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C.A. Fortune Company Announcements
Please join us in welcoming the following new members to C.A. Fortune:
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Vol. 4 - Issue 7
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•Natalia Kopacz, Human Resources Manager- Corporate Office - Natalia graduated with honors from DeVry University. While going to school she developed her business and leader-ship skills within the marketing and sales industry work-ing with a Hana Enterprise Sales Manager at SAP. Also during that time she managed a medical retail sales store for about 5 years. She then worked for a Retina Surgeon group that was wide spread across the state, running their Human Resources department.
Natalia started with C.A. Fortune at the beginning of November and will worth alongside Andrea Kelly, Human Resource Manager at the Carlin Group office.
•Daren Burns, Regional Sales Manager- South Region - Daren graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Marketing. He comes to C.A. Fortune with over 26 years’ experience in Food Sales and Marketing. In the past he’s worked for Bryan Foods and Sara Lee Cor-poration as the Senior Account Manager. He most recently held the Senior Busi-ness Manager position at Acosta Sales & Marketing for the past five years. Daren has won multiple Sales awards for his expertise in the field and has been nominat-ed for Salesperson of the year 3 times.
Daren came to C.A. Fortune in Novemeber. He will re-port to Galen Fowlerand manage sales goals in the Alabama region.
Fun fact: Daren played professional baseball with the Chicago Cubs organization for 3 years (1988-1990) making it to Double AA baseball!
C.A. Fortune is always happy to lend a helping hand & takes great pride in giving back! On Novemeber 5th C.A. Fortune partnered with 200+ volunteers from Jewel-Osco, Tyson Foods, Alpha Baking Co., Jel Sert and Kellogg’s at the Illinois Food Bank. Not only did we pack an impressive 9,000+ holiday meal boxes, but we also collected 55+ pumpkins at the inaugu-ral Pumpkin Pitch event benefiting Pushing the
Envelope Farm to ensure families throughout Northern Illinois can have the holiday meal and joy they deserve this season!
C.A. Fortune Gives Back
United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) today announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Ste-ven L. Spinner, was appointed Chairman of UNFI’s Board of Directors, effective following the Company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders in December 2016. Mr. Spinner will succeed Michael S. Funk, the co-founder, former Chief Executive Officer and current Chairman of UNFI, who will remain a director.
“Thanks to Steve’s leadership over the last eight years UNFI has undergone a dramatic evolution,” said James P. Heffernan, UNFI’s lead independent director. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, we have confidence in Steve’s ability to continue to execute upon UN-FI’s strategic vision for growth. I would also like to thank Michael for his exemplary leader-ship of our Board and his continued guidance, input and leadership.”
“I appreciate the Board’s recognition of the Company’s success and its confidence in our future,” said Mr. Spinner. “We have accomplished a great deal in building our business and developing an incredibly talented team of people and we believe we are beginning to see the results of our strategic initiatives.”
“After 40 years of being involved with UNFI, I am as excited as ever about our future,” said Mr. Funk. “Steve and I enjoy a great working relationship and I look forward to continuing to work with him as a member of UNFI’s Board.”
Mr. Spinner has served as UNFI’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since September 2008. Over that period, UNFI’s net sales have grown from approximately $3.5 billion in Fiscal 2009 to nearly $8.5 billion in Fiscal 2016.
Midwestern grocery retailer and distributor SpartanNash will acquire certain assets of Caito Foods Service and Blue Ribbon Transport (BRT), including Caito’s produce distribution and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables businesses, its newly constructed Fresh Kitch-en facility for fresh-prepared foods, and Blue Ribbon’s logistics business.
The $217.5 million deal, expected to close in January, is aimed at strengthening SpartanNash’s product offerings to its existing customer base by expanding into the fast-growing freshly prepared centerplate and side dish cate-gories.
“We are excited about this opportunity to expand our presence in serving some of the fastest-growing categories in grocery, including fresh produce, value-added fruits and vegetables and protein-based prepared food,” said Dennis Edison, SpartanNash’s CEO and chairman. “Caito Foods Service is a premier distributor with best-in-class food processing facilities. In addition, Caito’s service area is complementary to our current distribution footprint, and we look forward to serving customers in new areas in addition to enhancing our offerings to existing custom-ers. In short, this acquisition further strengthens our platform and enhances our ability to help our customers serve
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SpartanNash Acquiring Parts of Caito Foods Service
their consumers, benefiting our associates and the communities we serve, as well as delivering value for share-holders.”
Caito Senior Leadership ChangesCaito and BRT will become part of SpartanNash’s food distribution seg-ment. Caito’s senior leadership team, including Caito President Robert Kirch and Blue Ribbon Transport President David Frizzell, will join SpartanNash
upon completion of the transaction. Kirch will report to Dave Staples, SpartanNash president and COO; Frizzell will report to Derek Jones, SpartanNash EVP and president of wholesale and distribution operations. Both will continue in their roles and oversee the acquired operations, which will remain based in Indianapolis.
“With our long history and family tradition of processing and distributing fresh, convenient, healthy foods, we are excited and proud to join an organization that shares our passion and commitment to serve customers with the freshest foods,” Kirch said. “We are looking forward to joining the SpartanNash family to expand and enhance our combined ability to deliver high quality fresh products efficiently to a greater number of customers across the country.”
Founded in Indianapolis in 1965, Caito Foods Service is a leading supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables to grocery retailers and foodservice distributors across 22 states in the Southeast, Midwest and Eastern United States. Caito and BRT, which generate combined annual revenues in excess of $600 million, currently service customers from facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Florida.
Caito has a central fresh-cut fruit and vegetable facility in Indianapolis and is completing construction on its new 118,000-square-foot Fresh Kitchen facility, also in Indianapolis. The $32 million Fresh Kitchen will process, cook and package fresh protein-based foods and complete meals; it is expected to be fully operational in the first quar-ter of 2017. The company offers temperature-controlled distribution and logistics services throughout North Ameri-ca through its affiliate Blue Ribbon Transport.
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to indepen-dent grocery retailers, national accounts, its corporate owned retail stores and U.S. military commissaries. With locations in 47 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bahrain and Egypt, SpartanNash operates 159 supermarkets, primarily under the banners of Family Fare Supermarkets, Family Fresh Market, D&W Fresh Market and SunMart.
