Low-price strategy boosts Stater Bros. Q1 results

Stater Bros. reported a substantial increase in net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and credited its long-time low-price strategy for its sales growth.



The company said it has remained committed to keeping prices as low as possible for its customers, and it’s paying off. Despite the competitive environment that exists in Southern California and the challenging economic climate, the company more than doubled its net income to $11.1 million from $5.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Net sales rose almost 2% to $984 million, to $968.7 million. Same-store sales grew 1.4%.



"During the extended economic downtown, we have sacrificed gross margin by not fully passing on the costs of inflation, which has allowed us to keep our prices low for our valued customers,” said Brown. “In addition, in order to continue to invest in our customers, we are constantly looking for opportunities where we can reduce our costs in areas such as improving our shrink or product loss, and improving our efficiencies at both our stores and in our distribution facility.”