The Kroger Co. is one of the nation’s leading food retailers with sales of $60.6 billion in fiscal 2005. Kroger operates in 31 states under two dozen names, including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Food 4 Less, Dillon, Smith’s, City Market, QFC and Fry’s. At the end of fiscal 2005, Kroger operated 2,507 supermarkets and multi-department stores, 791 convenience stores and 428 fine jewelry stores. Kroger Manufacturing has 42 food processing plants that support our retail grocery operations.

Kroger has numerous opportunities for minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Recognizing the added value of supplier diversity, Kroger has had a minority vendors program for more than 25 years.

The Company’s approaches are as varied as the businesses and individuals involved. Our goal is always the same: to be sure that our suppliers reflect the broad diversity of the marketplaces that we serve.

Kroger is a complex company. To simplify the process of learning about our company and gaining access to appropriate decision makers, Kroger has a corporate-wide Supplier Diversity Program.

The goal of Kroger’s Supplier Diversity Program is to foster the promotion, growth and development of minority-owned business enterprises (“MBEs”) and women-owned business enterprises (“WBEs”). We believe this is a sound business practice.

Kroger's Supplier Diversity Program is managed by the Director of Corporate Supplier Diversity. The Director's role is to:

• Answer initial questions from prospective minority- and women-owned businesses;
• Link qualified prospective suppliers with appropriate decision makers within the Kroger organization and serve as an ombudsperson for suppliers;
• Promote an “open door” atmosphere within the company that provides MBEs and WBEs with guidance and consultation to help them become Kroger suppliers and further develop their businesses.
  

If the prospective supplier is minority-owned, Kroger recommends that the business become certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (“NMSDC”) or one of its regional affiliates. If the business is women-owned, Kroger recommends that the business become certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (“WBENC”), which certifies WBEs. If the business is both minority- and women-owned, it needs only one certification.

Certification allows a MBE to join a network supported by Kroger and more than 3,500 other companies that are corporate members of the national NMSDC. These corporate members include most of America’s largest companies, as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. In addition to being a long-time corporate member of the NMSDC, Kroger supports numerous regional affiliates. The Company is also a corporate member of the WBENC. We actively use the databases available from NMSDC and WBENC to seek suppliers.

For more information about these national organizations, please contact:

National Minority Supplier Development Council
1040 Avenue of the Americas
Second Floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-944-2430
www.nmsdcus.org

Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 950
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-872-5515
www.wbenc.org

Printable Supplier Diversity Program Brochure
Online Supplier Diversity Program Form

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Completed Supplier Diversity Program Forms should be sent to:
Ms. Denise Thomas
Director, Corporate Supplier Diversity - The Kroger Co.
1014 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1100.