So what if the minorities and economically challenged have to drive another 15 min to find a grocery store because the ones in their neighborhood shut down?
Are there no other grocery stores, besides Kroger's, in the neighborhood? I have heard that many poor neighborhoods are "food deserts" because no grocery store can be profitable there. Maybe the problem is food safety regulations and the costs those add to business.
Actually the problem is that these stores are not profitable due to "shrinkage". Yes.. there is a food desert problem. No mainstream grocery stores will locate to neighborhoods where they will be continually unprofitable.
Grocery stores operate on very thin margins. Of course, the ones with upscale clientele sell items with better margins and generally are more profitable. The margins at grocery stores located in low income areas are normally very slim due to the type of items which are generally purchased as well as problems with "shrinkage". I do not know of a solution to the "food desert" issue but am open to hearing recommendations. It is a tough issue.
Could be. You won't get an argument for me on overreach from food safety and that it needs a review to determine what is true safety, and what is bloat. But theft tends to be a lot larger than stores can handle in those neighborhoods.
Essentially, that's where it tends to fall when it comes to issues in efficiency. You're not going to find a private business failing on efficiency, or else it fails completely. You can't rightly say Kroger doesn't know how to run a grocery store when it has hundreds upon hundreds running profitably.