Midwest grocery distributor SpartanNash has published its first corporate responsibility report, which details the Fortune 400 company’s social responsibility and environmental sustainability efforts.
The report provides a timeline of SpartanNash’s corporate responsibility journey, as well as information on the company’s corporate giving, volunteer program, recycling efforts, improved transportation fleet efficiency and focus on local and organic products.
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SpartanNash Publishes Corporate Responsibility Report
Living Its VisionThrough its corporate responsibility commitments and programs, SpartanNash is living its vision of being a best-in-class business that feels local, where relationships matter.
“SpartanNash is mindful that our business decisions, products, services and operations have a direct impact on the environment, our communities, customers and co-workers,” said Meredith Gremel, VP of corporate affairs and communications. “This report provides an overview of our journey and how SpartanNash is leveraging both our voice and footprint to make a difference in the communities we serve. We hope that all who read it are inspired by our stories and successes and continue to follow our corporate responsibility journey.”
Key highlights from the report include:- $1.5 million in community contributions to education, health and wellness, hunger, patriotic and community initiatives.- $1.8 million awarded to community nonprofits by the SpartanNash Foundation.- 3,366 volunteer hours from 561 SpartanNash associates, benefiting 38 community partners during annual Helping Hands in the Community days of community service.- Fair Food Pledge for migrant and seasonal workers and animal welfare commitments.- More than 235.6 million pounds of materials diverted from landfills through reuse and recycling programs and 2.58 million pounds of food donated to 147 community partners.- 6.5 percent miles per gallon fleet improvement over the company’s 2013 baseline, saving 212,000 gallons of fuel in six months.- 45 million kilowatt hours of electricity saved annually as a result of energy projects completed between 2007 and 2014 at SpartanNash’s Grand Rapids Distribution Center, 91 corporate-owned grocery stores and 26 fuel centers in Michigan.- As many as 1,500 local items throughout its stores, depending on the region.- Organic sales growth of 29.9 percent in its wholesale business and 18.6 percent in its corporate-owned retail stores.
To exemplify its commitment to corporate responsibility, the SpartanNash report was printed in limited quantities using paper made from 100 percent post-consumer content, processed with-out chlorine, manufactured using renewable biogas and certified for reduced environmental impact by Ecologo. In addition, Spar-tanNash Graphic Services printed the report with soy-based inks.
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent grocery retailers, national accounts, its corporate-owned retail stores and
U.S. military commissaries. SpartanNash serves customer locations in 47 states and the District of Columbia, Eu-rope, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bahrain and Egypt. SpartanNash currently operates 159 supermarkets, primarily under the banners of Family Fare Supermarkets, Family Fresh Market, D&W Fresh Market and SunMart.
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KeHE Distributors, LLC was named a B Corporation (B Corp) “2016 Rookie of the Year” at the annual B Corporation Champions Retreat in Philadelphia. KeHE is one of three B Corp “Rookies of the Year” and the only natural & organic, specialty and fresh food distributor to be recog-nized for its outstanding commitment to the global B Corp movement in its first year of certification by the nonprofit B Lab. Today, there are more than 1,900 certified B Corps in 50 countries.
“We take enormous pride in our responsibility to our customers and employees, community, and the environment as a Certified B Corporation and are honored to be recognized by B Lab for our achievement,” said Brandon Barnholt, president and CEO, KeHE. “We believe in the B Corp vision of using business and economic success as a powerful force for good, and we look forward to continuing to work with fellow B Corps to make the world a better place.”
Since its certification in November 2015, KeHE has embraced its role as a B Corp, branding all marketing ele-ments and its fleet of trucks, developing a B Corp primer and hosting informative webinars for employees, inviting B Lab and B Corps to participate in the keynote addresses at its trade shows, and leading a new internal initiative to support brands that are using business as a force for good.
“KeHE is the most interconnected B Corp in our communi-ty,” said B Lab co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert. “Their leader-ship had the potential to influence the natural foods industry as a whole and to incentivize many brands and retailers to follow their lead and become recognized as a leader by becoming a B Corp.”
KeHE formally announced its certification with a “B Hap-py” Hour at Natural Products Expo West 2016, where Mr. Barnholt led a toast and a signing of the B Corp Decla-ration of Interdependence with representatives from the B Corp community.
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KeHE Recognized By B Lab As B Corp 2016 Rookie Of The Year
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Nothing seems capable of slowing down dessert sales. With the current atmosphere of health-and-wellness pushing the food industry, it would seem a safe assumption that desserts would be falling out of favor with consumers. The numbers, however, suggest otherwise. According to data from IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, dollar sales for the pie and cake categories for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 7 saw 15.5% and 7.4% growth, respectively, from a year ago.
According to Mintel, Chicago, total retail sales of prepared cakes and pies reached an estimated $11.6 billion in 2015, and the research firm ex-
pects this growth to continue. During the recession, these dessert categories could not be kept down because they positioned themselves as affordable indulgences. With health-and- wellness concerns threatening sales, bakeries shifted gears and ingredients to offer cleaner labels and high-quality fruit and chocolate. After all, despite people watching their waist lines and reading nutrition labels for their snacks and breads, life goes on and still needs to be celebrated. And what better way to celebrate life’s triumphs than with dessert — pie in particular?
“Pies have always been event-oriented or holiday- oriented where people are buying them for a specific purpose to go to a specific event or family gathering,” said Mark Van Iwaarden, director of marketing for Denver-based Legendary Baking.
“In terms of sales for the pie industry, if you look at the numbers, it’s pretty consistent year-round, and at the holi-days it jumps up.”
Now pie bakers are latching onto this link between pies and holidays to create opportunities for sales growth throughout the calendar. Through larger sizes and new flavors, pies can keep consumers celebrating all year round.
Strategies such as using traditionally-seasonal flavors year round, single-serve pies, and innovative flavors are being employed by pie bakers.
Industry Seeks Harmonization of FDA Nutrition MandatesResponding to food industry requests to harmonize the compliance dates of upcoming food labeling and nutrition initiatives, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently clarified that the compliance dates are already coordi-nated to take effect in summer 2018.
Industry groups contend, however, that it will be difficult for manufacturers to comply with the revised nutrition labeling rules since the agency has not yet provided key pieces of the regulatory puzzle.
