While the c-store industry has had an “incredible” past two years, it is also not immune from a “perfect storm” of poor business conditions: declining transactions and shrinking fuel margins but increasing DSOE.
With this in mind, Andy Jones, president and CEO of Sprint Food Stores, Augusta, Ga., urged retailers to concentrate on what they can control in 2016: growing merchandise and foodservice sales. Fortunately, a review of 2015 sales and profit figures for the top in-store categories reveals several opportunities for doing just that.
Expenses
Direct-store operating expenses (DSOE) rose again in 2015, with health insurance, wages and other benefits driving the increase.
Direct-store operating expenses
| Item | 2015 expense* | PCYA** |
|---|---|---|
| Wages and benefits | $26,297 | 7.3% |
| Credit-card charges | $6,595 | (11.5%) |
| Utilities | $3,370 | 1.2% |
| Repairs and maintenance | $3,468 | 6.9% |
| Supplies | $1,648 | 4.3% |
| Total DSOE | $48,786 | 3.0% |
| Facility expense | $11,743 | 7.6% |
Total DSOE and facility expense | $60,528 | 3.8% |
Wages and Benefits Breakdown
| Item | 2015 Expense* | PCYA** |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | $21,392 | 7.4% |
| Health insurance | $1,994 | 12.5% |
| Payroll taxes | $1,954 | 1.8% |
| Other benefits | $1,371 | 8.0% |
| Workers’ compensation | $534 | (10.4%) |
| Total | $26,297 | 7.3% |
3.0% - Increase in direct-store operating expenses in 2015
Same-Firm Productivity*
Top-quartile retailers enjoyed significantly lower nonmanager and manager turnover than other quartiles in 2015, while driving higher in-store gross profits.
Break-even cents per gallon (CPG) was more than 10 CPG lower for top-quartile operators than those in the lowest quartile.
Labor Productivity
| Top quartile | Second quartile | Third quartile | Bottom quartile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-store sales per labor hour | $93.35 | $96.20 | $77.95 | $80.05 |
| In-store gross-profit dollars per labor hour | $32.50 | $28.69 | $22.86 | $23.07 |
| Labor cost per hour | $15.21 | $15.90 | $13.05 | $14.86 |
| Nonmanagers’ annual turnover | 73.9% | 104.0% | 115.9% | 97.6% |
| Managers’ annual turnover | 17.7% | 24.6% | 32.0% | 22.5% |
Facility Productivity
| Top quartile | Bottom quartile | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallons sold | 222,805 | 109,415 | 2.0X |
| Merchandise sales | $169,420 | $86,863 | 2.0X |
| Foodservice sales | $59,768 | $13,730 | 4.4X |
| In-store gross-margin % | 33.7% | 28.8% | 4.9 points |
| Cigarette gross-margin % | 12.3% | 12.2% | 0.1 point |
| Average square feet | 3,533 | 2,788 | 1.3X |
| In-store sales per square foot | $64.30 | $35.99 | 1.8X |
Capital Productivity
| Tope quartile | Bottom quartile | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store operating profit | $42,314 | $4,977 | 8.5X |
| Store operating profit per square foot | $11.98 | $1.79 | 6.7X |
| Break-even CPG | 8.20 | 18.34 | (10.14) |
| EBITDA*** | $41,198 | $5,718 | 7.2X |
| EBITDARL**** | $48,396 | $11,860 | 4.1X |
| Net profit margin (pretax/sales) | 4.31% | 0.07% | 4.24 points |
| ROCE***** | 15.27% | 1.96% | 13.31 points |
* Per store per month | ** Percent change from a year ago |*** Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization | **** Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization with rents and leases added back in | ***** Return on capital employed | Source: NACS preliminary data. Final data to appear in the NACS® State of the Industry Report of 2015 Data.
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