Story from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal:
Grocery store chains across the country have reported a boon in profits this year as recession-hit households eat at home more and seek food bargains.
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Asheville, N.C.-based Ingles Markets Inc. reported that its sales increased to $789.2 million for the first three months of 2009, compared with $782.8 million during the same quarter last year.
When asked whether people are shopping and seeking bargains to eat at home in lieu of eating out, Ron Freeman, chief financial officer for Ingles, summed up his answer with an emphatic “definitely.”
“Sales of private-label products like our Laura Lynn brand are up, and we’re experiencing good customer response when popular items go on sale,” Freeman said.
Other retailers, including Bi-Lo, Wal-Mart, Publix and Kroger — which does not have any stores in Spartanburg, but has several dotted across South Carolina — reported profit increases during the first quarter and first half of the year.