BY DEBBIE PAGE
The Troutman ABC store continue to surpass budget projections for sales and profits.
Troutman ABC Board Chairman Layton Getsinger recently presented the store’s third quarter report to the Town Council. The board was recognized in the N.C. ABC Commission annual “Percentage to Sales” report for FY 2023-2024, ranking 12th out of 168 other boards with a 13.44 percent profit.
Getsinger credited store manager Evelyn Coleman and board members Wes Edmiston and Kim Cavin for their excellent leadership and efficiency in earning this recognition.
The chairman had projected $3.1 million in revenues for 2024-2025, but based on sales to date, revenues are now estimated to reach $3.55 million, which is $450,000 ahead of the budget forecast.
Third quarter sales were $779,181 compared to last year’s third quarter of $741,090, representing a sales increase of 5.1 percent. The quarter’s net profit was $69,707, or 9 percent of sales, and 33 percent of annual budgeted profit of $209,282, after distributions, for this fiscal year.
Monthly sales were $261,212 in January (up 14.4 percent over last January), $243,233 in February (up 1.4 percent over last February), and $274,737 in March (up 0.65 percent over last March).
“While we are seeing modest increases each month in our sales, by inflationary standards, net results are relatively flat,” Getsinger noted.
Sales across the state were down by 6.59 percent in February and 6.21 percent in March. Getsinger believes some of this can be attributed to the loss of stores in westen North Carolina, but significant decreases exist across the state as well.
The reason for this reduction in sales is unclear but serious enough to give pause for concern, added Getsinger.
Third quarter distributions include $10,939 to the Town of Troutman, $2,734.75 for the town’s four designated entities, Friends of Troutman Library, ESC Park, Troutman Parks and Recreation, and Troutman area Iredell-Statesville Schools ($683.69 each to Troutman Elementary and Middle, SIHS, and CATS ).
Required law enforcement funds of $3,662 will go to the Troutman Police Department, and $5,127 in designated alcohol and drug education funds will benefit the Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell.
Getsinger reported Inventory at the end of the third quarter was valued at $268,165, an increase of $25,984 over last third quarter.
The store’s current retained working capital is $557,017 (or 87 percent of the maximum allowed by the state). The store’s specific capital reserve account designated for a new store near Exit 42 stands at $333,281.
Getsinger said the Troutman ABC Board believes construction of the new store should be delayed until a sustained upswing in overall sales performance occurs.
“Until revenues get back on track, the board is reluctant to commit to such debt,” he said.
“We will need to borrow between $2.5 and $3 million for the new store and the associated infrastructure and access road to Flower House Loop, due to Highway 21 being right in and right out only.”
The land where the new store will be built is already fully paid for.
“While it is recognized and appreciated that there are new homeowners in the area that would appreciate having the convenience of a second store, we are quite capable of handling current level of sales out of the existing store,” the chairman said.
Getsinger said the majority of the ABC Commission requirements to move forward with the second location are already complete, so the board can move quickly if and when the market signals the need for the new store.
All that remains are local issues, including obtaining an easement, determining a water and sewer source, drafting a request for bids, selecting a contractor and creating the store design, getting necessary town board approvals, and arranging financing.
The Main Street store is at full staffing at the moment, but the board foresees the need for a part-time administrative assistant once construction on the second store is underway, Getsinger said.