The revised definition of dietary fiber and the new requirement for the calculation of added sugars are two
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Regulatory Round-Up: Industry Seeks Harmonization of Nutrition Compliance Dates
examples of unresolved issues that could burden food companies and complicate compliance with the new rules. Moreover, the mandatory disclosure of genetically modified ingredients, and formulation challenges associated with the ban on PHOs and sodium reduction targets are further complicating matters.
Following is a synopsis of the key food labeling and nutrition initiatives with the current compliance dates:
PHOs In July 2015, the agency withdrew the ‘generally recognized as safe’ (GRAS) status of the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, PHOs due to a link between the artificial trans fat and coronary heart disease. Food manufacturers must either reformulate products to eliminate PHOs and/or petition the FDA to permit specific uses of PHOs within three years. The rule takes effect on June 18, 2018.
Nutrition Facts Panel In May, the FDA announced the publication of the Nutrition Facts Panel final rule as well as a final rule for updated serving sizes. Food companies with $10 million or greater in annual sales must comply with the Nutrition Facts labeling requirements by July 26, 2018.
Calorie labeling for vending machines The FDA final rule to require the disclosure of calorie information on items sold in vending machines was published in December 2014. Vending machines with glass panels must display products with front-of-pack labels complying with the rule by July 26, 2018.
Menu labeling FDA issued the final guidance for menu labeling and postponed the deadline for the regulatory requirements in April 2016. In brief, the rule requires that retail establishments with more than 20 locations, including restaurants and movie theaters, post calorie information for standard menu items on printed menus, menu boards, and drive-through menus. Additional nutritional information for standard menu items must be provided upon request. Estab-lishments must comply with the rule by May 5, 2017.
Sodium reduction Citing public health risks related to sodium, FDA issued draft guidance in June to pro-vide voluntary sodium reduction targets for the food industry. The guidance suggests both short-term and long-term targets for reducing the sodium content of 150 catego-ries of food. In September, FDA extended the comment periods for the short-term (2 year) and long-term (10 year) sodium reduction targets to October 16 and Decem-ber 2, respectively.
GM Food Labeling A federal bill establishing a national labeling standard for foods derived from genetic engineering was signed into law in July. Under the law, the USDA must draft regulations by 2018 to “establish a national mandatory bioen-gineered food disclosure standard with respect to any bioengineered food and any food that may be bioengi-neered.” Companies will have three options for disclosing GE content on food packages: a labeling statement, a symbol, or an electronic /digital link such as a QR code that will direct consumers to the bioengineering
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food and any food that may be bioengineered.” Companies will have three options for disclosing GE content on food packages: a labeling statement, a symbol, or an electronic /digital link such as a QR code that will direct consumers to the bioengineering disclosure.
Industry groups want FDA to harmonize the upcoming compliance dates particularly the deadlines for GM food labeling and the new Nutrition Facts labeling requirements. Lacking the final regulatory puzzle pieces, such as the rule for GM food labeling and the dietary fiber guidance, the food industry is concerned about the burden and costs associated with updating labels multiple times in response to evolving requirements.
The U.S. gluten-free foods market has demonstrated an annual growth rate of 36 percent over the five-year period ended 2015, when the market reached $1.6 billion, according to a Packaged Facts report. These foods are gaining popularity partly because manufac-turers and marketers are aligning new product developments with other emerging trends in the food and beverage industry. These trends include the use of plant proteins and ancient grains, clean labels and marketer transparency.
Packaged Facts analyzes gluten-free foods in the following categories: salty snacks, crackers, fresh bread, pasta, cold (ready-to-eat) cereal, baking mixes, cookies, flour and frozen bread/dough. Two criteria are used to determine whether a product falls within its market definition: whether the product could possibly contain gluten; and whether a product is clearly labeled and marketed as gluten-free.
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Gluten-Free Foods Market to Reach $2B by 2020
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The Retail Feedback Group (RFG), a leader in providing actionable stake-holder feedback, released the 201 6U.S.Supermarket Experience Study on Wednesday. The research, now in its ninth year, found that supermarkets, on a five-point scale where five is highest, continue to generate high satisfaction among their shoppers, scoring an average of 4.39, as well as foster a strong referral rate with an average likelihood to recommend score of 4.48. De-spite these high satisfaction and referral scores, an opportunity still exists to
address lower scoring areas to grow loyalty and sales, which is especially important in today’s highly competitive environment.
Core Experience Factors Provide Key Barometers of Supermarket Channel PerformanceExamining key supermarket retailing fundamentals illustrates that supermarkets performed well in some of these critical areas yet show room for improvement in others.
- Quality/Cleanliness: Supermarket shoppers rated quality/freshness of the food and groceries (4.51) followed by cleanliness of the store (4.45) as the two highest-rated core experience factors.- Variety: Also a higher-scoring factor, item variety and selection registered at 4.43.- Service: Associate availability scored lowest among all the core experience factors (4.20). The other service factors – associate friendliness/attitude (4.36), associate helpfulness/knowledge (4.27), and checkout speed/efficiency (4.32) – only showed moderate ratings.- Value: Value for the money spent on this visit received the second lowest rating at 4.27. Drilling down deeper into prices, the results show meat (4.01), produce (4.06) and everyday prices (4.07) all generated low scores in the supermarket channel, while advertised sales items scored much higher (4.41).
Doug Madenberg, RFG Principal noted, “Not one of the service attributes scored at the top of the core experience factors, yet it is imperative to find ways to strengthen customer service. Our research shows that when service receives high scores, the av-erage trip satisfaction is significantly higher along with spending in the short-term and loyalty in the long-term. As a result, we can’t stress strongly enough the impact that store employees have on the shopping experience, whether it is fostering a pleas-ant interaction, providing service above and beyond expectations, or simply being available to help.”
Satisfaction Declines Among Shoppers Throughout the DayConsidering overall satisfaction with the trip, as well as on all of the core experience factors, the research found that satisfaction declines as the day progresses. Highest scores registered before 11 a.m. with lowest scores found after 7 p.m. This finding illustrates an opportunity to evaluate channel readiness during peak evening shopping hours.
