New Stores and Closing Competitors Drove Up Village Supermarket Sales
Village Super Market Inc. reported an increase of 7.8 percent in sales with the additional week included in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, totaled $437.3 million. Its two newly opened stores in New Jersey and weakened competitors contributed to the growth.
Village Super Market’s net income rose by 13 percent in the fourth quarter, mainly driven by expense reduction. For the past fiscal year, sales were about $1.6 billion, up by 3.2 percent from the prior year. Same store sales went up by 1.4 percent, meeting its goal of an 1 to 3 percent increase.
“Same store sales increased due to the closing of two competitor stores and continued sales growth in the expanded or replaced stores in Stirling, Greater Morristown and Union,” the company’s earnings report wrote.
Last month, the New Jersey-based supermarket chain declared quarterly cash dividends of $0.25 per Class A common share and $0.1625 per Class B common share.
Village Super Market Inc. now operates 29 ShopRite stores across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. It is the second largest member of Wakefern Food Corporation, the nation’s largest retailer-owned food cooperative.
“Since our store base is concentrated in densely populated metropolitan areas, opportunities for future store expansion may be limited, which may adversely affect our business and results of operations,” Village’s annual report wrote.
The retailer has also been growing through acquiring stores and adding new services. Last December, the remodel and expansion of the Stirling, New Jersey store to 68,000 sq. ft. was completed.
In July 2015, Village’s competitor A&P filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to close or sell off all of its stores. Village acquired 13 supermarkets in A&P’s bankruptcy auction.
Village’s major competitors are national and regional supermarket chains like Wal-Mart and Pathmark, as well as warehouse clubs and drug stores.
“We compete by using low pricing, superior customer service, and a broad range of consistently available quality products (including ShopRite private labeled products),” the company’s annual report wrote.
During 2015, the family-run chain focused on pushing loyalty programs such as ShopRite “Price Plus” to attract customers by providing discounts and electronic coupons.
As a frequenter to ShopRite, Ziyan Wang, 24, a resident in Jersey City of New Jersey, is a member of the store’s Price Plus Club. “It helps me save some money,” she said. “ShopRite also produce a variety of products themselves, from milk to fruits, which are usually good deals.”
