Kroger (KR) sees 6.6% quarterly sales increase

Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) must be doing something right in the area of grocery retailing, as the nation's largest independent grocer reported excellent quarterly results this morning. Kroger witnesses a sales increase of 6.6% to $16.1 billion for the second quarter, aided by a same-store sales growth figure of 5.8% (with fuel sales included).

Kroger has managed nine straight quarters of same-store sales growth in excess of 3%, which is slightly inexplicable for a company of its size. My guess is that Kroger is reclaiming customers from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Supercenters and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) SuperTarget stores in addition to what I see as a constant focus on the customer instead of just increasing sales and store counts.

Indeed, Kroger CEO David Dillon's first statement to explain the quarter included this: "Our associates understand the importance of placing our customers first in their daily decisions." Sounds focused, empowering and exciting -- words often not connected with grocery retailers. Kroger continues to impress, and its latest results obviously show that the company is not standing still in the face of larger competitors -- ones that are huge but are apparently not connecting with consumers as much as Kroger has managed.