Food Trade News

With all 50 states now easing their stay-at-home restrictions (to greatly varying degrees), food retailers are pondering what their “new normal” might look like in the wake of flattening food sales and skyrocketing unemployment.

Some retailers have viewed the easing of those state “shelter in place” mandates as an indicator that their temporary bonus pay programs for their associates should also be ended. When Kroger ended its $2 per hour “hero pay” bonus on May 17, it became the first retailer to end the temporary increased compensation. Kroger associates will also be receiving a one-time $130 million “thank you” appreciation bonus that will pay $400 for qualified full-time associates and $200 for qualified part-time associates.

While no other retailer has officially ended their bonus pay programs with their associates, some said they were waiting until the end of the month to assess whether to extend the extra reward plan. However, late last week, Target said it would continue to pay its associates $2 an hour through July 4, the longest extension of any publicly-traded firm.

Mark Perrone, president of the UFCW International, which estimates that at least 68 of its members have died and more than 10,000 have been infected by the coronavirus, strongly disagreed with Kroger’s decision and urged other retailers to not end their bonus pay programs.

During a national press conference on May 20, Perrone addressed the ending of bonus pay by certain retailers: “As this pandemic continues, the threat of this virus is real across every grocery store in America. Yet, most states and supermarket chains are still failing to enforce social distancing or mask wearing in stores to keep customers and workers safe. Even worse, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Kroger have failed to release internal numbers on workers’ deaths, infections and exposure. (The first three retailers are non-union, Kroger is organized). Amazon even fired workers brave enough to speak out. “Amazon, Whole Foods, Kroger and other companies have shamefully announced pay cuts for millions of these workers on the front lines, even as each company experiences record sales. When workers face higher risks, they should be paid more. These workers are not facing fewer hazards, and are still putting themselves in harm’s way, interacting with thousands of customers a day, to help ensure our families have the food we need.

“While we hope some of these companies do change and follow the lead of other national companies like Albertsons and Ahold who acted responsibly to extend this hazard pay, we are preparing options to ensure that every American knows which supermarket companies stood by their workers and their families and which did not. American consumers and workers deserve better and we will continue to stand with them.”

And as the country begin to open up more segments of the economy there are new and ongoing concerns which will certainly impact food retailers. Unemployment for April reached a staggering 14.7 percent (probably 5 percent higher if you factor in uncounted categories), the biggest job loss since the Great Depression and over the past six weeks, a staggering more than 38 million Americans have filed for unemployment.

Total retail sales sank 16.4 percent last month, the largest monthly decline ever. That followed an 8.3 percent drop in March. And if it weren’t for significant increases in retail food purchases (both in-store and online), that decrease would have been greater.

Viewing just food and beverage stores in April, sales increased 12 percent from the corresponding period in 2019, but declined 13.1 percent from March, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The month-over-month decrease indicates a dip in sales gains of 29.3 percent year-over-year and 26.9 percent month-to-month in March, when consumers raced to stores in all food channels (especially online) to purchase and hoard grocery items, especially essential products.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that grocery prices rose 2.6 percent in April, the largest such increase in 46 years. Not surprisingly, proteins (meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs) experienced the greatest increases (4.3 percent) while produce prices increased 1.5 percent.

John Furner, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. stores, told the Wall Street Journal that he regards the company’s biggest challenges as keeping his stores open and accelerating Walmart’s rapidly evolving shift to increased e-commerce. Walmart’s recently released Q1 financials revealed that U.S. comp store sales were up 10 percent and online-driven revenue was up an impressive 74 percent. At Target, digital revenue also skyrocketed 141 percent.

In what perhaps will be a signal of long-term shopping behavior – online vs. bricks & mortar – and the advantage of Walmart’s platforms, Furner noted that “one of the advantages Walmart has is the store footprint, and layered on the footprint is the ability for shoppers to come in, buy off the shelf, pick up or have things delivered. Customers will continue to come back and return to shop either online or in-store as long as we deliver. It’s really the nature of being an omnichannel retailer that has helped Walmart in the last few months.”

And then there are the cold hard numbers – as of May 23, there were more than 5.2 million positive cases detected globally with over 339,000 deaths. In the U.S. more than 1.6 million people have been infected resulting in nearly 96,000 deaths. It’s clear that a pivot in consumer behavior is occurring and retailers are concerned but quietly confident about their ability to meet the next level of challenges.