Item Availability Greatly Impacts Trip SatisfactionIf shoppers could not find all items they came in to purchase, their satisfaction was significantly lower (3.92) com-pared to those who did find all items (4.43). This finding is a recurring theme in supermarket experience research. In-stock position must consistently be high for retailers to ensure shopper satisfaction.
Advertising Vehicles Straddle Traditional, Social, Mobile and Digital MediaSupermarket shoppers continue to use money-saving measures but the mix of these measures is evolving. Overall,
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RFG Study Reveals Mixed Results with Supermarket Shoppers
77 percent of shoppers referred to one or more advertising or sales vehicles before or during the store visit. The top money-saving measure, used by 56 percent of shoppers, was reviewing the traditional paper circular at home. An additional 31 percent reviewed the circular in the store and 26 percent examined the circular digitally. Clipping paper coupons (obtained from newspapers or other printed sources) registered at 38 percent, while download-ing digital coupons was at 27 percent and in-store promotions at 22 percent. Money-saving measures used less frequently were loyalty card offers (19 percent), smartphone research (12 percent) and social media specials (7 percent).
Millennials Migrating to Digital FasterExamining the use of money-saving measures by generation, the research shows that Boomers reviewed the circular at home (64 percent) and clipped paper cou-pons (45 percent) at much higher rates than Millennials (46 percent and 31 per-cent, respectively). Millennials, on the other hand, utilized smartphone research (22 percent) and social media specials (13 percent) at higher percentages than Boomers (6 percent and 4 percent, respectively).
Brian Numainville, RFG Principal, observed, “As younger generations, specifically Millennials and Generation Z, continue to grow in their spending influence over the coming years, supermarket advertising will need to increas-ingly blend traditional vehicles with social, mobile and digital. Retailers should carefully evaluate their markets and shopper base on an ongoing basis to ensure the right mix.”
After a year of campaigning by historic and mostly unpopular presidential candidates, consumers may want to turn to some fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a Miller Lite or cheap Chardonnay. If you see that, our economy is in trouble. We should want to see consumers dine on lamb and purple potatoes washed down with Appletinis. Comfort food leads to a recession, while food and drink experimentation shows an economy is expanding, according to a trend expert. The Produce for Better Health Foundation brought in Suzy Badaracco, president of trend forecasting company Culinary Tides, for a mid-November webinar on food trends, and how fresh produce can fit into it. Badaracco has presented to the industry before, including this summer at the Organic Produce Summit, and her analysis ranges from useful to too cool for cool.
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If Consumers Want Comfort Food, Recession is Coming
EconomyBadaracco said economic trends had been strong for the first part of the year but slowed as the election neared, which is understandable since whichever candidate won, half the country was likely to be devastated.
She said she was optimistic that the change in political power in Washington, D.C., will lead to a stronger economy. There are a number of recession indicator trends that involve food. Among them are the previously mentioned return of comfort food and cheaper domestic drinks as opposed to cocktails.
Others: - “homestyle” replaces “deconstructed” on menus; - “budget” replaces “convenient” in food marketing; - private label surges in grocery; and - away-from-home breakfast traffic slows.
Outside of food:- Research on millennial spending disappears (because they stopped spending); and- Fashion industry declares “earthtones” are the season’s new colors.
Seasonal not localFor a few years seasonal has outpaced local as a food trend, Badaracco said. “Seasonal is realistic, and local is not,” she said. The fresh produce industry has been trying to wrap its mind around how to supply the demand for local produce. For instance, just this month Wal-Mart told of its plan to double sales of locally grown produce within the next 10 years. Badaracco didn’t specifically address Wal-Mart, but she would likely say this isn’t where the trend is going. By the same token, Wal-Mart isn’t really where the trendy look, either. For that matter, if Wal-Mart targets the uncool, that’s a way bigger demographic. Trendsetters have more to gain from seasonal versus local as well, she said. “Seasonal has a cultural equity because it tells people you’re in the know,” Badaracco said.
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Growing produce consumptionHow can the fresh produce industry take advantage of these trends? Badaracco gave three ways:
1. Look at allies. Breakfast is one. Produce can play a strong role in breakfast meals, which is the only day part that every generation values. Another ally is protein. Traditional meat consumption continues to fall while Meat-less Mondays, flexitarians, plant proteins and vegetarian choices rise.2. Align with current flavor trends. Badaracco went through a bunch, but in fruits, tropical ones fared well, and with vegetables, green was in, such as seaweed, celery and beans/pulses. In preparation, “If you can set it on fire, set it on fire.” 3. Align with health trends. Different generations have different health concerns. Certain concerns affect all four generations (baby boomers, Gen X, millennial and Gen Z), such as obesity, cognitive function and digestion, for all of which fresh produce is part of the solution.
But while fiber is a wanted attribute across ages, the produce industry should do a better job educating consumers on how much fruits and vegetables deliver dietary fiber. The line between trendy and absurd is a fine one and probably depends on the coolness of the judge. Some of Badaracco’s revelations struck me as absurd. Gems included: Brazil is the next Peru. Popularity of “mash-ups” such as nutellasagna, waffle tacos, beefalo, brookies and wookies. Eating insects. Yuzu and lulo are hot commodities. But there was other wisdom: Consumers don’t want something labeled as “healthy.” It has to be evident. Anti-GMO is a fear-based trend and it’s already running its course in Europe, where the anti-movement started. Caffeine is still trendy if it’s in coffee or tea, but added caffeine is out. Consumer concerns calm down when products have origin information, no matter where it’s from.
It’s nice to be the one making the trends, but noticing them and following them can be useful too.
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2016 has been a very eventful year for Pennsylvania-based retailer, Weis Markets. The company has now completed the switch from 44 of its recently acquired stores into official Weis locations, increasing both the company’s footprint in the key markets of Virginia and Delaware, and the total number of stores it operates by 25 percent.
Just this year, Weis has acquired a Nell’s Family Market in Pennsylvania, five stores from Mars Super Market, and 38 from Food Lion as part of a divestiture following its parent Delhaize’s merger with Ahold.
“We are pleased with the timeline and conversion process that took place over the past three months to bring these 44 units on line as Weis Markets stores—all of which are now open and proudly serving their local com-munities,” shared Jonathan Weis, the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This was a tremendous undertaking for our organization and we are very proud of our associates who helped make it possible.”
