Nothing about Amazon ditching Go and Fresh a surprise as Kroger hires Greg Foran as CEO

Amazon will never succeed in building great stores because the core of its culture is antithetical to the kind of culture that drives great outcomes in bricks and mortar. So says Jack Hanlon, Product Leader at Meta.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Nothing about Amazon choosing to shut down Go and Fresh is surprising if you have worked in this space.”

Meanwhile, Kroger has hired Greg Foran as CEO.

Foran led Walmart U.S. for six years, where he accelerated the retailer’s digital capabilities, introducing online ordering and pick up. He most recently served as CEO at Air New Zealand.

"Kroger is one of the most dynamic companies in retail," says Foran. "The company is built on a strong foundation, supported by a talented leadership team, and caring associates who are dedicated to the customers and communities they serve.”

“At this moment in Kroger's journey, I can honestly say this is the best job on the planet. I look forward to working with the board and the entire team to build on this momentum, continue raising the bar for customers, and deliver long-term value for customers, associates, and shareholders."

In his LinkedIn post, Hanlon said: “While the jury is out on his e-commerce chops, you should absolutely expect Foran to build a top quality store culture. Will that be enough against Walmart's incredible performance in the last years?”

“Hard to say: grocery is one of the most competitive markets in the world, so performance here requires total focus. But if Kroger can sort out their story (yeesh that Ocado partnership...) they have big upside while Amazon will continue to come up short as they solve for everything but a culture that is fundamentally incompatible with store success.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical retail will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.