationwide chain,” reported Crooks and Liars. “They’d better listen.“
An analyst interviewed by Cincinnati.com was a bit more circumspect:
Matt McCormick, a portfolio manager with Bahl & Gaynor, said Kroger is being targeted because of its size. If a boycott materializes, the retailer ultimately will do a cost-benefit analysis on lost sales before making another move.
“It would be quite a plum if they got Kroger to ban guns,” he said. “Deep down for Kroger, it’s not a political decision, an ethical or moral decision, it’s a business decision.”
It looks as though Kroger’s business decision was spot on. Bloomberg News reported Thursday:
Kroger Co. (KR), the largest U.S. supermarket chain, rose the most in five months after posting third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and boosting its earnings forecast for the year.
[…]
Third-quarter net income rose 21 percent to $362 million, or 73 cents a share, Kroger said today in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was 69 cents a share. Analysts projected 61 cents, on average. Revenue climbed 11 percent to about $25 billion.
Profit per share in the current year will be $3.32 to $3.36, up from an earlier forecast of $3.22 to $3.28, Kroger said today. Analysts estimated $3.29, on average.
Other chains targeted by Moms Demand Action include Staples, Starbucks, Chipotle, Chili’s, Sonic, Jack-in-the-Box, and Target, Breitbart News reported.
Although most have complied with the organization’s demands, the results have been less than satisfactory. Since posting “no guns allowed” signs, many of these establishments have been the subject of armed robberies.