“We continue to keep our heads down and deal with the issues that we can control,” said the president of a metro NY-based regional retailer. “Supply chain problems and associate and customer safety concernswere challenges we worked hard to overcome and in large part have been successful. All bets are off when it comes to unemployment and a sliding economy. Not every retailer will survive.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that households in 13 new states – Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia – will soon be able to purchase food online with their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Once operational, online purchasing will be available in 36 states and the District of Columbia, home to more than 90 percent of SNAP participants.

Additionally,  Perdue also reported an expansion of independently owned and operated retail stores beyond those included in the original pilot with more SNAP authorized retailers (under multiple store banners) soon accepting SNAP benefits online.

“We are expanding new flexibilities and innovative programs to make sure Americans across this country have safe and nutritious food during this national emergency,” said Perdue. “Enabling people to purchase foods online will go a long way in helping Americans follow CDC social distancing guidelines and help slow the spread of the coronavirus. USDA is mandated with the noble goal of feeding Americans when they need it most, and we are fulfilling that mission with new innovative programs during this national emergency.”

In April 2019, the USDA launched what was to be a two-year pilot program meant to test both online ordering and payment with rollout starting in New York State. Other states were soon added to the pilot. Due to the unprecedented impact that COVID-19 had on households, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has expedited the process and has worked closely with all interested states, retailers, and benefit processors to make online purchasing a reality for more SNAP households.

Currently, the SNAP online purchasing pilot is operational in 18 states and the District of Columbia, with additional states going live each week. For the latest list of states and retailers accepting online SNAP purchases, please refer to the FNS online purchasing website.

SNAP is a federal program that provides food purchasing assistance to low-income individuals and families that are used at stores to purchase food.  The program, which was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is administered by the FNS through its nationwide network of FNS field offices. Local FNS field offices are responsible for the licensing and monitoring of retail food stores participating in SNAP.

As more states are allowing some increased level of business activity, food retailers are gearing up for changes in their own ways of going to market as well. By the end of this month, more than 40 states will have eased restrictions on previous stay at home orders.

Some retailers have viewed the easing of those state “shelter in place” mandates as an indicator that their temporary bonus pay programs for their associates should also be ended. Kroger and its affiliates (including Harris Teeter, Kings Sooper, Fry’s, Fred Meyer) were the first to announce it will terminate its $2 per hour bonus program on May 16. Kroger began its “hero pay” program on March 29 and has extended it twice since. While some retailers have extended their temporary wage increase offers through the end of the month, a consensus of the 25 retailers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast that we polled said that they too, will look for a date to end their bonus pay programs when the states begin to rescind or partially rescind their restrictions.

“Our commitment is that we will continue to listen and be responsive, empowering us to make decisions that advance the needs of our associates, customers, communities and business. We continuously evaluate employee compensation and benefits packages. Our average hourly wage is $15 and with benefits factored in, like health care, the hourly wage is over $20,” Kroger said in a written statement.

Kroger will also be making a one-time $130 million “thank you” appreciation bonus that will pay $400 for qualified full-time associates and $200 for qualified part-time associates. It will be paid out in two installments on May 30 and June 18.

Those polled said that their increased expenses are now running 11-15 percent weekly (the largest current expense is the bonus pay) and all of our panelists said that their current sales increases are able to cover those elevated costs. However, all expressed caution about future behavior especially in light of flattening sales over the past two weeks.

“We’ve got a window that’s going to be around for at least several more months or as long as we’re not competing with restaurants and schools for a piece of the pie,” said the president of a Pennsylvania-based chain retailer. “But that window is going to close at some point and all of us need to make plans as best we can on how we cover some of these long-term expenses that remain. Can we reduce our expense load enough to offset what our sales will be in three months, six months, a year from now? That’s a real challenge.”

“Well, you don’t want to be the first retailer to end the program,” said one Maryland-based merchant. “That moment is coming, but we’re all cautious of pulling back too soon, because our associates have truly been heroes over the past two months. Still, maintaining that level of compensation over the long-term is unsustainable, especially when sales continue to flatten even further.”

Mark Perrone, president of the UFCW International, which estimates that 65 of its members have died and nearly 10,000 have been infected by the coronavirus, strongly disagreed with Kroger’s decision and urged other retailers to not end their bonus pay programs.