According to a press release, Weis Markets had completed the conversions for the majority of these stores, includ-ing the 38 former Food Lions, in September, October, and early November. In total, the company interviewed and hired more than 2,000 team members who were previously employed at the acquired locations.
Weis Markets now operates 204 stores in seven states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia.
How will Weis’ stronger ventures into these markets pan out for the rapidly growing company? AndNowUKnow will keep providing you with the latest.
Natural Markets Food Group, parent of the Mrs. Green’s chain, is evidently facing financial crisis as evidenced by the closure of four stores this week and supply shortages at its remaining 11 locations.
A spokesman for the Larchmont, N.Y.-based natural foods chain told SN Friday however that the store closures and supply issues were not related. The spokesman said the supply issues would be resolved by next week, but did not offer detail as to the cause of them or how they would be resolved.
Mrs. Greens’ store in Winnetka, Ill., which opened in January this year, closed Oct. 16. Officials acknowledged then that a second Chicago store, that had closed for renovations a year ago, would not be reopening. A day later, Mrs. Green’s closed its West Windsor, N.J. store, which opened in 2014. On Friday, officials said the Mrs. Green’s store in New Canaan, Conn. had closed temporarily but would reopen in about six months.
In the meantime, stores throughout the chain were dealing with supply shortages which employees at two different stores told SN resulted from ordering budgets being slashed by the corporate office.
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Mrs. Green’s Closes Shop at 4 Units; Supplies Slow Chainwide
The employees asked not to be quoted because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters on the subject.
A Mrs. Green’s store in New York’s Greenwich Village neigh-borhood on Friday had what appeared to be numerous out-of-stocks, grocery shelves faced one deep, and almost no fresh seafood. Signs posted in the stores acknowledged the chain
was experiencing “significant product delivery challenges” that it hoped would be resolved shortly.
The spokesman characterized the closures and supply shortages as separate issues. He said Winnetka and Chica-go stores were closed as a result of a decision to suspend plans to expand the brand in the Chicago region. West Windsor, the chain’s largest store at 20,000 square feet, was closing because the chain had subsequently moved to a smaller format in its core Metro New York stores.
At press time, SN had not received comment from the company on what led to the sudden closure in New Ca-naan. However, a local newspaper published a statement from the company that was similar to the statement SN received about the Winnetka and West Windsor closures:
“Mrs. Greens Neighborhood Market believes our stores are a place to call home, where families can find local-ly-grown, organic and natural products that will help them live happier, healthier lives. While challenges are forc-ing us to close these stores, we want to thank all of our customers and our entire team who treated us like family,” CEO Pat Brown said in the statement.
“Mrs. Green’s will continue to focus our resources on the northeast market and provide our customers with both healthy-living opportunities and the highest quality all natural and organic products.”
The events of this week continue a rocky pattern of exploration and retreat for Mrs. Green’s and its parent, Natural Markets Food Group, which also operates the Planet Organic and Richtree brands in Canada. Those companies are owned by the Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group.
In the U.S., the group over the years has experimented with large-scale natural stores at former SuperFresh sites called Fresh & Green’s, remaking a mall food court in Chicago as a market-style natural foods restaurant called Wilde & Greene, and regional expansions of Mrs. Green’s that have all ended in closures. Mrs. Green’s in 2014 closed a Fairfax, Va. store just nine months after it opened, saying that it was calling off plans for a second Metro Washington D.C. store in Vienna, Va., at the same time. It closed a Wilton, Conn. store in early 2015 after just more than a year in business. At that time, officials said they were committed to serving the area with its New Ca-naan store, which subsequently underwent a $100,000 renovation last year, reports said.
The West Windsor store, which opened at a former Acme Markets space near wealthy Princeton, N.J., debuted with an elaborate fresh and prepared foods offering but those departments have since been pared back, accord-ing to customer comments on Yelp.
Brown in an interview with SN shortly after being named CEO in the fall of 2014, acknowledged that several stores built during Mrs. Green’s expansion period under his predecessor were too large and far-flung,
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and expressed a desire to focus the brand regionally in stores of 10,000 to 12,000 feet.
A spokesman also told SN Friday the company still had plans to begin construction of a new store in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., next year.
Natural Markets Food Group, parent of the struggling natural/organic chain Mrs. Green’s Natural Markets, on Tuesday said it was closing half of its 10 stores and that its CEO, Pat Brown, was stepping down effective immedi-ately.
The Irvington, N.Y., chain said it would instead focus on five “core stores” in its Westchester County, N.Y., home market, and that it would begin to replenish supply to those units over the next several weeks.
As previously reported, all of the chain’s stores — including several under the Planet Organic brand in Canada — had gone without supplies for several weeks following news that it was closing stores in New Jersey, Illinois and Connecticut.
On Tuesday Mrs. Green’s said stores in New York’s Greenwich Village, Rye and Tarrytown, as well as Stamford and Fairfield, Conn., would close, leaving units in Yorktown Heights, Briarcliff, Mount Kisco, Eastchester and Larchmont open. As part of the transition, CEO Pat Brown was stepping down. His duties are being taken over by existing management until a permanent replacement can be named.
Mrs. Green’s, founded as a family-run business 30 years ago and today owned by the Toronto-based hedge fund Catalyst Capital, was beset by an overambitious expansion plan that grew the company to as many as 20 stores, many of which survived fewer than two years.
Brown, a veteran of H-E-B and New Seasons Market, was brought in as CEO in 2013 and simultaneously reeled in far-flung but failing stores while continuing to add new ones, including the Greenwich Village and Connecticut stores. The company until earlier this month said it would proceed to build new stores including one planned early next year in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. It closed a store in New Canaan, Conn., several weeks ago saying it was a temporary closure but it did not appear that store will reopen either.
It was not immediately apparent how the Planet Organic stores in Canada, or the Richtree restaurant chain NMFG also operates in Canada, would be impacted by Tuesday’s announcement.
“Mrs. Green’s Neighborhood Market has been a part of the fabric of the Westchester community for three de-cades and this announcement demonstrates our long-term commitment to providing our customers with the
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Mrs. Green’s Closing 5 Stores; CEO Out in Shakeup
locally-sourced produce and healthy-living products they love,” the company said in a statement. “While the clo-sure of any location is difficult — especially because our customers and communities have supported us — they are also necessary as we focus on our core, profitable stores.”
