PORTLAND, OR - Smart & Final has announced plans to rebrand its foodservice-focused subsidiary Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice, rebranding the banner “Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores” in a move intended to better communicate its mission—selling quality ingredients and restaurant supplies in a simple, convenient warehouse format.
“The updated name better reflects our mission and provides a much clearer message to current and future customers about the products and services we offer. This new name is a much more accurate reflection of who we are and what we do,” said Derek Jones, President, Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores and Executive Vice President, Smart & Final.
News of the rebrand comes on the heels of parent company Smart & Final’s first quarter financial results. The company reported mixed results, with increases in year-over-year sales, EBITDA, and robust e-commerce growth, despite posting a net loss.
“There are a number of performance highlights to note in the quarter, including a year-over-year net sales increase of 5.1 percent and over 17 percent growth in adjusted EBITDA” said David Hirz, President and CEO. “Despite continuing promotional activity within the grocery landscape, we were able to improve our gross margin rate driven by maturing new stores, merchandising initiatives aimed at both household and business customers, and the expansion of our marketing channels. We've also been successfully growing our business customer sales, a key differentiator for us in the market.”
Highlights from the company’s fiscal Q1 include:
- Net sales increased 5.1% to $1,016.2 million with a comparable store sales increase of 1.2%
- Gross margin increased 9.9%
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.3% to $28.6 million
- Net loss of $7.1 million or $0.10 per share
- Adjusted net loss of $2.8 million or $0.04 per share
- Expanded Smart & Final banner online channels by adding the Shop Smart & Final mobile app
Hirz also noted robust e-commerce growth as a potential vehicle for future profitability.
“E-commerce sales increased over 85 percent, off a small base, and we have a robust plan for growing our e-commerce capabilities in both banners in 2018, with first quarter accomplishments including the launch of our Shop Smart & Final mobile app,” Hirz continued. “We expect the development of our e-commerce and related offerings will support customer traffic, through both customer acquisition and retention, as adoption of this channel accelerates.”
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