The Kroger website offers an extensive overview of the company’s investor relations. The Kroger Co.’s annual report is incredibly thorough. It includes facts and figures which are broken down into sections which are very easy to follow, as well as visual aids, such as graphs, which are also easy to understand. The report is both a polished and professional marketing piece as well as an economical piece. The first item of the report is a brief description of the responsibilities of managers which is written by both the CEO (David B. Dillon) and the CFO (J. Michael Schlotman). This is a great jump-off point for Kroger’s annual report because immediately the reader (whether he be a customer, shareholder, etc.) feels that he is important. Much like the annual report, Kroger’s posting of the annual Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K filing is also very extensive. The goal of The Kroger Co.’s annual report is to give details regarding performance, discuss company operations, as well as tell the story of the company. 
The company’s latest letter to shareholders from CEO David B. Dillon is very organized and easy to follow. The paragraphs are concise and to the point, featuring an appropriate amount of information. This is good because it does not overwhelm readers to the point where people find it a chore to read. The letter is separated into a few different sections which also make it easy to read and follow. The overall goal of The Kroger Co.’s letter to shareholders is to keep them informed. People want to know whether or not they have made a smart, profitable investment. This letter does a great job of reminding stakeholders why they chose to invest their time and money into Kroger; low prices, high quality, customer loyalty, strong market share gain, community support, and sustainability. This is a huge part of a successful corporation because it makes shareowners feel as though they are an important part of the company. The letter has a very positive tone which offers factual and credible information while maintaining the friendly attitude that Kroger is (and always has been) known for.
While the latest news release related to Kroger’s earnings is factual and includes a lot of facts and figures, it maintains that friendly, easy-to-read personality that Kroger somehow always manages to accomplish. The news release includes a few quotes from CEO David B. Dillon. His words are credible because they are so honest. That is, he does not sugar coat things to make them seem better than they are, he gives honest feedback. He comments that while “market share gains are impressive, there is still plenty of market share opportunity out there for us” (Dillon). He also states that Kroger is able to easily and quickly adapt to the changing economic climate. This news release as well as the comments made by Dillon, allow investors to maintain the confidence that they have always had in The Kroger Co.
Okay, so let’s put all the professional talk aside and be real for a minute. “Investor relations” has the potential to scare PR people away. Any time they hear something that even remotely sounds like it might have anything to do with numbers, earnings, cost, or percentages, you can expect to see them running for the hills. Most PR people want nothing to do with numbers, but the people who read this stuff DO. This is why it is crucial that the PR people at Kroger do an excellent job relaying investor relations information (such as letters to investors, annual reports, and company earnings reports), to consumers and shareowners. So I have to hand it to those PR pros at Kroger; they do an exceptional job putting together the investor relations component of their business, and you can expect nothing less than perfection from them in the future.
