Sprouts Report: April 30th, 2020

Andrew McGregor:   VP Sales and Merchandising, Produce & Floral, 340 Stores

-Have changes their ad format, no paper ads,  they are running all ads on online digitally

-Currently not carrying California will be looking at next week

-Excited about Northwest Cherry season, last year they stayed in California too long, and although the pricing was good, they had too many complaints on quality which hurt the Northwest Season.

-Right now with the current situation.  They do no have the cherry pickers/coupon clippers, customers have not really been paying attention to price.  Sprouts is known for hot prices.  Hopefully this continues but time will tell in the next couple months and we will see if customers how customer react with the economy, cash flow.   He was pretty positive about the upcoming months. 

-So with the Northwest Cherry season coming they are pumped up to sell high quality Northwest cherries and get out of California as soon as possible(unlike last year)

-Families are home now, working from home and snacking all the time.  So cherries can be eaten every day this summer vs. when parents are working etc the cherries may be not be consumed as fast as they hopefully will be this summer.

-They are exploring different packs and multiple options.  In the past they basically carried bags and rainier as their other option.  They are now looking at clamshell options.

-We are going to break the sales contest on June 17^th and run for a month. He said this is the best way to spend the “other” funding.  This will reward the produce manager and they will push for sales.  They have been running similar contests since the Covid 19. 

-They are going to watch the California season and this will teach them a few things prior to our season.