The company said it would provide severance packages and transition services to impacted managers and associ-ates.
“We thank Pat Brown and all of our hard-working associates for their commitment to the company, and look for-ward to working with our new leadership team as we get back to doing what we do best — providing our custom-ers with healthy, locally-sourced produce,” the company added.
When it comes to Whole Foods Market’s legacy business, these days it seems to be all bad news.
Profit and comparable store sales have fallen as conventional retailers like Kroger and Costco have dramatically expanded natural and organic product offerings, obviating the need for shoppers to visit a specialty store like Whole Foods. In July, Whole Foods announced year-to-date net income fell 12.5%, while sales rose 2.3% and comps were down 2.4%.
On top of that, the retailer has failed to shake the “Whole Paycheck” perception, and has suffered from a series of image issues, including allegations of overcharging in New York stores.
Though the retailer’s new small format concept 365 by Whole Foods Market has so far impressed industry observ-ers, it has also sparked fears of cannibalization, with prices at 365 stores coming in 15% to 20% lower than at legacy stores.
Industry analysts at SN’s 21st Annual Financial Analysts Roundtable last month said Whole Foods’ falling comps, more price competition, labor cuts in stores and an overly aggressive store growth plan could spell disaster if the retailer can’t turn things around.
“I mean they’re just not on a sustainable path. This company is going to have to be restructured unless comps turn positive, but there’s no catalyst for it,” said Scott Mushkin, senior retail/staples analyst, Wolfe Research.
“I think even assuming a modest level of gross margin investment — which is a realistic expectation over the fore-seeable future — [with] negative comps [and] some SG&A deleverage — that kind of combination could be really catastrophic,” added Ajay Jain, senior analyst at Pivotal Research, New York.”
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How Bad Can it Get for Whole Foods?
“I think management is really shocked at this slowdown in comps and they’ve got all these service departments and they cut out some man hours in the stores,” said Chuck Ceranksoky, analyst with Northcoast Research, Cleve-land. “It’s a little bit like Walmart did a few years ago. Then your comps get even worse because it’s not the expe-rience the customer is used to. This is unusual ground for Whole Foods.”
Yet, the analysts haven’t written off Whole Foods completely.
“Whole Foods, however, has a great brand so we think it can be rescued, and we especially believe that the com-pany’s urban stores still do very well,” said Mushkin.
In order to get out of its rut, Mushkin said Whole Foods needs to get basic items priced right, slow down store growth and perhaps close underperforming locations and renew its commitment to in-store labor.
“Then, 365 becomes icing on the cake if the economics work because I do think it’s potentially a good format,” Mushkin added.
Whole Foods on Wednesday said it was eliminating its co-CEO structure, with John Mackey to take over as sole CEO effective Dec. 31 and Walter Robb remaining as a member of its board of directors.
Mackey and Robb had served as co-CEOs for six years.
The company also announced Wednesday that EVP and CFO Glenda Flanagan would retire from the role after 29 years at the end of the coming 2017 fiscal year, and that Mary Ellen Coe, VP of sales and product operations for Google, has joined the Whole Foods Market board of directors.
Those announcements came as the retailer posted fourth-quarter results that were below analyst estimates, with comparable-store sales for the 12-week quarter falling by 2.6% on a 4.2% traffic decrease at its stores. The comp decline exceeded consensus estimates of a 2.1% dip, although total sales of $3.5 billion met expectations. Sales were up by 1.7% from the same period last year.
Net income of $88 million, or 28 cents a share, increased by 57.1% from the same period last year. The EPS figure was higher than the 24 cents analysts had anticipated.
Whole Foods said its comp decline had slowed through the first weeks of the current first quarter, showing a 1.6% dip through Oct. 30.
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Robb Out as Co-CEO in Whole Foods Shakeup
Robb, a 25-year veteran of Whole Foods, will remain on the board and continue to serve as chairman for both Whole Kids Foundation and Whole Cities Foundation.
“It is impossible to convey what Walter has done for Whole Foods Market since he joined us in 1991,” Mackey said in a statement. “His incredible passion for retail and sense of the customer makes him the most extraordinary retailer I’ve had the privilege to work with. During his 25 years of leadership, Walter has been an advocate for the Whole Foods Market culture and a champion for our Team Members. His genuine love for our mission and our team members truly reflects what it means to be a conscious leader.”
Flanagan, whom Whole Foods said was the longest ever serving female CFO in the Fortune 500, will retire from the role after 29 years at the end of the 2017 fiscal year. She will continue to serve the company in a senior advi-sor capacity.
“Glenda joined Whole Foods Market in 1988 and has helped guide us through significant growth from six stores to 464 stores and more than $15 billion in sales today,” said Mackey and Robb in a statement. “She has been an outstanding CFO. Her intelligence, wisdom, business acumen, kindness, and integrity have been at the heart of everything Whole Foods Market has done and accomplished over the past 28 years. Glenda is deeply loved and respected by us and everyone at Whole Foods Market who has had the opportunity to know her.”
For fiscal 2017, Whole Foods said it was targeting sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5% and comps in the range of -2% to flat. It said it intended to grow square footage by 6% during the year reflecting 30 new stores including six reloca-tions and four new 365 stores.
“The company has seen stability in comps over the last two quarters and an improvement in trends quarter to date for both traffic and basket size,” it said in a statement. “The company is encouraged that its value and marketing efforts appear to be gaining traction with customers and believes it will see momentum as its sales-building initia-tives are rolled out throughout the year. The competitive landscape is very dynamic, however, and it is uncertain how long the deflationary environment will continue. The high end of the comp range reflects a -2.5% two-year comp, slightly better than the -2.8% in 4Q, while the low end reflects the possibility that two-year trends could get marginally worse before they get better, as the company has seen quarter to date.”
The dismantling of Whole Foods Markets’ co-CEO office announced Wednesday was made in solidarity with the company’s recent efforts toward greater efficiency in stores, sources told SN, and while it costs a leader who brought imaginative merchandising flair and a conspicuous concern for Whole Foods’ role in society to the front office, the company’s determined and visionary co-founder remains.
In a conference call reviewing quarterly earnings also announced late Wednesday, departing co-CEO Walter Robb said he would continue to “cheer on” his partner John Mackey as Mackey resumes sole leadership of the natural and organic giant.
