Harris Teeter 2000 Annual Report Download - page 8

Amy Kirkpatrick is an operator
in A&E’s cocoon bobbin winding
department, where bobbins are
manufactured for the multi-needle
quilting industry, for products
such as comforters, bedspreads
and jacket linings.
Both our subsidiaries operate in industries traditionally
considered slower growth, so consistent annual sales growth is
key to Ruddick’s success.While both Harris Teeter and American
& Efird (A&E) continually review acquisition opportunities, this
year’s growth came primarily through internal expansion, includ-
ing the fortification of existing markets, geographic expansion
and the rollout of new product lines.
Harris Teeter: Market and Product Expansion
We continued to extend our geographic reach at Harris
Teeter during fiscal 2000 and strengthened some of our newer
markets by opening more stores. After expansion further south
into Jacksonville, Florida during fiscal 1999 with two stores,
we opened our first two stores in the exciting northern Virginia/
Washington D.C. market during this year. We have current plans
to open another five stores there in fiscal 2001 and 2002. Five of
the nine new stores opened during fiscal 2000 were in Atlanta,
Georgia, where our total of 12 area stores now gives us an
increased base of operations there.We also added another store to
bring to five the number we now have in the Virginia Tidewater
market. Harris Teeter is also pleased with the growth we’ve expe-
rienced in our private label products; as a percent of total sales,
these products have nearly doubled in the last five years and
equaled almost 20% at fiscal year end. Recently we were
awarded the 2000 Salute to Excellence award in the supermarket
category from the Private Label Manufacturers Association on
the basis of our commitment and success with superior market-
ing, merchandising, innovation and packaging. This year we
introduced our newest label, H.T. Traders™, which will feature
upscale imported products from a variety of countries around the
world and which has already proved immensely popular with our
customers. We also have successfully focused on enlarging our
health and beauty care offerings.
Continued Success of Harris Teeter VIC Card
We believe our Very Important Customer (VIC) loyalty card
program has some of the highest customer penetration rates in
the industry.The program not only offers great values to our cus-
tomers, it is providing us with detailed proprietary data about
what they buy and allows us to target market to them more
effectively. The quality of that data and the ways that we utilize
it continually improve. Promotional and merchandising activities
tied to the VIC card also allow us to respond more effectively
to competitive challenges such as the growth of grocery sales at
3
96 97 98 99 00
1.83 1.93 2.13 2.27 2.33
Total Sales – Harris Teeter
In Billions of Dollars
96 97 98 99 00
309 369 355 352 350
Total Sales – American & Efird
In Millions of Dollars
2000 Sales by Subsidiary
■Harris Teeter ■American & Efird
87%
13%