“Millions of American grocery workers have been rightfully called essential by our nation’s elected leaders. Given the daily risks faced, these workers deserve critical protections, benefits, and a higher wage for as long as this public health crisis endures. That your companies are even considering cutting the pay of these frontline workers, while you experience record sales, is shocking in its indifference. If you truly believe that the threat of COVID-19 has passed for your workers, then you should be willing to admit this publicly. Until that day comes, you have a responsibility to provide your workers with essential protections and benefits, including so-called hero/appreciation/hazard pay, until this terrible threat has passed. For the sake of these workers, our families, and our nation’s food supply, we ask you to remember your responsibility to ensure that these workers are receiving the premium pay that they have rightfully earned by facing the very risks that so many Americans – including all of you – have been lucky enough to avoid,” Perrone wrote in a letter to 49 grocery and related CEOs in the U.S.

In the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, retailers told us that their absentee rate in their stores and their warehouses (if they are self-supplied) is running about 15 percent over the past three weeks.

And as the country begin to open up more segments of the economy there are new and ongoing concerns which will certainly impact food retailers.

Unemployment for April reached 14.7 percent (probably 5 percent higher if you factor in uncounted categories), the biggest job loss since the Great Depression and over the past six weeks a staggering 36.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment.

Overall retail sales plummeted 16.4 percent last month, the largest monthly decline ever. That followed an 8.3 percent dip in March. And if it weren’t for significant increases in retail food purchase (both in-store and online), that decrease would have been greater.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that grocery prices rose 2.6 percent in April, the largest such increase in 46 years. Not surprisingly, proteins (meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs) experienced the greatest increases (4.3 percent) while produce prices increased 1.5 percent.

“I think we’re just at the beginning of what will be a long and winding road,” said the owner of a Pennsylvania-based independent. We’ve already made changes in how we operate, and we will need to continue to adapt. The ‘new normal’ will be significantly different than what we’ve done for the past decade. I’m most concerned about the economy – even when things open up further, is it realistic to expect to unemployment to drop below 10 percent in the next six months? I’m just not that confident based on what I’m reading and seeing. And if unemployment remains at unacceptable levels, food retailers will find themselves in a far different place than today.”

As of May 15, there were more than 4.5 million positive cases detected globally with more than 306,000 deaths. In the U.S. more than 1.5 million people have been infected resulting in more than 87,000 deaths.

For a recap of the actions retailers that operate stores in the mid-Atlantic have taken in response to the pandemic, please go to the story, Retailers Persevering Despite Mounting COVID-19 Challenges.

Ahold Delhaize USA (ADUSA) has chosen a new frozen food partner that will work with the big merchant to supply frozen foods to the company when it completes its transition into a full integrated self-distribution retailer by 2023. Americold, the Atlanta-based temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics firm, has been selected to work with Northeast’s largest retailer. The decision to shift to a self-distribution model was first announced by ADUSA in December 2019.

As part of that announcement, the company said it would invest in a partnership to build the two fully automated frozen warehouses which will expand cold storage space by 500,000 square feet (24 million cubic feet). The new frozen depots will be located in Plainville, CT (about 20 miles from Hartford), which will serve Ahold Delhaize USA’s Northeast brands (divisions); and in Mountville, PA (about 15 miles from Lancaster), which will serve Ahold Delhaize USA’s Mid-Atlantic brands.

“We’re extremely proud of this new partnership with Americold and the opportunity to fully expand our cold-storage capacity as part of our current storage needs and future growth plans,” said Chris Lewis, executive VP- supply chain for Retail Business Services, the services company for Ahold Delhaize USA. “Americold is a leading expert in this space, and we’re confident in their abilities to build state-of-the-art facilities that will meet our needs and serve our omnichannel growth strategy.”

The retailer said the new locations will provide optimal facility locations near the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA and their customers, enabling local product expansion, increased product freshness and speed of delivery. The two warehouses will also create about 200 new jobs each and infuse additional economic benefits to local economies as a result of this growth.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ahold Delhaize USA to design, build and operate these strategically-located retail distribution fulfillment centers over an initial term of the next 20 years. With state-of-the-art automation, these two facilities will deliver a combined 59,000 pallet positions to support the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions,” said Fred Boehler, president and chief executive officer of Americold, a publicly-traded company (parent firm: Americold Realty Trust) that was founded in 1903. It operates 178 facilities and 2019 sales were $1.4 billion.

