FORT WORTH, Texas, March 23 (UPI) -- Kroger Co. is taking on Wal-Mart and supermarket rivals in the Dallas area by selling milk for nearly $1 a gallon less than the city average, the company says.
Kroger can afford to do this because it is the only major supermarket chain the region with its own dairy, Kroger spokesman Gary Huddleston says.
A plant near downtown Fort Worth, Texas, churns out 3 million gallons of milk a month in jugs fabricated on-site.
Customers are highly sensitive to the price of milk and a few other products, including soft drinks, eggs, ice cream and ground beef, the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram reports.
Wal-Mart and a few other supermarket chains temporarily matched Kroger's price after the Cincinnati-based chain lowered it in the area four weeks ago.
But all stores later returned to higher prices, charging an average $3.45 per gallon. Wal-Mart's lowest-priced gallon of milk is $3.
29, the newspaper said.
Because of its plant, Kroger is turning a profit at $2.50 a gallon, Huddleston says.
In addition to milk, Kroger bottles its own water, soft drinks, apple juice and orange juice.
News RSS