−Removed: Ingles Markets, Incorporated, a North Carolina corporation (collectively with its subsidiaries, (“Ingles,” or the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), a leading supermarket chain in the southeast United States, operates 198 supermarkets in North Carolina (75), Georgia (65), South Carolina (35), Tennessee (21), Virginia (1) and Alabama (1).
+Added: Ingles Markets, Incorporated, a North Carolina corporation (collectively with its subsidiaries, “Ingles,” or the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), is a leading supermarket chain in the southeast United States and operates a total of 198 supermarkets in North Carolina (75), Georgia (65), South Carolina (35), Tennessee (21), Virginia (1) and Alabama (1).
The Company remodels, expands and relocates stores in these communities and builds stores in new locations to retain and grow its customer base while retaining a high level of customer service and convenience.
5 unchanged sentences
The Company’s new and remodeled supermarkets provide an enhanced level of customer convenience in order to accommodate the lifestyle of today’s shoppers.
−Removed: Design features of the Company’s modern stores focus on selling high-growth, high-margin products including perishable departments featuring local organic and home meal replacement items, in-store pharmacies, on-premises fuel centers, and an expanded selection of food and non-food items.
−Removed: The Company offers on-line ordering of its products for pickup at its stores.
−Removed: Substantially all of the Company’s stores are located within 280 miles of its warehouse and distribution facilities, near Asheville, North Carolina.
+Added: Design features of the Company’s modern stores focus on selling products in perishable departments featuring local organic and home meal replacement items, in-store pharmacies, on-premises fuel centers, and an expanded selection of food and non-food items.
+Added: The Company offers online ordering of its products for pickup at its stores.
+Added: Substantially all of the Company’s stores are located within 280 miles of the Company’s warehouse and distribution facilities, near Asheville, North Carolina.
The Company operates 1.65 million square feet of warehouse and distribution facilities.
36 unchanged sentences
Income before income taxes
−Removed: “Other” consists of fluid dairy operations and shopping center rentals.
The “Grocery” category includes grocery, dairy and frozen foods.
1 unchanged sentence
The “Perishables” category includes meat, produce, deli and bakery.
+Added: The “Other” category consists of fluid dairy operations and shopping center rentals.
Supermarket Operations
1 unchanged sentence
The “Sav-Mor” store concept accommodates smaller shopping areas and carries dry groceries, dairy, fresh meat and produce, all of which are displayed in a modern, readily accessible environment.
−Removed: Since March 2020, when the COVID 19 pandemic began, the Company’s stores have operated at an increased level and have experienced occasional product shortages.
−Removed: Recently, an extremely tight labor market has impacted the Company’s ability to attract and retain qualified store personnel, but these impacts have not materially affected our operations.
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the Company’s supermarket operations.
11 unchanged sentences
The Company plans to continue to incorporate these departments in substantially all future new and remodeled stores.
−Removed: Company trains its associates to provide friendly service and to actively address the needs of customers.
+Added: The Company trains its associates to provide friendly service and to actively address the needs of customers.
These associates reinforce the Company’s distinctive service-oriented image.
7 unchanged sentences
Selling Space (1) (2)
−Removed: (1) Weighted average sales per store include the effects of increases in square footage due to the opening of replacement stores and the expansion of stores through remodeling during the periods indicated, and gasoline sales.
+Added: (1) Weighted average sales per store include the effects of increases in square footage due to the opening of replacement stores and the expansion of stores through remodeling during the periods indicated, and fuel sales.
(2) Selling space is estimated to be 70% of total interior store square footage.
2 unchanged sentences
Management believes that this strategy fosters a loyal customer base by establishing a reputation for providing high quality products and a variety of specialty departments.
−Removed: The Company’s stores carry broad selections of quality meats, produce and other perishables.
+Added: The Company’s stores carry a broad selection of quality meats, produce and other perishables.
The Company offers a wide variety of fresh and non-perishable organic products, including organic milk produced by the Company’s fluid dairy plant.
5 unchanged sentences
Many stores offer daily selections of home meal replacement items, such as rotisserie chicken and pork, international foods, fried chicken and other entrees, sandwiches, pre-packaged salads, sushi, cut fruit and prepared fresh vegetables.
−Removed: The bakery offers an expanded selection of baked goods and self-service selections.
+Added: The bakery offers an expanded selection of baked goods and self-service options.
