Commenting on the company's first quarter results, J. Wayne
Harris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Grand Union, said:
"The positive start to our new fiscal year reflects a continuation of
the strong progress we made all through fiscal 1999. In our view, last
year's achievements and this year's programs are paving the way for
more progress going forward."
"We're building sales in our key markets," Harris continued,
"enhancing gross margins and growing EBITDA. Also, when you adjust the
prior year's EBITDA for Easter, we were up more than 20%
year-over-year in that key measure in our first quarter. Now, we are
adding new locations, remodeling and expanding stores, upgrading store
decor and rejuvenating our merchandising efforts to build volume and
improve margins, and that strategy is on target to stimulate further
improvement."
Harris added: "Results to date are beginning to illustrate Grand
Union's potential. We are focused on being better merchants while we
remain vigilant on cost reduction. By doing those fundamental things
well - and doing them consistently over time - we have been able to
improve our overall performance and bolster our financial resources.
We now have the capital strength required to fund a broad program of
store improvements, to expand retail square footage through dynamic
new stores, and to institute merchandising enhancements that will
bring more shoppers into our stores and grow our market shares."
At Grand Union's annual meeting of stockholders being held today
in Mahwah, N.J., Harris will outline the depth and strength of the
company's capital investment plan. "Through our capital improvement
program, we are sending a strong message to consumers that there is a
New Grand Union committed to providing a high-quality, very
competitive shopping experience," Harris said
"We are off to a strong start in our new fiscal year," Harris
continued. "We beat our internal targets for the first quarter, and we
fully expect continued improvement in the balance of the year. Our
objective is to consistently outperform our plan, surpass investors'
expectations, and achieve the fastest possible return to net
profitability. As we work to accomplish these goals, we will continue
to keep our stockholders and the investment community fully informed
of our progress." |