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‘Streamlined Structure’ for Whole Foods’ Front Office
Robb added that the change represents a vote of confidence from its board of directors — on which Robb remains — as to its strategic direction.
“We have a very optimistic view this coming year ... that moving to a more streamlined structure is the right thing at this juncture to lead the company to the next level,” Robb said. “And I will be here [on the board] to continue to cheer that on.”
Jay Jacobowitz, president of Brattleboro, Vt.-based natural foods consultant Retail Insights, described Robb as a “nuts-and-bolts merchandising guy,” whose promo-tion to a co-CEO role in 2010 in part addressed the board’s concern that Mackey could be under some pressure to resign in the wake of being outed years before for anonymously attacking a rival on an Internet message board. Analysts at the time of Robb’s promotion also noted the move could save Robb, then Whole Foods’ co-president, from being poached by rivals.
Today, Jacobowitz said, “Whole Foods needs clear leadership unfettered by an inefficient structure at the top.”
He said Robb excelled in creating “wonderful store experiences” and was noted for initiatives such as Whole Foods’ stores in downtown Detroit that addressed access to healthy food in distressed neighborhoods. “He led with his heart, with less contemplation for the practical consequences of those choices.”
Mackey, by contrast, has been “an eloquent speaker on behalf of free-market principles, standing defiantly against unionization, and talking about the rising tide of economic growth representing improving lifestyles for society at large.”
Mackey’s determination was on display as Whole Foods reviewed financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter Wednesday, saying the company would continue to seek expense reductions while resisting temptation to partici-pate in what he called “a race to the bottom” on pricing, despite falling comp-store sales and store traffic impact-ed in part by price competition from conventional and discount rivals. Some analysts have been sharply critical of the plan, but Mackey pointed to continued store productivity, better sales figures in the first weeks of its new fiscal quarter, and the company meeting profitability targets in spite of the sales challenges.
“Our strategy revolves around leading a race to the top in terms of a differentiat-ed customer experience, continuing to raise the bar on our quality standards and selection, providing new levels of transparency and accountability and leveraging technology to deliver an improved shopping experience,” he said. “We believe we have the right strategies in place to position the company to produce strong results and returns for our shareholders over the long-term.”
Mackey said Whole Foods was more than halfway through a goal to reduce expenses by $300 million by the end of the 2017 fiscal year, making the biggest reductions to date with labor reductions in stores including fewer buying positions and by combining departmental teams like meat and seafood departments in its lower volume stores. Initiatives pioneered at 365 stores, such as automatic replenishment, also offer a runway toward further cost savings at legacy stores, he said.
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Mackey said store traffic would improve as Whole Foods expands an affinity rewards program now live in its Dal-las stores, with the expectation of reaching all stores in the fiscal year. He also said Whole Foods would increase spending on marketing this year. “We’re really quite excited about the marketing strategy that we’re going to unleash here,” he told analysts. “We’re already beginning to unleash it and you’ll see it much stronger as we get into calendar 2017.”
Results at the initial three 365 stores have been mixed so far, Mackey said, but he was “incredibly bullish” on the concept. “Some of the results have actually blown us away and others have been a little bit less than we had hoped for,” he said.
The next 365 store, he said, would open next spring near company headquarters in Austin, Texas, and will reflect tweaks gleaned from the first three units. “It’s going to be a kind of 365 2.0,” he said. “We’re taking the things that have worked better and we’re putting more capital into them. Things that haven’t worked we’re phasing out.”
As the banner continues to focus on further growth in the buy-side segment, Safeway will be expanding with a Northern California focus. The Albertsons banner has announced that it will be purchasing the G&G Supermarkets in Sonoma County, California.
“We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to bringing these locations into the Northern California Safeway family,” said Safeway in a statement, according to the North Bay Business Journal. “[We] are working together to ensure a smooth transi-tion for store employees and customers.”
G&G Supermarkets has been a family-owned grocery business and staple in Sonoma County since 1963. The chain has a 96,000-square-foot store in Santa Rosa and a 55,000-square-foot store in Petaluma.
Safeway has reportedly agreed to hire 250 G&G employees at the locations, which will be converted to the Safeway name. G&G CEO Teejay Lowe also indicated that Safeway agreed to employ his team at their current compensation levels or better. The move will also provide G&G employees with new opportunities for growth.
Teejay Lowe, CEO, G&G Supermarkets (Photo: North Coast Wine Challenge/ The Press Democrat)Teejay Lowe, CEO, G&G Supermarkets (Photo: North Coast Wine Challenge/ The Press Democrat)“It’s a good time for them to retire,” Lowe said, according to the North Bay Business Journal, naming that the sale was due in part to the age of the owners. G&G is owned by Lowe’s father Robert Gong and three of his uncles. “They’ve been serving Sonoma County for 53 years. It’s a good time for them to enjoy the holidays.”
Lowe also stated that the sale deal met all of G&G’s requirements, and is one that is supported by the entire family. Lowe did not state what part he would play in the new ownership.
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Safeway to Acquire G&G Supermarkets
Each location will close for a short period of time after the deal is finalized to make the transition to the Safeway name. Safeway expects this to occur sometime in December.
The terms of the sale were not disclosed by either party, and G&G Supermarkets workers were informed this past Thursday of the sale. Safeway already has two pre-existing locations in G&G’s areas, both in Santa Rosa and Petaluma.
This acquisition is right in line with Safeway’s expansive growth focus. As we recently reported, Safeway has plans to place three new stores in the Bay Area market.
As buy-side banners continue to take new locations and realms of business under their wings, Deli Market News will have the latest on acquisitions and their impact.
Safeway has entered an agreement with San Francisco-based Andronico’s Community Markets to purchase the five Andronico’s stores, all in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The deal goes back to earlier this year, when Dallas-based private equity firm Renovo Capital, which acquired Andronico’s out of bankruptcy in 2011, approached Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway about purchasing the Andronico’s stores in Berkeley, Los Altos, San Anselmo and San Francisco, with the goal of pre-serving union jobs and keeping the stores operating in the same
friendly, local way their customers have come to expect.
