Kroger Executive Admits Company Gouged Prices Above Inflatio

The 1% to 5% is net profit after all expenses, not profit margin. Kroger's net profit was 2.2% on $150 billion in sales. Kroger's average profit margin is around 23% (this includes cost of advertising, warehousing, etc. gross margin is much higher) and varies by item. That candy at the register has about a 50% gross margin. Gross profit is typically high on health and beauty products.

Price gouging is a nice political term. Legally, it ain't price gouging in a normal free market situation. The issue of price gouging occurs when you have a state of emergency, an unscrupulous seller and no competition.

I think everyone would agree price gouging after a hurricane or other disaster is wrong. But otherwise, price gouging does not exist as you have a choice to buy elsewhere.

As I said on another post. Many states address price gouging during a state of emergency, if she wants to address price gouging during a state of emergency at the national level, it may or may not work. It would depend on how congress wrote the law. Most states operate on a complaint basis. A consumer files a complaint, the agency in charge reviews the complaint, notidies the retailer of the complaint and asks for a response. The retailer will respond with some financial data showing no price gouging took affect, as the law defines it.  99% never get past this level unless the retailer really was price gouging.

I actually had such a complaint filed once during a hurricane and sent the state copies of my fuel invoices showing where my supplier had raised prices and my margins were the same as they had been. That was the end of it. I doubt they went after Chevron at the time, but I do not know. The state used a 90 day window before the emergency as the base mark. So I am a little familiar with how Florida works. Most retailers once the governor declared a state of emergency would only change prices by the exact amount the cost went up to them to ensure compliance with the law. the price increase also has to be significant to be price gouging under the law. It the cost went up 10c and the retailer went up 11c, not an issue, if the cost wnet up 10c and the retailer went up 30c, that is a problem. 

Price gouging during an emergency like covid or a hurricane is wrong. Any business guilty of such behavior should be ashamed. I do not doubt that during 2022 manufacturers and retailers took advantage of product shortages to increase profits. But considering that their operating costs were increasing during this period due to energy and shipping costs, how much of it was price gouging and how much was to cover increased operating costs. It is a difficult decision and not an easy solution. 

It isn't as simple of an issue as you, politicians, and others want to make it. Using Kroger as an example, while it appears their operating profit increased $1.35 billion from 2020 to 2022, which would make many think they were price gouging, their sales increased $15 billion during this period and their profit margins remained at about 22%. they just sold more product, which I think is the case for many retailers during that period. consumer spending increased dramatically during 2022. 

But I have no issue if congress wishes to address price gouging during a national emergency. I think the law would need to be carefully written so that they do not discourage manufacturers and wholesalers from increasing supply when needed. 

Antitrust laws are regulations that promote competition and protect consumers from unfair business practices. They apply to a variety of business activities, including: price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, and monopolies. The major players do talk among themselves and contrary to some opinions here do engage in setting market prices. You can shop wherever you prefer, but compare pricing among staples and you'll not see much of a choice price wise. Big box items such as appliances are basically priced the same no matter where you shop. Gas prices are affected by local and state and federal taxes. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. Demand drives the market.

why dont we start with the top 2 biggest scumbags, big pharma and insurance companies. rest of this shit is just a distraction.

Thank you. 👍

So I guess you're okay with Trump's government-paid-for IVF treatments, right?

To my knowledge these laws are rarely enforced except when the players involved weren't adhering to the "rules of the game" in place at the time. Or to be clear weren't taking proper care of the justice officials involved. From what I can observe now they aren't being used at all. And yes, big tech, big pharma, and/or any other giant (Amazon, E-Bay to name a couple) abuses their position of market place power should be held accountable. Remember, small businesses make up the bulk of our market vendors and they deserve a fair shake.