SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Stater Bros. Holdings here said Tuesday it is continuing to sacrifice gross profit in the short term to retain customer loyalty in the long term. That strategy was reflected in financial results for the third quarter that ended June 28.
For the 13-week quarter net income fell 60.3% to $6 million, while sales declined 3.1% to $900 million and same-store sales dropped 1.2%; for the 39-week year-to-date period net income was down 37.3% to $18.7 million, while sales dropped 3.9% to $2.7 billion and same-store sales fell 2.2%.
With the sale of Santee Dairies during the first quarter, the company said sales were down $28.6 million in the quarter, of which $23 million resulted from the sale; and down $109.4 million for the year to date, of which $72.6 million was due to the sale of the dairy assets. Excluding the dairy assets, sales were down 0.6% for the quarter and 1.3% for the year to date.
With unemployment in most of Stater's marketing area close to 15%, "the current economic environment has impacted our customers' family budgets and made them even more conscious of getting value for their food dollars," Jack Brown, chairman and chief executive officer, said. "A cornerstone of our business strategy is to retain their loyalty by providing them the best value possible, which includes not only being competitive on price but also providing our customers with unparalleled customer service. We remain focused on controlling our operating cost while providing our customers with the service they have come to expect and the low prices they need."