In addition, the retailer noted that the new facilities enable Ahold Delhaize USA to innovate in new frozen storage warehouse design, including transforming facilities to enhance automation and leverage technology advancements, such as an integrated transportation management system and end-to-end forecasting and replenishment technology, designed to support the omnichannel experience and multi-channel growth.

“Today’s announcement continues to reinforce how Ahold Delhaize USA is transforming our infrastructure to support the next generation of grocery retail,” added Lewis. “Through this expansion, we will continue to modernize our supply chain distribution, transportation and procurement through a fully integrated, self-distribution model that will be managed by our companies directly and locally. This will result in efficiencies and, most importantly, product availability and freshness for customers of our local brands – now and in the future – whenever, wherever and however they choose to shop.”

Currently, Ahold Delhaize USA companies’ distribution networks include 16 traditional and eCommerce distribution centers that service the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA, including Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop. The network will grow to 23 facilities by 2023. This enhanced distribution network will provide coverage for ADUSA’s local brands from Maine to Georgia.

All told, the companies comprise the largest grocery retail group on the East Coast and the fourth largest group in the nation, with nearly 2,000 retail stores and more than 6 million annualized online grocery orders. Additionally, the companies of Ahold Delhaize USA operate some of the most extensive supply chain operations on the East Coast, including more than 1,000 trucks that travel more than 120 million miles annually and deliver 1.1 billion cases to local brands’ stores.

Albertsons Companies recently announced changes within its labor relations leadership team. Dan Dosenbach, currently vice president of human resources and labor relations in the company’s Acme Markets division, has been appointed to the newly-created role of senior vice president of labor relations. He will continue to be based at the Acme offices in Malvern, PA. Reporting to Dosenbach in the new role of group vice president of labor relations is Brent Bohn, currently vice president of human resources and labor relations for the company’s Southern California division.

The new structure was created following Andy Scoggin’s retirement from Albertsons after nearly 30 years with the company.

“The partnerships we forge with our unions have always been critical for our business. Those relationships are especially important today, as we prioritize the health of our associates and customers while providing essential services to our neighbors,” said Mike Theilmann, EVP and CHRO of Albertsons Companies. “We are grateful for the leadership that Andy Scoggin provided through so many important negotiations, which helped build the collaborative relationships we have today.”

“We didn’t have to look beyond our own bench to fill these critical roles,” Theilmann continued. “Dan Dosenbach and Brent Bohn are exceptional leaders with deep roots in the grocery industry. They bring unparalleled labor relations experience to the team, along with a genuine concern and appreciation for the frontline teams that serve customers every day. We thank Andy for mentoring and developing leaders like Dan and Brent.”

Dosenbach joined the grocery industry in 2006 as a director of labor relations at Supervalu, after serving as general counsel for United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 1546 in Chicago. He was promoted to vice president of labor relations in 2011, and joined Albertsons in 2013 when Acme Markets was acquired. At that time, he was named to his most recent role of vice president of human resources and labor relations. Dosenbach has a B.S. in chemistry from Illinois Benedictine College and received his J.D. from Chicago Kent College of Law.

Bohn started with Albertsons in 1999 as the director of labor relations for the Southern California division. In 2007, he was promoted to vice president of labor relations with responsibilities for multiple divisions, including Southern California, Portland, Seattle, and Intermountain. In 2013, he was promoted to his most recent role of vice president of labor relations and human resources, with responsibilities for human resources, labor relations and employment jaw. Before joining Albertsons, Bohn was at the law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. He received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Loyola Marymount University.

Albertsons Companies announced today that Juliette Pryor has been named executive vice president and general counsel and will join the company’s senior leadership team, effective June 15, 2020. Pryor joins Albertsons from Cox Enterprises, where she serves as general counsel and corporate secretary, a role she has held for nearly four years. Before that, she spent 11 years at US Foods, including serving as general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Pryor succeeds Bob Gordon, who announced he is stepping down and transitioning to retirement after over 20 years with Safeway and Albertsons collectively. Gordon, who came to Safeway from Pillsbury Winthrop in 1999, previously served as the chief governance officer and general counsel of Safeway Inc.

