Profit & Loss $ - Selected Items
Group |
Total Sales |
Gross Profit Margin $ |
Labor |
Rent |
Advertising & Marketing |
Other |
Net Profit/Loss |
1 |
$5,379,585 |
$2,015,192 |
$1,131,865 |
$188,285 |
$71,548 |
$497,074 |
$126,420 |
2 |
$1,508,673 |
$575,710 |
$310,032 |
$100,025 |
$19,236 |
$104,777 |
$41,639 |
3 |
$1,240,796 |
$486,144 |
$245,305 |
$65,886 |
$11,353 |
$139,279 |
$24,320 |
4 |
$963,741 |
$395,616 |
$170,582 |
$45,199 |
$6,264 |
$126,539 |
$47,031 |
5 |
$436,750 |
$177,364 |
$69,006 |
$21,663 |
$3,407 |
$59,922 |
$23,366 |
Average |
$1,592,628 |
$610,012 |
$322,015 |
$70,370 |
$18,686 |
$155,024 |
$43,916 |
Annual Net Profit
Group |
% Perishables Range |
Total Sales |
Annual Net Profit $ |
Annual Net Profit % |
1 |
51-100 |
$5,379,585 |
$126,420 |
2.35% |
2 |
30-50 |
$1,508,673 |
$41,639 |
2.76% |
3 |
10-29 |
$1,240,796 |
$24,320 |
1.96% |
4 |
1-9 |
$963,741 |
$47,031 |
4.88% |
5 |
<1 |
$436,750 |
$23,366 |
5.35% |
Average |
39% |
$1,592,628 |
$43,916 |
2.76% |
Net profit dollars ranged from $23,366 in Group 5's small supplement stores to $126,420 in Group 1's large perishables stores. Once again, we see stores in Group 3, the mid-range for perishables, 10% to 29% of sales, averaging about 2,800 gross lease area square feet, are too big to be small, and too small to be big. Meaning, they don't carry a critical mass of fresh foods that attracts daily shoppers looking for dinner items, but must cover a large rent for the extra square footage required for walk-in coolers and refrigeration. As a result, profits suffer, at 1.96% of sales, and just $24,320.
Annual Net Profit $ & %
Group |
Total Sales |
Annual Net Profit $ |
Annual Net Profit % |
1 |
$5,379,585 |
$126,420 |
2.35% |
2 |
$1,508,673 |
$41,639 |
2.76% |
3 |
$1,240,796 |
$24,320 |
1.96% |
4 |
$963,741 |
$47,031 |
4.88% |
5 |
$436,750 |
$23,366 |
5.35% |
Average |
$1,592,628 |
$43,916 |
2.76% |
Annual $ Sales by Department
Group |
Supplements & Vitamins |
HABA |
Dry Grocery |
Refrig Grocery |
Frozen |
Produce |
Prepared Foods |
Bulk |
Non-Food HHD |
Total |
1 |
$309,369 |
$173,914 |
$1,071,162 |
$969,871 |
$510,156 |
$1,047,047 |
$688,188 |
$264,265 |
$345,613 |
$5,379,585 |
2 |
$480,846 |
$154,415 |
$155,129 |
$174,157 |
$138,138 |
$159,067 |
$126,225 |
$32,809 |
$87,888 |
$1,508,673 |
3 |
$541,074 |
$144,084 |
$213,057 |
$57,455 |
$74,471 |
$19,526 |
$47,538 |
$46,517 |
$97,075 |
$1,240,796 |
4 |
$645,436 |
$115,590 |
$111,863 |
$23,920 |
$12,653 |
$3,119 |
$2,076 |
$25,465 |
$23,618 |
$963,741 |
5 |
$365,970 |
$36,401 |
$19,187 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$836 |
$14,356 |
$436,750 |
Avg. |
$456,718 |
$107,678 |
$254,278 |
$188,570 |
$113,315 |
$187,730 |
$132,610 |
$59,176 |
$92,553 |
$1,592,628 |
Dollar sales by product department reveal smaller, supplement-focused stores sell far more vitamins, minerals and specialty items than do larger fresh-food stores.And as you'd expect, the larger the store, the more refrigerated, frozen, fresh produce and prepared foods it sells.
$ Year-Over-Year Change by Department
Group |
Supps & Vitamins |
HABA |
Dry Grocery |
Refrigerated |
Frozen |
Produce |
Prepared Foods |
Bulk |
Non-Food, HHD |
Total |
1 |
-$1,123 |
-$510 |
$32,302 |
$40,274 |
$19,737 |
$65,610 |
$47,359 |
$5,665 |
$947 |
$210,260 |
2 |
$1,252 |
$269 |
$1,224 |
$6,821 |
$5,034 |
$8,977 |
$6,855 |
$533 |
$850 |
$31,815 |
3 |
$11,852 |
$1,179 |
$1,166 |
$245 |
$159 |
-$90 |
$0 |
$432 |
$529 |
$15,472 |
4 |
$4,925 |
-$139 |
$1,902 |
$103 |
$47 |
$0 |
$0 |
$329 |
$12 |
$7,178 |
Annual & Weekly Labor Costs
Group |
% Perishables Range |
Total Sales |
Annual Labor % |
Weekly Labor $ |
Labor % |
1 |
51-100 |
$5,379,585 |
$1,131,865 |
$21,767 |
21.04% |
2 |
30-50 |
$1,508,673 |
$310,032 |
$5,962 |
20.55% |
3 |
10-29 |
$1,240,796 |
$245,305 |
$4,717 |
19.77% |
4 |
1-9 |
$963,741 |
$170,582 |
$3,280 |
17.70% |
5 |
<1 |
$436,750 |
$69,006 |
$1,327 |
15.80% |
Average |
39% |
$1,592,628 |
$322,015 |
$6,193 |
20.22% |
Labor hasn't gotten cheaper, averaging 20.22% overall in this year's survey. Small supplement stores kept labor in the affordable mid- to high- teens, 15.8% to 17.7%, respectively, for Groups 4 and 5. But larger perishables stores in Groups 1 and 2 appeared to have to pay a premium for professional culinary help, driving labor costs to 21.04% and 20.55%, respectively.
