Sponsored By

Ingles Markets to pay third COVID-19 bonus to workers

Frontline associates have ‘met the daily challenge,’ Chairman Robert Ingle says

Russell Redman

September 28, 2020

2 Min Read
Ingles_Markets-store_banner-closeup_0.png
The latest bonuses represent an investment of $5 million, mirroring the payments that Ingles Markets made in late April and at the end of July.Ingles Markets

Regional grocer Ingles Markets plans to pay frontline workers a third cash bonus for their extra efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ingles Markets said Friday that full- and part-time retail, distribution and corporate associates will receive bonus payments of $300 and $150, respectively, in mid-November. Associates hired on or before July 24 are eligible for the bonuses.

“Since the spring, our associates have met the daily challenge of providing what our customers need in a safe and clean environment,” Chairman Robert Ingle said in a statement. “Our associates have made a difference during this unprecedented time. We are incredibly proud of them and wish to show appreciation for their efforts,” he added.

The latest bonuses represent an investment of $5 million, mirroring the payments that Ingles made in late April and at the end of July.

In announcing the first appreciation payments in April, Ingles Markets also unveiled plans to add more than 5,000 workers to help current associates and meet extra demands brought by the COVID-19 crisis. The new positions bolstered the workforce in the chain’s supermarkets and distribution center. At the time, the company said the hirings would expand its workforce of about 27,000 employees by 19%.

Related:Ingles Markets posts another double-digit sales gain in Q3

Last month, Ingles Markets reported that heightened demand for groceries, spurred by the pandemic, lifted net sales 12% year over year for the third quarter ended June 27. Excluding fuel, total grocery comparable-store sales rose 23.1% versus a year earlier. 

“Comparing the third quarters of fiscal years 2020 and 2019 (and excluding gasoline), the number of customer transactions decreased 10.3% and the average transaction size increased 26.6%,” Ingles Markets stated in its third-quarter 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “We believe that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, customers consolidated trips to our stores, resulting in a lower transaction count and a higher spend per visit.”

Asheville, N.C.-based Ingles Markets operates 197 supermarkets in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia, including 109 in-store pharmacies and 106 fuel centers. The company’s grocery operations also include 1.65 million square feet of warehouse and distribution facilities as well as a milk processing and packaging plant that supplies its stores and unaffiliated customers.

For our most up-to-date coverage, visit the coronavirus homepage.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like