When Kroger initially banned the Out & About newspaper from its free racks in 34 stores in the Nashville, Tenn. market, the grocery chain said it had a policy against giving space to publications looking to promote "political, religious or other specific agendas."
Out & About is a publication that is focused on delivering content of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) individuals. When it first appeared in Kroger stores, the company received complaints from individuals who found its presence on the free publication racks to be offensive.
Members of the GLBT community and their supporters began a campaign to try and get individuals to boycott Kroger and Harris Teeter (Three Harris Teeter stores also pulled Out & About) after it was announced the publication was being removed.
After its initial statement regarding the promotion of agendas, Kroger also claimed the distributor of Out & About, DistribuTech, had failed to follow established policy for newspapers and magazines to be placed on the free publication rack.
Kroger said its action was not unusual. In a statement published in The Tennessean, the company said, "As we have done elsewhere, Kroger suspended distribution until the agreed-upon steps were followed. In this case, it resulted in the return of the paper to some stores in the Nashville area."
While Out & About is not being placed back on the racks of all 34 Kroger stores, supporters seem pleased with the grocery chain's actions.
Christopher Sanders, president of the Tennessee Equality Project, said, "This compromise is a victory for good business, dialogue and cooperation. The GLBT community negotiated from a position of strength and that contributed to the solution. We now hope Harris Teeter will do the right thing."
Harris Teeter has said the company has requested copies of Out & About and will make a decision soon.
Out & About management is pleased with the placement, believing it will be available where there is a significant demand for the publication.
Jerry Jones, publisher of Out & About, said he never really wanted to be in all the Kroger stores to start with.
"Our contract with DistribuTech required us to purchase stores by the district instead of being able to choose the stores we felt would have the highest pickup rate," Mr. Jones said. "We're extremely pleased that Kroger could work with DistribuTech to place us in the stores that we have identified in zip codes where our readership is high."
Lynn Marmer, group vice president of corporate affairs for Kroger, said in a company press release that, "Having free special interest publications, for example for seniors, families with young children or the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community, is a way of serving local interests."
Discussion Question: What was your initial reaction to hearing that Kroger had pulled a newspaper written for a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individual readership? How do retailers navigate a business path between consumer constituencies that are so often at odds? What final grade would you give Kroger for the way it dealt with the Out & About issue?