MILWAUKEE — Roundy's here has asked its merchandising team to work on developing in-store surprises — "non-advertised specials that offer great values to customers and enable us to make some extra money," Bob Mariano, chairman and chief executive officer, said during a conference call to discuss financial results — the company's first as a public company.
He said Roundy's plans to continue to invest in everyday pricing and to refine its promotional plans "to be more traffic-driven to attract the kind of customers we want coming through our doors."
Asked what Roundy's will do if gas prices rise past $5 a gallon, Mariano said, "We will try to help customers who are pinched for cash spread their money by being an exciting merchant and offering great values, which may mean we need to go to suppliers whose production may be down and make deals that enable us to get a better price so we can all make money."
Roundy's net income for the 13-week fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, was up 6.6% to $9.2 million, with sales up 2.2% to $968.7 million and same-store sales down 1.2%. Customer transactions were down 3.2%, and average transaction size was up 2%.
For the year, net income increased 4% to $48 million, while sales rose 2% to $3.8 billion. Same-store sales fell 0.2%, with customer transactions falling 2.6% and average transaction size up 2.5%.
The company said it anticipates sales growth in 2012 of 2.5% to 3.5% and same store sales growth between negative 1% and flat. Capital spending will fall between $65 million and $70 million — for four new Mariano's Fresh Markets in Chicago, two replacement stores in Wisconsin and an unspecified number of remodels — compared with cap-ex last year of $66.5 million.