“On behalf of our team and the board of directors, I sincerely thank Bob for his contributions to the formative years of Albertsons Companies since the merger in 2015, and for guiding Safeway’s Legal team for fifteen years prior to that,” said Vivek Sankaran, president and chief executive officer. “Bob has been a tremendous asset to our team, and we wish him well.”

At Albertsons, Pryor will lead the company’s corporate governance and compliance functions as well as matters related to financial reporting, M&A, labor and employment, real estate, litigation, data privacy and government affairs.

“We are excited to welcome Juliette to our leadership team,” said Sankaran. “Juliette brings a solution-oriented mindset to legal matters and her proactive, collaborative approach reflects the way the Albertsons team works. We look forward to benefitting from her extensive experience and deep legal expertise.”

Before serving as the general counsel of Cox Enterprises and earlier US Foods, Pryor was at the law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. She had previously been general counsel and corporate secretary for e.spire Communications, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed telecommunications company. Earlier in her career, she served as legal advisor to the vice chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and as in-house counsel at IBM Corporation. Pryor received a B.A. from Fisk University and a  J.D. from Georgetown University, where she also received a M.S. from the school of foreign service.

Pryor said, “In this unprecedented time, Albertsons is demonstrating how foundational the grocery industry is in keeping America going. I have always respected the Company’s commitment to providing exceptional service to its customers and communities, as it has grown its business substantially. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help in managing through this period and delivering success into the future.”

United Natural Foods Inc. announced that it has named Jim Gehr as its new chief supply chain officer effective May 4. In this role, Gehr will lead an organization of more than 12,000 associates working across four regions and 59 distribution centers, delivering 1.3 billion cases annually to UNFI’s more than 30,000 customers. He will immediately focus on UNFI’s warehouse logistics while further advancing UNFI’s automation investments, distribution center expansions and network optimization. Gehr will report to Eric Dorne, UNFI’s chief operating officer.

“Jim is a highly-regarded supply chain executive who brings operational excellence experience to UNFI along with a proven track record of building and motivating teams,” said Dorne. “He has a history of creating and growing business opportunities, establishing sustainable processes, and developing a strong culture of continuous improvement that drives value throughout the supply chain and, ultimately, to customers. His unique experiences – from integrating emerging technologies to effectively utilizing data analytics – will enhance UNFI’s long-term operating model and help accelerate our innovation. Jim is an engaging leader and we’re excited to welcome him to UNFI.”

Gehr joins UNFI after having spent the past 29 years at DHL Supply Chain where, since 2004, he has served as president, retail North America. In this role, Gehr oversaw the operations for 72 facilities providing store, eCommerce, and multi-channel fulfillment as well as import center deconsolidation, return center operations, and store delivery across national networks for more than 30 major North American retailers. While continuing to lead DHL’s Retail organization, Gehr also assumed leadership of the transportation organization, serving as president, transportation North America from 2013 to 2016. Prior to joining DHL, Gehr was a senior manager at Ernst & Young in Harrisburg, PA.

Gehr received his BSBA in Accounting from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and his CPA from Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

As announced earlier this year, Paul Green, UNFI’s current chief supply chain officer, will take on a new role as president, UNFI Fresh, where he will oversee the company’s meat and produce business and will report directly to UNFI chairman and CEO Steven L. Spinner.

“I want to thank Paul for the tremendous job he’s done overseeing our supply chain throughout many years of rapid growth and change,” said Dorne. “I truly appreciate Paul’s leadership, exemplary results, partnership and friendship, and know he will do an amazing job overseeing our Fresh business.”

Daniel Gourdin has been named zone sales director for Pepsico’s Northern Virginia zone. He will be responsible for 10-20 district sales managers and 150-250 sales associates.

Gourdin joined Frito-Lay in June of 2007 as a district sales leader in the Northern Virginia zone, and has gained many critical experiences throughout his career. He was promoted to senior account development manager for the company’s Baltimore zone in 2009. In 2011, he transitioned to the safety and staffing leader role for Washington DC. Then in 2012, he was promoted to sales zone supervisor for Baltimore before transferring to Northern Virginia. In 2015, he was promoted to key account manager for the Mid-Atlantic region.

Gourdin’s most notable accomplishments include: The 2009 DSL Ring of Honor, the 2010 ACDM of the Year Award, the 2014 Top ZBM of the Year and Cost to Serve Leader Award, the 2014 Ewing Award for the Mid-Atlantic, and the 2017 Safeway Eastern Vendor of the Year Award.

