LOS ANGELES — Unified Grocers here said the loss of Brown & Cole as a customer and the tough competitive environment resulted in lower sales and earnings for the fiscal third quarter which ended June 27.
Net income dropped 18.8% to $3.9 million for the 13-week quarter and 16.5% to $10.2 million for the 39-week year to date, while sales declined 2.4% to $992.5 million for the quarter and 2.4% to $3 billion for the 39 weeks.
The company also said some Seattle-area wholesale customers switched to become members of Unified, a cooperative, so they could qualify for lower member pricing. It said the sales decline was due primarily to the loss of Ferndale, Wash.-based Brown & Cole as a customer; it also said it is experiencing changes in customer purchase patterns and a decline in milk sales due to a significant decrease in raw milk prices.
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