Greg Foran has been running Kroger for only a matter of weeks, and already the 64-year-old New Zealander is making people uncomfortable — which, if his track record is any indication, is exactly the point. The former president and CEO of Walmart U.S. took the helm of America's largest standalone grocer in February 2026, and Supermarket News reported that Foran has been digging into the operational details with an intensity that has caught some inside the company off guard.
The most telling early signal involves bananas. According to strategy and supply chain adviser Brittain Ladd, who cited contacts within Kroger, Foran was "shocked and frustrated" to discover that the company buys bananas through brokers rather than sourcing directly from growers. That may sound like a small detail, but it is anything but. Bananas are the number-one selling fruit by volume in the United States, reaching more than 90 percent of households, with Americans consuming roughly 25 to 27 pounds per person annually. Margins on bananas typically run 10 to 15 percent — compared with 30 to 40 percent for other produce — making them the ultimate loss leader and traffic driver. The fact that Kroger is paying a middleman markup on its single most important produce item tells Foran something broader about how the $43 billion company operates.
The banana issue is emblematic of a larger thesis Foran appears to be forming. Sources told Supermarket News that the new CEO believes Kroger suffers from overstaffing, complacency, and underperformance in some locations — a diagnosis that has already drawn pushback from organized labor. In early March, the Teamsters union warned of a "concerning pattern" and cautioned that conditions could worsen under Foran's leadership, fearing a shift toward "outsourcing, subcontracting, and squeezing workers."
Foran also appears skeptical of Kroger's expensive partnership with Ocado, the British online grocery technology company. The grocer paid $350 million for the automated warehouse partnership and closed three automated fulfillment centers in 2025. According to Ladd's sources, Foran believes Kroger overextended itself in the deal and should have piloted a single facility before expanding — a classic operator's critique of a technology-first strategy that moved faster than execution could support.
The new CEO's background suggests he has the credibility to push these changes. As Fortune reported, Foran started his retail career at 17, stacking shelves at Woolworths in New Zealand. His mother pushed him into a trainee manager position, and by 20 he was one of the chain's youngest store managers. He spent three decades at Woolworths before joining Walmart in 2012, where he ran the China business, then the broader Asia region, and eventually the entire U.S. operation — overseeing approximately 1.6 million employees. After a stint leading Air New Zealand through the pandemic, Kroger represents his third billion-dollar company.
Grocery Dive noted that Kroger's stock rose 8 percent on the announcement of Foran's appointment, a signal that investors are hungry for the kind of operational discipline he is known for. Bloomberg reported that the company offered a cautious fiscal 2026 sales forecast as Foran begins his assessment — suggesting that big strategic shifts may be coming, but not before the new boss finishes turning over every rock in the organization.
Whether Foran can replicate his Walmart-era playbook at a company with a very different culture, a heavily unionized workforce, and a more fragmented store portfolio remains the central question. But if the banana episode is any indication, he is not planning to ease into the role.