Ingles bakes most of its items on site, including bread baked daily, cakes made to order in various sizes, donuts and other pastries.
4 unchanged sentences
This service is currently offered at 129 of the Company’s stores, with additional stores expected to be added each month.
−Removed: Ingles intends to continue to increase sales of its private label brands, which typically carry higher margins than comparable branded products.
Ingles’ private labels cover a broad range of products throughout the store, such as milk, bread, organic products, soft drinks and canned goods.
−Removed: In addition to increasing margins, Ingles believes that private label sales help promote customer loyalty and provide a value-priced alternative to national brands.
−Removed: The Company seeks to maintain a reputation for providing friendly service, quality merchandise and customer value and for its commitment to locally-sourced product and community involvement.
+Added: Ingles believes that private label sales help promote customer loyalty and provide a value-priced alternative to national brands.
+Added: The Company seeks to maintain a reputation for providing friendly service, quality merchandise and customer value and for its commitment to locally-sourced products and community involvement.
The Company employs various advertising and promotional strategies to reinforce the quality and value of its products.
8 unchanged sentences
From time to time, the Company engages in advance purchasing on high-turnover inventory items to take advantage of special prices offered by manufacturers for limited periods, or to ensure adequate product supply during tight distribution market conditions.
−Removed: The remaining 45% of the Company’s inventory requirements, primarily beverages, pharmacy, gasoline, bread and snack foods, are supplied directly to the Company’s supermarkets by local distributors and manufacturers.
+Added: The remaining 43% of the Company’s inventory requirements, primarily beverages, pharmacy, fuel, bread and snack foods, are supplied directly to the Company’s supermarkets by local distributors and manufacturers.
Goods from the warehouse and distribution facilities and the milk processing and packaging plant are distributed to the Company’s stores by a fleet of 183 tractors and 864 trailers that the Company owns, operates and maintains.
1 unchanged sentence
The Company also operates truck servicing and fuel storage facilities at its warehouse and distribution facilities.
−Removed: The Company reduces its overall distribution costs by capitalizing on back-haul opportunities (contracting to transport merchandise on trucks that would otherwise be empty).
−Removed: During fiscal year 2022, the ongoing impact of the pandemic, tight labor market and inflation contributed to disruption in the receipt of some products and our distribution system encountered difficulty in getting product to our stores to meet spikes in customer demand.
−Removed: There is currently a nationwide shortage of truck drivers and warehouse workers, which has negatively impacted the Company’s distribution operations.
−Removed: At the present time, we do not know how long these current conditions will persist, but we do not anticipate that they will materially affect our overall operations.
+Added: The Company reduces its overall distribution costs by capitalizing on back-haul opportunities (contracting with third parties to transport their merchandise on our trucks that would otherwise be empty).
+Added: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, have eased considerably over the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, but the earlier portion of the pandemic substantially impacted supermarket operations, and some effects have continued through the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
+Added: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company implemented several enhanced cleaning and social distancing protocols designed to keep our customers and our associates safe and continued to monitor and update its protocols as the pandemic evolved.
+Added: Since March 2020, the Company’s stores have experienced increased customer traffic and occasional product shortages due to supply chain issues.
+Added: The currently tight labor market has impacted the Company’s ability to attract and retain qualified store personnel, but these impacts have not materially affected our operations.
+Added: The economy has continued to recover from the effects of the pandemic, which has included inflation not seen in decades.
+Added: Inflation impacts product costs, labor costs and the cost of other goods used by the Company, which could negatively impact our results of Operations.
+Added: While the COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared to have ended in May 2023, at the present time, we cannot predict how long and to what extent the ongoing effects of the pandemic and inflation will impact our sales and financial performance.
The Company receives product recall information from various subscription, government and vendor sources.
8 unchanged sentences
The construction of new stores by independent contractors is closely monitored and controlled by the Company.
−Removed: Recently, the Company has had a greater number of circumstances where an existing store was closed in order to build a new store building on the same site that reflects the Company’s current marketing strategies.
During fiscal year 2023, the Company slowed some of its new store and remodeling plans due to inflation and supply chain issues in building materials and equipment, as well as due to the tight labor market conditions for construction labor.
−Removed: At the present time, we do not know how long these conditions will persist, but the Company has continued to build and remodel stores albeit at what management believes will be a temporarily slower pace.
