At shareholders meeting, Kroger emphasizes focus on customers

CINCINNATI — Kroger CEO David Dillon said the company will continue to focus on customer loyalty, after reporting last week that it saw identical-store sales increase for 30 consecutive quarters.

During its shareholders meeting on Thursday, Dillon said the company will build its future growth around its Customer 1st strategy, which emphasizes "[our] people, products, prices and the shopping experience."

"Our strategy is really to grow our relevancy to our customers," Dillon was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "That becomes our bigger mission; to the extent that leads to new markets, great."

Amid its positive first-quarter results, Kroger last week increased its earnings guidance to $1.85 to $1.95 per diluted share for the full year.

In related news, Kroger declared a quarterly dividend of 10.5 cents, payable on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record on Aug. 15.