Ingles Markets, Inc. (stylized as ingles) is an American supermarket chain based in Black Mountain, North Carolina.[3] As of September 2021, the company operates 198 supermarkets in the Appalachian region of the Southeastern United States. The company is listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IMKTA and is part of the Global Select Market tier of trading.[1]
 | |
 An Ingles location in Candler, NC | |
| Formerly | Ingles Corner Shop |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Nasdaq: IMKTA (Class A) NASDAQ | |
| Industry | Retail grocery |
| Founded | 1963, in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Founder | Robert P. Ingle |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 198[1] |
Areas served | |
Key people | Robert P. Ingle II (chairman of the board) James W. Lanning (president, CEO) Brian S. Worley (vice president) Laura Ingle Sharp (director) |
| Products | Bakery, delicatessen, seafood, meat, produce, snacks, drinks, frozen foods, health & beauty, general merchandise, pharmacy |
| Brands | Laura Lynn and Harvest Farms[1] (private label) |
| Revenue |  US$5 billion (2021)[2] |
| US$350 million (2017)[2] | |
| US$250 million (2021)[2] | |
| Total assets | US$2 billion (2021)[2] |
| Total equity | US$983 million (2021)[2] |
| Owner | Ingle Family (50%) |
Number of employees | 26,000 (2021) |
| Subsidiaries | Milkco, Inc. Sav-mor foods |
| Website | ingles-markets |
As an adjunct to its supermarket business, Ingles owns and operates shopping centers, gas stations and a milk processing plant.[1]
History
editThe first Ingles store was opened by second-generation grocer Robert P. Ingle in 1963 and is located in Asheville, North Carolina.[4][5] Ingle had worked in his father's store since he was five years old and was unable to convince his father to build a large store. The younger Ingle had a vision of 4000 square feet. When Elmer Ingle died in the 1950s, Robert Ingle sold the store because his mother could not run it. Seven years later at age 29, Ingle decided to build a new 10,000-square-foot store. He would have to compete with larger chains and with independent stores that used cooperative distributors.[6]
To start his business, Ingle joined with his mother and sister, and they used all of their savings and a mortgage on the house. The first store opened on Hendersonville Road. In one year, that store was expanded, and in another year, a second location opened on Patton Avenue. Ingles was incorporated in 1965 in the state of North Carolina.[1] In 1967, the company bought six Colonial supermarkets.[6]
In 1982, Ingles purchased a milk processing plant from Sealtest, which it operates as Milkco Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary.[7] Two-thirds of Milkco's business, which was later expanded beyond dairy to include products such as citrus, tea, and bottled water, is from food service distributors, grocery warehouses, and independent specialty retailers located in 17 states as of 2010.[8] Ingles became a publicly traded company in 1987.[1]
In the 2000s, the chain started building "Ingles Gas Express" gas stations with many of its newer stores.[citation needed] 107 of 198 locations now have fuel stations.[1]
In February 2005, Ingles Markets announced it would restate financial statements for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 and the first three quarters of 2004, to correct the accounting for vendor allowances and certain other items.[9] The restatement was a significant factor in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issuing a Wells notice to the firm in January 2006, indicating that it might bring an enforcement action against it.[10] A settlement was reached with the SEC in April 2006 that did not require payment of a monetary penalty.[11]
Following the death of Robert Ingle on March 6, 2011, his son Robert P. Ingle II became CEO.[12]
In December 2012 and December 2013, the company collaborated with Eblen Charities' St. Nicholas Project on what they called "Ingles Toy Store," offering "toys, games, clothes and stocking stuffers" to needy North Carolina families.[13]
In July 2021, Ingles collaborated with Creating A Family.[14]
In September 2024, Ingles was severely impaired by flooding from Hurricane Helene. The company's distribution center in Swannanoa was surrounded by water from the adjacent Swannanoa River. That and the closure of major highways throughout western North Carolina led to shortages on store shelves.[15] The chain's credit card transactions are handled at its Asheville-area headquarters, which was flooded, causing all stores in the chain to accept only cash and check payments for days. Some stores without power and water temporarily closed, hampering rural communities with only one supermarket at a time when clean water and food was sorely needed.[16][17] Lines formed outside other stores as staff allowed, in some cases, only five shoppers inside at a time.[18][19]
Operations
editIngles owns 163 of its 198 supermarkets either as free-standing locations or in shopping centers where it is the anchor tenant. The remaining 35 locations are leased from various unaffiliated third parties.[1] The company also owns 23 undeveloped sites which are suitable for a free-standing store or shopping center development.[1] The company owns numerous outparcels and other acreage located adjacent to the shopping centers and supermarkets it owns. Real estate owned by the company is generally located in the same geographic regions as its supermarkets.[1] Ingles also operates 111 pharmacies and 107 gas stations at select retail locations.[1] As of 2023, Ingles had a workforce of approximately 25,000 associates.[1]
Ingles also owns and operates nine supermarkets under the name “Sav-Mor” with the other 189 locations being Ingles Markets. The Sav-Mor store concept accommodates smaller shopping areas and carries dry groceries, dairy, fresh meat and produce, all of which are displayed in a modern, readily accessible environment.[1]
Substantially all of Ingles' stores are located within 280 miles (450 km) of its warehouse and distribution facilities, near Asheville, North Carolina. The company operates 1.65 million square feet of warehouse and distribution facilities. These facilities supply the company’s supermarkets with approximately 62% of the goods the company sells. The remaining 38% is purchased from third parties and is generally delivered directly to the stores. The proximity of the company’s purchasing and distribution operations to its stores facilitates the timely distribution of consistently high quality perishable and non-perishable items.[1]
The company owns a 1,649,000 square foot facility, which is strategically located between Interstate 40 and Highway 70 near Asheville, North Carolina, as well as the 119 acres of land on which it is situated. The facility includes the company’s headquarters and its warehouse and distribution facility. The property also includes truck servicing and fuel storage facilities. The company also owns a 139,000 square foot warehouse on 21 acres of land approximately one mile from its main warehouse and distribution facility.[1] Goods from the warehouse and distribution facilities and the milk processing and packaging plant are distributed to the company’s stores by a fleet of 193 tractors and 751 trailers that the company owns, operates and maintains.[1]
Locations
editIngles operates 198 stores in six southeastern states:[1]
- Alabama: 1
- Georgia: 65
- North Carolina: 75
- South Carolina: 35
- Tennessee: 21
- Virginia: 1
Private label brands
editIngles sells products with the Laura Lynn brand, named for Ingle's daughter Laura Lynn, now Laura Ingle Sharp. She worked in advertising for the chain starting in the 1970s and has been a member of the board of directors since 1997.[20] The chain sells natural and organic products under the Harvest Farms label.[21] A few other products are sold with the Ingles Best label. The brand of generic pharmacy products sold, Quality Choice, is not a brand exclusive to Ingles Markets.
