real beauty page ibuprofen 800 mg side effects swelling It is an environment that Kroger has negotiated well. It launched a campaign in late 2001 to reduce the price gap between it and Wal-Mart for staples, and lately has carried higher-end items to capture more high-income customers. The payoff: In the fiscal year ended January, Kroger sales were 87% higher than a decade ago, versus a 35% gain for the wider industry.