Twenty years of change in the structure, costs, and financial performance of food chains

Edward W. McLaughlin and Gerard F. Hawkes
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Edward W. McLaughlin: Assistant Professor in the Food Industry Management Program, Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University, Postal: Assistant Professor in the Food Industry Management Program, Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University
Gerard F. Hawkes: Extension Associate in the Food Industry Management Program, Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University, Postal: Extension Associate in the Food Industry Management Program, Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University

Agribusiness, 1986, vol. 2, issue 1, 103-118

Abstract: The cost and performance dimensions of the food retailing industry have undergone considerable change over the past two decades. Changing consumers, new technology, and intensified competition are among the factors shaping a new food retailing environment. As consumers exhibit greater preference for labor intensive service departments, for example, labor expenses, payroll as well as benefits have continued to grow as a percent of sales. It is chiefly this phenomenon that has been responsible for food chain operating costs increasing at a relatively greater rate than gross margins. The net performance result is that food chain profitability, however defined, has declined.

Date: 1986
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:agribz:v:2:y:1986:i:1:p:103-118

DOI: 10.1002/1520-6297(198621)2:1<103::AID-AGR2720020110>3.0.CO;2-2

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