FLORIDA, N.Y. -- Big V Supermarkets here said it has deferred payment of a $6.7 million term note principal payment that was due Oct. 31 until Jan. 31 so it can refinance its credit facility.
s scheduled to expire Oct. 31, has been extended to Jan. 31.
Big V also prereleased sales for the third quarter and 40 weeks ended Oct. 3, although it said it would not release earnings until next Nov. 18.
The company said sales rose 5.9% to $251 million for the 16-week quarter and 6.7% to $618 million for the 40-week period, while same-store sales increased 3.3% for the quarter -- for the sixth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, the company noted -- and 3.1% for the year to date.
Joseph Fisher, president and chief executive officer, said he was pleased by the sustained growth of same-store sales, "given the continued low rate of food-at-home inflation. Total sales continued to be positively impacted by marketing and customer satisfaction initiatives, especially in our perishables departments, and by our newest store, which opened Jan. 3 in Mount Vernon, N.Y."
The company said the initiatives include expanding the number of fresh-format stores, which place a heavier emphasis on perishables -- Big V opened its fifth such unit early in the fourth quarter -- and doing more extensive research on consumer satisfaction with key store-level programs.
