Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) gave us a peek at its recent growth in its recent Annual Shareholders Meeting, revealing that the retail cooperative has once again achieved record consolidated company sales of $10.8 billion, an increase of 1.68 percent on a comparable basis over 2020.
“Remarkably, we achieved these results while overcoming record expense escalations, supply chain infrastructure investments, upgrades to our technology platform for the future, and funding our ambitious Convergence project to align the cooperative with our member-retailers so we can perform more like a $23 billion retailer,” said David Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We continually strive to achieve the right balance of investing wisely in the long term and fulfilling our member-retailers’ day-to-day needs for a lower cost of goods and a predictable patronage return.”
According to a press release, the company also distributed $247 million in year-end patronage. In addition, cooperative sales were up 1.39 percent, reaching $9.8 billion and total members’ equity was valued at $616.2 million.
“While 2021 was a difficult year for many, including our member-retailers, we focused on keeping teammates safe, supporting our members with the best available product supply, and battling daily on their behalf to obtain their fair share of product and best available cost from supply partners,” explained Smith. “All of our companies faced unprecedented teammate turnover and industry-wide personnel shortages. For all those efforts and achievements in the face of adversity, we could not be prouder of our member-retailers, teammates, and those who showed us great patience and grace and helped us as we helped others.”
Budgeted investments were exceeded by $15 million, and the company invested $3 million alone to facilitate improvements necessary for a more sustainable supply chain.
“I’m proud to be a part of this cooperative and proud to see the continued strong results that we can deliver for the benefit of our member-retailers,” Barry Queen, Chairman of the Board, stated. “It gives my family and me the confidence that we’re ready for whatever comes our way and continue investing and growing. There is true strength in numbers, and AWG’s numbers continue to grow stronger and stronger.”
How will the retail chain continue this upward trajectory to achieve another year of record growth? Keep reading Deli Market News to find out.
