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SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets plans to spend $90 million on growth in 2017.
Chairman and chief executive officer Jonathan Weis detailed the capital spending plan for the 204-store supermarket chain, which operates in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Virginia and West Virginia, at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The planned investments involve new stores, remodels, supply chain improvements and information technology upgrades.
“In 2017, we plan to invest $90 million in our growth,” Weis said. “Our budget includes 14 remodels, a new unit in Brunswick, Md., two fuel centers and the continued expansion of our distribution center in Milton, Pa. We also have seven new stores in the active planning stages and expect most of them to open in 2018.”
Weis also discussed the company’s recent acquisition and conversion of 44 stores and its 2016 results.
“Last year was one of tremendous growth and opportunity for our company. In 2016, we acquired 44 stores and converted them in just three months’ time, growing our store base by more than 20 percent,” Weis said. “As a result of our acquisition, we now operate 204 stores and expanded operations into two new states, adding Delaware and Virginia to our now seven state territory throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.”
Weis said the company’s legacy stores continued to perform at a high level in 2016, which was a 53-week year compared to 52-weeks in 2015. Adjusting for the extra week, the company’s 2016 sales increased 6.9% to $3.1 billion while comparable store sales increased 2.9%. Excluding a one-time gain, the company’s non-GAAP 2016 net income totaled $63.3 million, up 6.7% versus the prior year.Comparable store sales have increased for eleven consecutive quarters, he added.
