After a disappointing 2013 and a 90.4 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, Greensboro, N.C.-based specialty grocer The Fresh Market is modifying its real estate expansion plans and will close several stores in the Houston and Sacramento markets.
The Business Journal reports that The Fresh Market reported late Thursday net income of $2 million, or 4 cents per share, down 90.4 percent from $20.6 million, or 43 cents per share, the year prior.
The company reported revenues of $425.8 million in the fourth quarter, up 15 percent from $369.9 million in the year-ago period. For the full year, The Fresh Market had $1.5 billion in sales, a record high, which rose from $1.3 billion a year ago.
The Fresh Market CEO Craig Carlock said that the company will take a more cautious approach to entering new major metropolitan markets in the coming year and place a greater emphasis on existing market expansion, concentrating more on the Southeast. The company plans to open between 23 and 25 stores in fiscal 2014, seven of which will be in Florida.
“This revised real estate plan will allow us to grow profitably and predictably,” Carlock said.
Meanwhile, The Fresh Market is closing several stores in Houston and Sacramento, which “have faced meaningful profitability hurdles and weighed on corporate earnings,” Carlock said.
CFO Jeff Ackerman said that the company has identified a number of corporate redundancies and better management on store operating costs.
