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<p align="justify">The Kroger Company is an American company dealing in the retail industry and providing services in supermarkets and supermarkets across the country. In context to the retail sector, the company was founded in 1883, having its headquarters in Ohio, United States. As of 2019, the corporation showed substantial revenue of 121.16 US billion dollars and has involved an employment figure of almost 453,000 (Kroger, 2020). The firm is operating over a country-wide network of around 3000 supermarkets and stores. From the American Retail industry perspective, the assessment of Porter&#8217;s five forces would be a helpful mechanism for maintaining prospect strategies to better understand the company standing position.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Competitive Rivalry in the Market</h2>
<p align="justify">The competitive rivalry in the retail industry is high because of the increasing need in demand and supply of goods by the community to fulfill the requirements. As a result of this increase, several groups and companies have captured the market to provide options for the customers to purchase from, resulting in fierce competition among established players. Kroger has seen healthy growth over the last decade, with overall revenue of nearly 122.3 billion dollars in 2019, up from around 76.6 billion dollars in 2009. Kroger hired approximately 435 thousand employees in 2019, making it the second-largest retail contractor in the United States behind Wal-Mart (Statista, 2021). The major competitors of the company are Walmart, Amazon, Costco, and Target. Therefore, the presence of such big companies in the industry makes the competition more complex.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Threat of Substitutes</h2>
<p align="justify">The threat of having substitutes is typically low in the retail industry because the products can not be sold out without the help of retailers to a massive population to meet the needs. The forms of retailers can be changed like smaller or bigger scales, but the nature of the products and goods remain the same. Also, the variety of products is offered in such big stores and supermarkets makes it difficult for consumers to move away to the store or chain having some substitutes. Another factor is that cost of goods sold is less expensive than other providers. The innovation in technology and the emergence of e-commerce channels have affected substantial retailing, but it cannot be termed as a substitute for retailing. (Chou et al, 2016). Therefore, the risk of substitutes in the petroleum sector is minimal.</p>
<h2 align="justify">The Threat of New Entrants</h2>
<p align="justify">The threat of new entrants in the retail business is usually high as the retail business can be started to form a convenience store which is basically an idea of starting a business at a trim level. The retail industry involves the grocery items and products of daily use, which means that there is no need to invest massive capital for startups to operate. Also, the laws and regulations are recognized as one of few entry barriers in retail industry (Vijayan et al, 2014), but not as strict due to the less complexity of nature. Such a nature makes any firm compete with big firms in healthy competition. Therefore, new entrants possibility is high.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bargaining Power of Buyers</h2>
<p align="justify">The Bargaining power of customers in context of the retail industry is high because of the availability of several retailers in the market, and customers can buy from whichever store they want. Further, the product offerings and cost of such supermarkets and stores are somewhat similar, which makes the buyer power high as well. The factor of switching cost is also low from one retailer to another, which further influences the buyer behavior. Also, the method of E-commerce retailing has enlarged the options of receiving the goods from diverse retailers (Bronnenberg and Ellickson, 2015). Keeping in view such a method, the bargaining power of customers is high in the retailing industry.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bargaining Power of Suppliers</h2>
<p align="justify">The Bargaining power of suppliers in the retail industry is low to moderate. The suppliers of the retailers offered are either the producer or the traders doing business in specific items. Furthermore, the quantity of suppliers in the industry is relatively elevated in the market, and mostly the suppliers are dependent on the big firms operating in the industry to stay aggressive and rising. These firms hold a significant ability of authority in the process dynamics of the industry and have the skill to fluctuate the agreements (Selwyn, 2013). Thus, in context to the retail industry, the bargaining power of suppliers is low to moderate.</p>
<h2 align="justify">References</h2>
<p style="text-align: left;" align="left">Kroger, 2020. History &#8211; The Kroger Co.. [online] The Kroger Co. Available at: https://www.thekrogerco.com/about-kroger/history/.<br />
Statista, 2021. Topic: Kroger Company. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/4404/kroger-company/#dossierSummary.<br />
Bronnenberg, B.J. and Ellickson, P.B., 2015. Adolescence and the path to maturity in global retail. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(4), pp.113-34.<br />
Selwyn, B., 2013. The global retail revolution, fruiticulture and economic development in north-east Brazil. Review of International Political Economy, 20(1), pp.153-179.<br />
Vijayan, G., Kamarulzaman, N.H., Mohamed, Z.A. and Abdullah, A.M., 2014. Sustainability in food retail industry through reverse logistics. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 3(2), pp.11-23.<br />
Chou, Y.C., Chuang, H.H.C. and Shao, B.B., 2016. The impact of e-retail characteristics on initiating mobile retail services: A modular innovation perspective. Information &; Management, 53(4), pp.481-492.</p>
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