The two grocers are working together to ensure a smooth transition for employees and customers alike. Androni-co’s employees will continue working in their current assignments with their same union pay rates and benefits. A successful transition will create the potential for more jobs in the future.
“Andronico’s Community Markets have developed a well-respected brand and loyal customer base, and we are committed to keeping the local heritage alive,” said Tom Schwilke, president of Safeway Northern California. “Our goal is to preserve everything great about Andronico’s while adding Safeway’s innovations and great Own Brands products, including O Organics.”
Safeway plans to close each store for a short period of time when the transaction closes in December. Once reopened, the new stores will offer customers new everyday low prices, as well as further expand local, fresh and organic options.
The news comes on the heels of Safeway’s acquisition of G&G Market, which operated two stores in California’s
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Safeway Acquires Andronico’s
Sonoma County: one in Petaluma, and another in Santa Rosa.
Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway is a banner of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. Inc., which operates stores across 35 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to Safeway, the company operates the Albertsons, Vons, Jew-el-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market and Carrs banners.
Could a small format, indoor farmers market, supermarket hybrid be the answer to securing consumer engagement in the buy-side sector? Raley’s is taking a gander that the answer is yes with its entirely new concept Market 5-ONE-5.
“I want to go back to the basics and create a store that is reminiscent of a neighborhood corner market but with a focus on nutritious food at a fair value,” Raley’s CEO and President Michael Teel said in a written statement. “Market 5-ONE-5 will be an unpretentious, inclusive, and straightforward shopping experience.”
Located in a blossoming district in Sacramento, California, this new store will exist under the Raley’s name but operate independently. According to the Sac Bee, the location will be a smaller format 11,000-square-foot store, and has been described by the company as an indoor farmer’s market for natural foods.
The unconventional store format was reportedly the creative invention of Teel, who will act as owner. The store plans to have fresh products delivered daily and is scheduled to open its doors in debut in spring of 2017.
“[Market 5-ONE-5] will strive to source products that meet the highest quality standards – minimally pro-cessed, organic (when available), sustainably sourced, and free of elements not found in nature,” stated a com-pany news release, according to Sac Bee.
Sacramento Business Journal reported that the acronym “ONE” in the store’s name stands for its three values; organic, nutrition, and education. Similarly, the number 5 was chosen for its titles to refer to a consumer’s five senses. City councilpeople have named the project as appealing to downtown residents.
Also on the docket for Raley’s is a prospective plan for a new 55,000-square-foot supermarket on Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento, serving up grocery options for consumers in a more traditional full-service store setting.
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Raley’s Unveils Plans for New Store Concept
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The Fresh Market, the Greensboro-based boutique grocery, will introduce a new look at its Triad stores next week that include a new logo and lower prices. The changes, to occur on Wednesday, Oct. 26, are part of a larger “reinvention” of its stores that will be extended to its other locations nationwide.
The Triad store locations include:- 3712 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro- 1560 Highwoods Blvd., Greensboro- 3285 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem
The rollout will be extended to 13 more stores in the Raleigh and Charlotte metro areas on Nov. 30. The changes will continue “in waves” to other The Fresh Market stores through early 2018, company officials say.
“This is a significant milestone in The Fresh Market’s brand evolution,” said Rick Anicetti, president and CEO of The Fresh Market. “The reinvention of our stores will place an emphasis on delicious fresh fare, convenience, and health and wellness options. The company is investing in what our customers love most about The Fresh Market, while adding new categories requested by our shoppers.”
In addition to lower prices, the grocer will also be adding more items to its offerings so that shoppers can get what they need without going to other supermarkets, as well as more stations offering samples of various products.
The stores also will feature a new Mind & Body department, which will be stocked with expanded selections of 3,300 vitamins, minerals and supplements, and more assistance available to answer customer questions and offer recommendations.
Although Target Corp. surprised analysts with bet-ter-than-expected sales and earnings numbers during its fiscal third quarter, officials of the discounter said Wednes-day that food sales continued to slide as a result of defla-tion and intense competition.
Speaking to analysts in a conference call discussing results, CEO Brian Cornell acknowledged the Minneapo-lis-based mass merchant had “more work to do,” in grocery and still needed to better communicate to shoppers the improvements in assortment and quality it had made in recent months. Opportunity remains for the company to derive benefits from its “LA25” initiative, which is experimenting with changes in the look, feel and assortments at a group of 25 stores in the Los Angeles area.
Cornell has identified grocery as a key component of his strategic plan for Target, although he has also acknowl-edged the efforts to improve that offering would take time. Earlier this month, Target said Anne Dament, a former Safeway colleague of Cornell’s hired 18 months ago to head that transformation, was leaving the company.
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Target Beats Estimates in 3Q, but Food Comps Down
Food at Target stores saw a “small decline” in comparable-store sales during the third quarter, which ended Oct. 29, the company said. Over-all comparable-store sales at the chain were down by 0.2%, near the high end of its guidance of -2% to flat. Cornell said Wednesday he and the company’s merchants were working on the next phase of Target’s grocery evolution and would update progress on that front when Target meets again with investors in February.
“Clearly, we have more work to do [in grocery], but we feel like we’re making very good progress,” Cornell said. “Changes we’ve made to assortment; improvements we’ve made to the quality of our produce items. And we’re certainly pleased with the reaction we’re seeing as we enhance the experience and our LA25 stores.
“That being the case, we’ve got to continue to make sure we build a greater connection with our guest as it per-tains to the convenient food offering we provide. And [chief merchandising officer] Mark [Tritton] and I are work-ing closely on the next phase of our grocery evolution to make sure that we continue to provide the right assort-ment, the right value, the right quality our guest expects from Target while they’re shopping our stores,” he added. “You’ll see a lot more of that when we get together in February, but we recognize that’s an area that we’ve got to continue to drive progress in.”
Overall Target reported revenues declined by 6.7% in the quarter, impacted by the comparable-store sales de-cline and the loss of pharmacy revenues associated with outsourcing those services to drugstore CVS. Net earn-ings of $608 million increased by 10.7% from the prior year, and earnings per share of $1.04 exceeded the high end of its guidance.
Target also said Wednesday that it expected comps in the fourth quarter would range from -0.1% to +1%, slightly higher than the 0.2% to flat comps it previously expected. Stock in Target was trading up by more than 8% early Wednesday following the report.
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