1450 ET - Kroger needs to close the same-store sales gap with its warehouse club peers, Oppenheimer analysts say. The grocery-store chain said same-store sales excluding fuel grew 1.5% in 2024 and expects growth to be 2% to 3% this year. Meanwhile, Costco had 5.9% same-stores sales growth in its 2024 and is guiding for 5.4% this year, and BJ's logged 2.5% and is expecting 2.9%. Membership and big-box retailers have had the upper hand on traditional grocery stores, offering lower prices to inflation-weary customers. BJ's executives said Thursday they expect that to continue as tariff threats are putting consumers on edge. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 06, 2025 14:50 ET (19:50 GMT)

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