Village Super Market reports uptick in fiscal 2021 sales

ShopRite operator Village Super Market Inc. saw net and same-store sales edge up for its 2021 fiscal year, with comparable sales boosted by strong e-commerce results.

For the 53 weeks ended July 31, overall sales came in at $2.03 billion, up 2% from $1.8 billion in fiscal 2020, which had 52 weeks, Springfield, N.J.-based Village Super Market said Tuesday. The company noted that, excluding the impact of the 53rd week, the top line still rose due to sales contributed by five acquired Fairway Market stores in New York City, a replacement ShopRite store in Stroudsburg, Pa., and increased same-store sales.

Comp-store sales for 2021 gained 1.8% year over year and were up 7.5% on a two-year stacked basis, Village Super Market reported. Online sales jumped 68% for the year and were up 219% over two years, fueled by big gains from surging consumer demand in the early part of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.

In the 14-week fourth quarter, sales climbed 7.1% to $536.3 million from $501.3 million the 13-week quarter a year ago. Excluding the extra week, sales dipped 0.1% due to the February 2020 closing of a ShopRite store in Silver Spring, Md., partially offset by the Fairway stores acquisitions and decrease same-store sales, Village Super Market said. Comp-store sales edged down 0.1% year over year but grew 7.4% on a two-year stack. Likewise, digital sales in the quarter fell 22% — compared with high e-commerce volume a year ago — but were up 172% over two years, according to the company.

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“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced higher average basket sizes and decreased transaction counts as customers have consolidated shopping trips. Additionally, both food inflation and increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits positively impacted sales,” Village Super Market stated.

“Same-store digital sales growth accelerated through both ShopRite from Home and partnerships with online grocery picking and delivery services,” the retailer reported. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, fiscal 2021 sales at Fairway and Gourmet Garage locations in Manhattan have been significantly negatively impacted due primarily to residential population migration out of the city and less commuter and tourist traffic.”

At the bottom line, Village Super Market posted net earnings of $19.99 million, or $1.37 per diluted Class A common stock share ($1.00 Class B), for the 53-week fiscal 2021, compared with $24.94 million, or $1.72 per diluted Class A common stock share ($1.25 Class B) in 52-week fiscal 2020. Adjusted net income came in at $18.91 million versus $23.09 million in fiscal 2020.

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Fourth-quarter 2021 net income was $9.5 million over 14 weeks, or 65 cents per diluted Class A common stock share (47 cents Class B), up from $9.23 million, or 63 cents per diluted Class A common stock share (46 cents Class B), in the 13-week 2020 quarter. Adjusted net earnings totaled $8.7 million in the 2021 fourth quarter versus $5.8 million a year earlier.

A member of the Wakefern Food Corp. cooperative and run by the Sumas family, Village Super Market operates 29 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania; five Fairway upscale grocery stores in metropolitan New York (four in Manhattan and one in Westchester County’s Pelham Manor); and three Gourmet Garage specialty markets in New York City.