Harris Teeter 1999 Annual Report Download - page 11

7
1999 Annual Report
Q&A with Tad Dickson
Last year we discussed the trend of consolidation in
both of your industries. That trend has certainly con-
tinued. How has it affected Harris Teeter and A&E and
how will it impact them in the future?
Consolidation remains a dominant influence on both
industries and as such presents short- and long-term
opportunities for our companies.This year, regional con-
solidation afforded Harris Teeter the chance to buy a
block of stores in the Triad region of North Carolina from
The Kroger Co. and three stores in Atlanta, Georgia from
A&P. We considered both of these to be excellent stra-
tegic purchases and would like to do more. Also, A&E
initiated the bidding this year for Hicking Pentecost,
a U.K.-based thread manufacturing firm, and while we
were not ultimately successful, the consolidation occur-
ring in the industry presents us with new and different
opportunities to sell our products. We are still firmly
focused on growing through acquisitions and we devote
considerable effort to reviewing the competitive landscape
for appropriate, accretive and synergistic candidates.
What are your plans for growth at Harris Teeter?
In fiscal 2000, we expect a number of factors to
influence sales growth at Harris Teeter. First, the Kroger
stores we acquired in the third quarter in Greensboro
and Winston-Salem, North Carolina will be open for the
entire year and we expect sales there to be positively
impacted by our promotional programs. In addition, we
plan to escalate our new store openings in the next sev-
eral years.A number of these openings will occur in our
newer markets, including Nashville, Tennessee and the
Tidewater area of Virginia, and further expansion in the
Atlanta, Georgia area, where we will continue to build
our presence, including opening the three former A&P
stores we purchased this year. We are also very excited
about the opening of our first store in the northern
Virginia/Washington, D.C. market and we have identi-
fied several sites for future stores. The comprehensive
demographic data we have collected indicates that this
should be a highly successful market for Harris Teeter.
In addition, we continue to expand our private label
Thomas “Tad” W. Dickson joined A&E in 1980, became
its President in 1994 and became President of Ruddick
Corporation in 1997. Here he answers several questions
about industry consolidation and company growth.
Thomas W. Dickson
President