Monthly Rent
Group |
Total Sales |
Annual Rent $ |
Monthly Rent $ |
Rent per GLA SF |
Rent % |
1 |
$5,379,585 |
$188,285 |
$15,690 |
$30.80 |
3.50% |
2 |
$1,508,673 |
$100,025 |
$8,335 |
$21.03 |
6.63% |
3 |
$1,240,796 |
$65,886 |
$5,491 |
$23.50 |
5.31% |
4 |
$963,741 |
$45,199 |
$3,767 |
$19.55 |
4.69% |
5 |
$436,750 |
$21,663 |
$1,805 |
$17.55 |
4.96% |
Average |
$1,592,628 |
$70,370 |
$5,864 |
$23.99 |
4.42% |
Remember, the average age of stores in our survey is 31 years; long enough to benefit from favorable long-term leases, and enough time to reach a mature sales level. Rents overall came in at 4.42%.
Monthly Advertising & Marketing Spend
Group |
% Perishables Range |
Total Sales |
Monthly Advertising/Marketing |
Advertising/Marketing % |
1 |
51-100 |
$5,379,585 |
$5,962 |
1.33% |
2 |
30-50 |
$1,508,673 |
$1,603 |
1.28% |
3 |
10-29 |
$1,240,796 |
$946 |
0.92% |
4 |
1-9 |
$963,741 |
$522 |
0.65% |
5 |
<1 |
$436,750 |
$284 |
0.78% |
Average |
39% |
$1,592,628 |
$1,557 |
1.17% |
Advertising and marketing expenses clustered around 1% of sales, consistent with prior years' surveys. Retailers tell us word-of--mouth is still able to drive awareness and sales.
Breakdown of Advertising & Marketing Spend
Group |
Monthly Advertising/Marketing |
Radio |
TV |
Direct Mail |
Yellow Pages |
Website |
Online Ads |
Social Media |
In-Store Materials |
Other |
1 |
$5,962 |
$1,780 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$178 |
$0 |
$3,560 |
$445 |
$0 |
2 |
$1,603 |
$588 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$118 |
$20 |
$858 |
$20 |
$0 |
3 |
$946 |
$654 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$133 |
$49 |
$25 |
$86 |
$0 |
4 |
$522 |
$181 |
$123 |
$96 |
$82 |
$12 |
$0 |
$8 |
$20 |
$0 |
5 |
$284 |
$114 |
$127 |
$0 |
$0 |
$13 |
$6 |
$7 |
$7 |
$10 |
Average |
$1,863 |
$663 |
$50 |
$19 |
$16 |
$91 |
$15 |
$892 |
$115 |
$2 |
Average monthly advertising and marketing spend was $1,863 across all five store groups. Our two large fresh-foods stores spent most heavily, at $5,962 per month for Group 1 and $1,603 for Group 2. Social media saw the most dollars invested monthly, averaging $892 in the survey, but skewed heavily towards Groups 1 and 2, which spent $3,560 and $858 per month, respectively. All groups took advantage of radio advertising, averaging $663 per month in the survey, but once again skewing heavily towards Group 1, at $1,780 per month. In-store materials enjoyed strong support across all survey groups, averaging $115 per month, with Group 1 spending the most; $445.
Advertising/Promotion Strategies
Social media |
69% |
In-store materials ( lectures, handouts, sampling, store newsletters, etc.) |
52% |
Website(s) |
48% |
Radio |
29% |
Online ads |
22% |
Direct mail |
21% |
other |
16% |
TV |
10% |
None |
7% |
Yellow Pages |
5% |
A large majority (69%) of retailers advertise and promote their business through social media, and over half (52%) use in-store materials and events such as lectures, handouts, sampling and store newsletters. Just under half (48%) use owned websites, and nearly a third (29%) spend ad dollars on radio. Another 22% take out online ads on third-party platforms. More than one in five (21%) take advantage of direct mail, and 10% allocate ad spending to TV. One in 20 (5%) still find the Yellow Pages useful, and 16% use some other form of advertising and promotion such as local newspapers and sponsoring sports and other events. Local business coupon booklets, billboard and public transport ad spaces, and good old word-of-mouth all play a role in store promotional activities. A surprising number (7%) told us they don't do any advertising or promotion; significantly larger than in recent surveys.
Merchandising Methods
Educational handouts |
63% |
Social media/blogs |
60% |
In-store sampling/demos |
56% |
Printed newsletters available in-store |
31% |
E-mailed newsletters |
31% |
Consumer lectures |
21% |
Online database of nutritional info |
17% |
None |
6% |
Other |
2% |
About 7 in 10 (69%) of survey respondents employ educational handouts in-store. Nearly 2 in 3 (65%) utilize social media and blogs to get the word out, and are willing to spend on this method to do so. A strong majority, 60%, use in-store sampling and demos. One in three (33%) provide customers with a printed store newsletter, and the same percentage email their store newsletter. Just under a quarter (23%) present consumer lectures, and about a fifth (19%) rely on online nutrition databases. Six percent of respondents are unashamed to admit they use no merchandising method whatsoever. Other responses: reward program, free magazines.
