The following is an excerpt from the July 3 issue of The Wichita Eagle. Cindy Claycomb, a marketing professor at Wichita State University, provides expertise for the story.
Wichita’s biggest grocery titans occupy two of the top four spots in Stores Magazine’s annual Top 100 Retailers list.
Wal-Mart tops the list with almost $379 billion in 2007 revenue, up 8.6 percent, and more than $12 billion in earnings, up 12.8 percent.
Kroger, the parent company of Hutchinson-based Dillons, slipped to fourth despite a banner year, with more than $70 billion in revenue, up 6.2 percent, and earnings of almost $1.2 billion, up 5.9 percent.
Cindy Claycomb, a marketing professor at Wichita State University, doubts the growth is due to gasoline promotions.
She said the store’s ability to fit into and expand its niche as a “Wal-Mart with higher-quality products” drives its success, both in the Wichita area and nationally.