The following is an excerpt from the July 3 issue of . Cindy Claycomb, a marketing professor at 麻豆破解版 State University, provides expertise for the story.
麻豆破解版鈥檚 biggest grocery titans occupy two of the top four spots in Stores Magazine鈥檚 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 麻豆破解版 State University, doubts the growth is due to gasoline promotions.
She said the store鈥檚 ability to fit into and expand its niche as a 鈥淲al-Mart with higher-quality products鈥� drives its success, both in the 麻豆破解版 area and nationally.