Competition
editLocal and regional competitors include Food City, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Harveys, Target, Aldi, Lidl, Walmart, Kroger, Lowes Foods, Publix, and United Grocery Outlet.[22]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Ingles Markets Inc., SEC Filing 10K FY2021". SEC EDGAR, IMKTA. Securities And Exchange Commission.
- ^ a b c d e "IMKTA Financials".
- ^ "Ingles Markets". Fortune. May 18, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ "All About Ingles". Ingles Markets. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
- ^ Blake, Casey (May 3, 2014). "Answer woman: Ingles punctuation, Moffitt complaint". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
Ingles CFO Ron Freeman ... said the continued mispunctuation is a nod to the old-school ways of store naming. "We've used 'Ingles' without the apostrophe ever since our first store opened in 1963", he said. "Pictures of our first store and our first newspaper ad don't have the apostrophe", he said. "It's somewhat unique, but not entirely uncommon in the retail industry. Think back to the movie Miracle on 34th Street when you had Macy's and Gimbels (founded by Adam Gimbel)."
- ^ a b Neufeld, Rob (March 21, 2021). "Visiting Our Past: Bob Ingle overcame fierce obstacles to launch market in 1963". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ "All About Ingles: Milkco Inc". Ingles Markets. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
- ^ "Ingles Markets: What Makes It Something Special?". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
- ^ "Ingles Markets, Inc To Restate Prior Periods" (PDF).
- ^ "SEC may discipline Ingles: 'Wells Notice' stems from '02-'03 accounting issues". Chain Store Age. January 23, 2006. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ "Ingles Markets, Inc, Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2006".
- ^ "ROBERT P. INGLE, FOUNDER OF INGLES MARKETS, INCORPORATED DIES AT AGE 77" (Press release). Asheville, North Carolina: Ingles Markets, Inc. March 6, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMKTA) today reported the death on March 6, 2011, of its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Robert P. Ingle. [...] The Board of Directors of the Company has elected Robert P. Ingle II to succeed his father as Chief Executive Officer.
- ^ "Ingles Toy Store opens in Asheville". Asheville Citizen-Times. December 9, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
Ingles Markets and Eblen Charities' St. Nicholas Project have collaborated for the second year in a row to fill the Ingles Toy Store with thousands of toys, games, clothes and stocking stuffers to help families and children in the mountains as Christmas approaches.
- ^ "Ingles Partners With Creating A Family To Raise Donations, Awareness". The Transylvania Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ Foster, Randy (October 2, 2024). "Hurricane Helene Horrors". Cherokee Scout. Murphy, NC: Community Newspapers Inc. pp. 1A, 8A.
- ^ Spikes, Jakai (October 2, 2024). "Southeast grocery store chain forced to go cash or check only after Hurricane Helene". WTVC. Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- ^ Thompson, Myron (September 30, 2024). "Ingles credit card processing damaged by Hurricane Helene, stores taking cash and checks". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Ivey, Tia Lynn (September 29, 2024). "Ingles in Madison Reopens with Limited Operations. What We Know". Morgan County Citizen. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Marek, Lynne (October 3, 2024). "Hurricane Helene aftermath prompts card, cash troubles". Payments Dive. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Boyle, John (November 13, 2020). "Answer Man: Malaprop's says 'NC residents only?' Who's Laura Lynn of Ingles fame?". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ "Harvest Farms (Ingles Markets)". Cornucopia Institute. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ Barrett, Mark (March 31, 2014). "Ingles eyes bigger South Asheville store". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
Ingles faces renewed competition in the South Asheville market. Katuah Market opened in Biltmore Village in December, The Fresh Market opened a store at 1378 Hendersonville Road on March 5 and Publix is scheduled to open its first store in Buncombe County at 1832 Hendersonville Road by the end of the year.
External links
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