Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket
chain by revenue, recently announced plans to partner with driver-less car
company Nuro. The two companies will team up to deliver groceries using the
latter’s autonomous vehicles.
Delivering fragile and perishable
items, some of which require refrigeration and some of which don’t, is an
endeavor fraught with peril. Then there are questions surrounding the
dependability of the vehicles themselves. Making the task even more difficult is
the fact that population density varies wildly across the Fruited Plain, from
New York City to Wyoming, leading a few analysts to call the effort “corny.”
Some on social media have tried to butter them up and egg them on. Other
observers have waffled back and forth with their predictions, alternately
proclaiming the venture could lead Kroger back to its salad days or that it
could leave it dead in the water.
However, lettuce not be doubters. Though
some have called them nuts, with both companies having a steak in the outcome,
they are sure to milk this idea for all it’s worth. Though, if Nuro’s vehicles
turn out to be lemons, it will put both entities in a pickle. The meat of the
matter is, of course, how it affects the two company’s bottom lines. If
delivering bread rakes in the dough it will have all been worth it, and
shareholders will go bananas. On the other hand, if the undertaking proves a
cereal killer and a loss leader, the joint effort will be dropped like a hot
potato.
Salty industry
experts, who have been peppered with questions about the deal, say they believe
the venture will succeed, making it
even tougher for mom and pop stores to compete. They also say it remains to be
seen if other large grocery chains will ketchup to Kroger.
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(I
apologize to everyone in the world for such a cheesy post. I assure you,
tomorrow’s post will not be so punny, and will, in fact, be back to “normal”).
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