MINNEAPOLIS – When an unexpected but important environmental expenditure emerges for Hy-Vee, the chain, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, has the wherewithal and flexibility to absorb that cost, said Ric Jurgens, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, as well as the chairman of the Food Marketing Institute.
Hy-Vee projects five years ahead in its annual budget, which includes between $200 million and $250 million per year in capital expenditure. “But we do have the ability to evaluate and modify our budget,” he said, in a keynote address yesterday at the FMI Energy & Store Development Conference here. “If something comes along – like a LEED store – that changes our five-year plan, we’re going to have additional cost on that store. So if we had to raise the [CAPEX] budget $25 or $30 or $50 million, we could do it. We have the ability to spend more than planned.”