We expect same store sales to increaserange from .5%a 1.0% decrease to 2.5%a flat in fiscal 2019.

Village has revised its budgeted $40,000 for capital expenditures lower than previously estimated to approximately $30,000 for fiscal 2019 due primarily to a shift in fiscaltiming related to the construction of the Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania replacement store, now expected to open in the fall of 2019.  Planned expenditures include the beginning of construction of a replacement store in the Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, three minor remodels, expansion of self-checkout across most stores and other various technology, equipment and facility upgrades.

The Board’s current intention is to continue to pay quarterly dividends in 2019 at the most recent rate of $.25 per Class A and $.1625 per Class B share.

We believe cash and cash equivalents on hand, operating cash flow and other sources of liquidity will be adequate to meet anticipated requirements for working capital, capital expenditures and debt payments for the foreseeable future.

We expect our effective income tax rate in fiscal 2019 to be in the range of 30% - 31%. The reduction in the expected effective income tax rate is due primarily to realizing the full impact of the 21% federal corporate tax rate as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, partially offset by New Jersey Assembly Bill 4202 which will temporarily increase the New Jersey corporate tax rate to 11.5% for fiscal 2019 and 2020 and to 10.5% for fiscal 2021 and 2022.

We expect operating expenses will be affected by spends on operational proficiency initiatives and increased costs in certain areas, such as medical and other fringe benefit costs.

We expect approximately $1,300 of net periodic pension costs in fiscal 2019 related to the four Company sponsored defined benefit pension plans. The Company expects to contribute $3,000 in cash to all defined benefit pension plans during fiscal 2019.

The supermarket business is highly competitive and characterized by narrow profit margins.  Results of operations may be materially adversely impacted by competitive pricing and promotional programs, industry consolidation and competitor store openings.  Village competes directly with multiple retail formats both in-store and online, including national, regional and local supermarket chains as well as warehouse clubs, supercenters, drug stores, discount general merchandise stores, fast food chains, restaurants, dollar stores and convenience stores. Some of these competitors have greater financial resources, lower merchandise acquisition costs and lower operating expenses than we do.  

The Company’s stores are concentrated in New Jersey, with two stores in Maryland, one in northeastern Pennsylvania and one in New York City. We are vulnerable to economic downturns in New Jersey in addition to those that may affect the country as a whole.  Economic conditions such as inflation, deflation, interest rate fluctuations, movements in energy costs, social programs, minimum wage legislation, unemployment rates and changing demographics may adversely affect our sales and profits. 

Approximately 89% of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Any work stoppages could have an adverse impact on our financial results. If we are unable to control health care and pension costs provided for in the collective bargaining agreements, we may experience increased operating costs.

The Company could be adversely affected if consumers lose confidence in the safety and quality of the food supply chain.  The real or perceived sale of contaminated food products by us could result in a loss of consumer confidence and product liability claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our sales and operations.

Certain of the multi-employer plans to which we contribute are underfunded. As a result, we expect that contributions to these plans may increase. Additionally, the benefit levels and related items will be issues in the negotiation of our collective bargaining agreements. Under current law, an employer that withdraws or partially withdraws from a multi-employer pension plan may incur a withdrawal liability to the plan, which represents the portion of the plan’s underfunding that is allocable to the withdrawing employer under very complex actuarial and allocation rules. The failure of a withdrawing employer to fund these obligations can impact remaining employers. The amount of any increase or decrease in our required contributions to these multi-employer pension plans will depend upon the outcome of collective bargaining, actions taken by trustees who manage the plans, government regulations, withdrawals by other participating employers and the actual return on assets held in the plans, among other factors.

The Company uses a combination of insurance and self-insurance to provide for potential liability for workers’ compensation, automobile and general liability, property, director and officers’ liability, and certain employee health care benefits. Any projection of losses is subject to a high degree of variability. Changes in legal claims, trends and interpretations, variability in inflation rates, changes in the nature and method of claims settlement, benefit level changes due to changes in applicable laws, and insolvency of insurance carriers could all affect our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

Our long-lived assets, primarily store property, equipment and fixtures, are subject to periodic testing for impairment. Failure of our asset groups to achieve sufficient levels of cash flow could result in impairment charges on long-lived assets.

Our effective tax rate may be impacted by the results of tax examinations and changes in tax laws.

Wakefern provides all members of the cooperative with information system support that enables us to effectively manage our business data, customer transactions, ordering, communications and other business processes.  These information systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer or telecommunications failures, computer viruses and related malicious software, catastrophic weather events, or human error.  Any material interruption of our or Wakefern’s information systems could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.