In a third-quarter earnings call for fiscal year 2024, Albertsons Cos. CEO Vivek Sankaran said that while the company is disappointed in the termination of a merger plan with The Kroger Co., it has continued to drive sales and customer growth through its digital capabilities.
“We are a stronger company today than pre-merger, and the initiatives that have driven these results affirm our confidence in our future,” he said.
Sankaran said the company prioritized its e-commerce business to help customers access its full merchandise assortment. He said the company has seen e-commerce drive sales penetration to more than 7% of grocery revenue, and Albertsons’ top-performing market has hit more than 9%. Sankaran said these figures are higher than those of Albertsons’ third-party digital business.
“While we have grown this business significantly and faster than the market, it is still underpenetrated compared to industry benchmarks and is one of our biggest growth, customer acquisition and customer retention opportunities,” he said.
Albertsons reported net sales and other revenue increased 1.2% to $18,774.5 million for the 12 weeks ended Nov. 30, 2024, up from $18,557.3 million during the 12 weeks ended Dec. 2, 2023. The company reports digital sales grew 23%.
Sankaran also noted the implementation of Afresh’s platform has helped the company reduce inventory shrinkage.
“We’re also expanding the utilization of technology in our produce departments, which is driving increased sales, reduced inventory shrinkage, improved quality and enhanced labor productivity,” he said.