Gourdin graduated from Hampton University in 2007 with a bachelor of science in business management and a concentration in business marketing.

Weis Markets reported that its Q1 revenue increased 12.4 percent to $985.8 million during the 13-week period ended March 28, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, while first quarter comparable store sales increased 12.8 percent.
The Sunbury, PA-based regional chain added that first quarter net income increased 86.6 percent to $26.7 million compared to $14.3 million in 2019, while earnings per share totaled $0.99 compared to $0.53 per share for the same period in 2019.

Weis’ results were impacted by the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the subsequent business and school closures and stay-at-home orders in its markets beginning in the second week of March. Consequently, there was a significant surge in customer count and sales. Its January and February sales were impacted by a mild winter compared to 2019.

“Our team quickly adapted to this changed market environment and resulting supplier disruptions by accelerating and increasing replenishment shipments to our stores and implementing a comprehensive COVID-19 prevention program in our stores, distribution, manufacturing and support facilities to provide a safe shopping and working environment,” said chairman and CEO Jonathan Weis. “We carry a profound sense of sadness for those who are suffering or have lost their lives during this pandemic, and a tremendous appreciation for the essential Weis Markets associates who come to work each day, providing the products and services that are allowing our customers to stay at home and help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.”
Adjusting for the impact of this pandemic, Weis estimates its comparable store sales increased 1.5 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Four days earlier during its annual shareholders meeting held on April 30 at Weis’ headquarters in Sunbury (where social distancing was practiced), Weis summarized his company’s results over the past year.

“We made significant forward progress in 2019 by driving sales with targeted merchandising and marketing programs, significant price investments and improved in-store execution. We also expanded online ordering with in-store pickup and home delivery to 184 stores, which resulted in more than 250,000 orders and a 115.4 percent increase in online sales,” the 52-year old chief executive stated. “It is important to note our sales and comparable-store sales continued to benefit from multi-million-dollar investments in our ‘Low, Low Price’ program which offers price reductions on 7,000 private-brand items and we also made significant gains with targeted loyalty marketing programs, varied promotions and advertising in key markets.”

He also told shareholders about Weis’ continued investment plans. In 2019, the regional merchant completed 10 remodels; opened its first New Jersey liquor store near its Randolph location; opened a new store in Bedminster, PA; and completed work on three fuel centers.

“Fuel centers are an increasingly important part of our go-to-market strategy. We currently operate 42 fuel centers where nearly half of all Weis gas rewards are redeemed,” Weis explained. “In 2020, we will build four additional fuel centers and are planning for more in the years ahead.

We also completed more than a hundred smaller projects including resets, self-scan installations and upgrades and the continuing expansion of our ‘Weis 2 Go’ online ordering program with curbside pickup and delivery. We also continue to invest in our distribution center, which supplies nearly 200 stores enabling us to improve our supply chain. One notable project was the construction of a new ripening facility that allows us to produce bananas at various levels of ripeness. This ensures a better product for our customers and contributes strongly to our profitability.”

Weis said that his company plans to invest $86 million in its growth program. The 197-store retailer intends to build five new stores in: Dingman’s Ferry, PA; Bethlehem, PA (replacement); Macungie, PA (replacement); and Gap, PA (rebuild from a fire that occurred in November 2019); along with another new store in Martinsburg, WV.

Its cap-ex budget also calls for four remodels, continuing distribution upgrades and hundreds of smaller improvement projects. Weis added that he expects work on the company’s Keystone State projects to resume this month.

Before answering questions from shareholders, Weis took a moment to update the company’s stockholders on the “achievements of our team during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Since early March, we have seen a tremendous surge in demand which has challenged us in many ways. We have seen supply chain disruption, overwhelming demand for certain products and services, constantly changing state edicts, and a need for store support center employees to work remotely for six weeks or more.

“At store level, our teams have risen to the challenge and helped us comply with the evolving government safety requirements. Each day, we are investing additional resources to clean and sanitize our stores on an hourly basis, before they open and after they close.

“As part of this process, many of our store support associates have redeployed to work in stores and our distribution center. Our goals are simple – to protect our valued associates while assuring that we can continue to provide our valued customers with value and choice during particularly stressful times…I’m incredibly proud of our many dedicated team members throughout our organization.”