+Added: As described above, we cannot currently predict how long these conditions will persist, but the Company has continued to build and remodel stores albeit at what management believes will be a temporarily slower pace.
The Company renovates and remodels stores in order to increase customer traffic and sales, respond to existing customer demand, compete effectively against new stores opened by competitors and support its quality image merchandising strategy.
12 unchanged sentences
Average store size (sq.
−Removed: The Company’s ability to open new stores is subject to many factors, including the acquisition of satisfactory sites, as well as zoning limitations and other governmental regulation.
−Removed: In addition, the Company’s expansion, remodeling and replacement plans are continually reviewed and are subject to change.
+Added: The Company’s ability to open new stores is subject to many factors, including the acquisition of satisfactory sites, as well as zoning limitations and other government regulations.
+Added: In addition, the Company continually reviews its expansion, remodeling and replacement plans, which are subject to change.
See the “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section included in “Item 7.
17 unchanged sentences
In the third and fourth quarters, sales are affected by the return of customers to seasonal homes in the Company’s market area.
−Removed: During fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022, typical seasonality was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
−Removed: Beginning in March 2020, the general population began to spend more time at home working remotely and, in some cases, providing more childcare and education support from home.
−Removed: As the pandemic has eased, the tight labor market slowed the return to full capacity by certain restaurants.
−Removed: These factors contributed to increased sales in the Company’s supermarkets in excess of typical seasonal patterns.
−Removed: We currently expect that, as the pandemic eases over time, traditional seasonal patterns will resume.
The Company’s fluid dairy operations have a slight seasonal variation to the extent of its sales into the grocery industry.
7 unchanged sentences
however, competition for labor has become more intense, resulting in higher costs to attract and retain associates.
−Removed: Additionally, there is currently a nationwide shortage of truck drivers, warehouse workers and labor in general.
−Removed: The foregoing factors have resulted in a reduction in the number of our associates since the beginning of fiscal 2021, but we have been able to continue operations without material disruption.
The Company has various programs to ensure adequate store staffing levels at any given time during the week.
4 unchanged sentences
The Company employs various trademarks and service marks in its business, the most important of which are its own “Laura Lynn” and “Harvest Farms” private label trademarks, “The Ingles Advantage” service mark, and the “Ingles” service mark.
−Removed: These service marks and the trademarks are federally registered in the United States pursuant to applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of Ingles.
+Added: These service
+Added: marks and the trademarks are federally registered in the United States pursuant to applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of Ingles.
The Company believes it has all material licenses and permits necessary to conduct its business.
5 unchanged sentences
Each registration may be renewed for an additional ten-year term prior to its expiration.
−Removed: The Company intends to file all renewals timely.
+Added: The Company intends to timely file all renewals.
Each of the Company’s trademark license agreements has a one year term which, with respect to one license, is automatically renewed annually, unless the owner of the trademark provides notice of termination prior to the expiration date and, with respect to the other licenses, are renewed periodically by letter from the licensor.
Environmental Matters
−Removed: Under applicable environmental laws, the Company may be responsible for remediation of environmental conditions and may be subject to associated liabilities relating to its stores and other buildings and the land on which such stores and other buildings are situated (including responsibility and liability related to its operation of its gas stations and the storage of gasoline in underground storage tanks), regardless of whether the Company leases or owns the stores, other buildings or land in question and regardless of whether such environmental conditions were created by the Company or by a prior owner or tenant.
+Added: Under applicable environmental laws, the Company may be responsible for remediation of environmental conditions and may be subject to associated liabilities relating to its stores and other buildings and the land on which such stores and other buildings are situated (including responsibility and liability related to its operation of its gas stations and the storage of fuel in underground storage tanks), regardless of whether the Company leases or owns the stores, other buildings or land in question and regardless of whether such environmental conditions were created by the Company or by a prior owner or tenant.
The presence of contamination from hazardous or toxic substances, or the failure to properly remediate such contaminated property, may adversely affect the Company’s ability to sell or rent such real property or to borrow using such real property as collateral.
10 unchanged sentences
Food and Drug Administration, the U.S.
−Removed: Department of Agriculture, OSHA, and other federal, state and local agencies.
+Added: Department of Agriculture, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other federal, state and local agencies.
The Company’s stores are also subject to local laws regarding zoning, land use and the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
2 unchanged sentences
Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.