Why pair the Southeast and Central regions? Bob Swanson, NACS’ director of research and statistics, admits they make an odd couple: “It made sense to put the Northeast and Midwest together, it made sense to put the West and Southwest together … so we were left with the Southeast and Central.”
Yet Swanson and his panel—which included Steve Spinks of Greenville, S.C.-based The Spinx Co., Jeff Wrobel of La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip, Tony Battaglia of Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. and Tim Jones of Deerfield, Ill.-based Mondelez International—managed to find some similarities between the two diverse regions.
Both regions grew foodservice sales by double digits last year, and both regions more than doubled NACS’ national average of motor fuel gallons sold.
Such stats should come as welcome news for retailers such as Wrobel: “We concentrate on foods and fuel, so it’s good to see these growing above the national average.”
SOUTHEAST
Key Sales Figures
Declines in fuel sales (which included a 5.9% decrease in fuel gross-profit dollars) are “explained by 2014’s historic fuel numbers” in the Southeast, which have not been easy to repeat, Spinks said. “The good news is, we’re growing inside sales at a very healthy rate,” he said.
| Per store per month | National | Southeast | PCYA* | Southeast Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total all sales | $491,003 | $471,750 | (19.8%) | 96 |
| Fuel sales | $353,347 | $343,676 | (27.3%) | 97 |
| -Motor fuels gallons sold | 147,508 | 152,314 | 4.6% | 103 |
| -Average selling price | $2.40 | $2.26 | (30.5%) | 94 |
| Inside sales | $156,411 | $129,943 | 9.3% | 83 |
| Transactions | 44,282 | 50,506 | 1.7% | 114 |
Top 10 Merchandise Categories in Sales
“It’s not shocking,” Spinks said of the categories where his region overindexed. “In the South, we like our beer and OTP. I’m not so sure about the health and beauty thing.”
In gross-profit dollars, the Southeast region overindexed in beer, packaged beverages, candy, sweet snacks, health and beauty. “It’s encouraging to see those noncigarette categories picking up steam,” he said.
| Per store per month | National | PCYA* | Southeast | Southeast index | PCYA* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cigarettes | $50,357 | 3.4% | $40,199 | 80 | 4.6% |
| Beer | $14,838 | 3.6% | $19,092 | 129 | 2.1% |
| Packaged beverages | $23,877 | 7.5% | $18,953 | 79 | 7.5% |
| OTP | $7,547 | 6.8% | $8,518 | 113 | 4.4% |
| Salty snacks | $7,155 | 8.9% | $5,520 | 77 | 6.3% |
| Candy | $4,552 | 4.6% | $4,393 | 97 | 4.5% |
| Sweet snacks | $2,889 | 7.8% | $2,868 | 99 | 6.0% |
| Milk | $3,043 | (4.0%) | $2,425 | 80 | (11.5%) |
| Health and beauty | $1,487 | 6.2% | $2,098 | 141 | 5.8% |
| Alternative snacks | $3,514 | 12.9% | $2,085 | 59 | 12.9% |
| Total merchandise | $124,001 | 4.8% | $111,678 | 90 | 9.0% |
Foodservice Gross-Profit Dollars
Spinks put a positive spin on his region’s lower-than-average prepared-food sales : “The fact is we are so far behind the national average means there’s a huge opportunity. We do underindex in prepared food, but we are growing fast.”
| Prepared foods | National | PCYA* | Southeast | Southeast index | PCYA* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepared food | $16,818 | 5.6% | $8,771 | 52 | 11.5% |
| Commissary | $1,594 | 14.7% | $607 | 38 | 17.7% |
| Hot dispensed | $3,817 | 0.0% | $1,452 | 38 | 1.4% |
| Cold dispensed | $2,438 | 8.1% | $1,164 | 48 | 14.1% |
| Frozen dispensed | $314 | (14.9%) | $472 | 150 | 7.8% |
| Total foodservice | $17,349 | 5.9% | $7,784 | 45 | 10.9% |
Source: CSX LLC | * Percent change from a year ago
Continued: Central United States
CENTRAL
Direct-Store Operating Expenses (DSOE)
Because of increased competition for quality employees, one solution has been to increase wages to attract and keep solid workers . “If you don’t pay for it (in the wages), you’re going to have turnover and pay for it in hiring and training new employees,” Wrobel said.
| Per store per month | National | Central | PCYA* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wages and benefits | $26,297 | $24,678 | 10.5% |
| Credit card charges | $6,595 | $6,141 | (13.0%) |
| Utilities | $3,370 | $3,163 | 2.3% |
| Repairs and maintenance | $3,468 | $3,415 | 19.1% |
| Supplies | $1,648 | $1,205 | 15.8% |
| Total DSOE | $48,786 | $44,831 | 5.6% |
Top 10 Merchandise Categories in Gross-Profit Dollars
“It’s nice to see the Central region on par (or outpacing) the national growth rate on packaged beverages ,” said Battaglia. “As far as 2015 goes, it was an exceptional year—the challenge is to lap that in 2016.”
| Per store per month | National | PCYA* | Central | Central index | PCYA* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cigarettes | $6,740 | 0.5% | $6,253 | 93 | 6.8% |
| Packaged beverages | $9,561 | 8.4% | $9,427 | 98 | 10.7% |
| Beer | $2,900 | 3.5% | $2,259 | 78 | 3.8% |
| OTP | $2,124 | 4.3% | $2,384 | 112 | 3.6% |
| Salty snacks | $2,799 | 9.9% | $1,964 | 70 | 8.9% |
| Candy | $2,169 | 2.4% | $2,374 | 109 | 0.8% |
| Milk | $921 | 10.2% | $867 | 94 | (5.6%) |
| General merchandise | $951 | 5.2% | $1,165 | 123 | (2.9%) |
| Perishable grocery | $297 | (17.0%) | $343 | 115 | (31.0%) |
| Alternative snacks | $1,581 | 12.1% | $841 | 53 | 13.4% |
| Total merchandise | $33,682 | 6.3% | $31,745 | 96 | 6.0% |
Foodservice Gross-Profit Dollars
Wrobel was particularly wowed by the Central region’s overindexing in cold- and frozen-dispensed beverages , given the chilly temperatures many retailers work in: “Operators are doing a great job with this as northern states.”
| Prepared foods | National | PCYA* | Central | Central index | PCYA* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepared food | $16,818 | 5.6% | $8,771 | 52 | 11.5% |
| Commissary | $1,594 | 14.7% | $607 | 38 | 17.7% |
| Hot dispensed | $3,817 | 0.0% | $1,452 | 38 | 1.4% |
| Cold dispensed | $2,438 | 8.1% | $1,164 | 48 | 14.1% |
| Frozen dispensed | $314 | (14.9%) | $472 | 150 | 7.8% |
| Total foodservice | $17,349 | 5.9% | $7,784 | 45 | 10.9% |
Source: CSX LLC | * Percent change from a year ago
Continued: South Central U.S.
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