Written by Sally Kestin, Asheville Watchdog.
Ingles Markets, the Black Mountain-based grocery chain, suffered $35 million to $55 million in property and inventory losses from Tropical Storm Helene, the company announced Tuesday.
Insurance is expected to cover $10 million to $15 million of that, according to a news release, leaving the company with up to $40 million in losses.
The storm caused significant damage to Ingles’ distribution center in hard-hit Black Mountain and several of its 198 stores across the Southeast. Four stores – in Swannanoa, Morganton, Newland and Spruce Pine – remain closed and are not expected to open for three to nine months.
Some investors had feared worse news for Ingles after national news images revealed devastating flooding and destruction. The longer-term impact on the company may not be known for months when sales are reported.
Many grocery stores throughout the region were closed for days following the storm. Asheville lacked power or water for weeks, and stores that did reopen had limited hours and availability of items like meats and deli foods.
On Oct. 7, 10 days after the storm, a worker at the North Asheville Ingles, still without power, greeted customers, “Cash only, and no ice.”
An Ingles spokeswoman did not respond to a request from Asheville Watchdog for comment.
The losses reported by the company are “on the lower end of what it could have been given the destruction,” said Justin McAuliffe, an analyst at GAMCO Investors Inc. of New York, an Ingles stockholder.
As of the end of June, Ingles had $355 million in cash, McAuliffe said, “so I think this seems like, for sure, a manageable sort of financial impact for them.”
Video footage and aerial images showed the Ingles distribution center partially underwater after the Sept. 27 storm dumped record rainfall, swelled rivers to unprecedented levels, and caused deadly landslides and flooding across the region.
Employee killed in storm
At Ingles’ Black Mountain headquarters, “we had loss of power, critical infrastructure, transport vehicles, inventory, and yes even loss of life,” the company said in an Oct. 2 Facebook post.
Gabriel Gonzalez had gone to work in driving rain at the Ingles distribution center near the Swannanoa River when floodwaters swept him away, according to the Catholic News Herald. Gonzalez’ co-workers called him “the happy one,” the article said, because he was always singing as he loaded tractor-trailers for the regional grocery store chain.
Ingles’ investors and financial analysts watched the aftermath of the storm from afar, trying to assess the damage to the company with stores in many areas of Helene’s path.
“It was a huge tragedy,” said McAuliffe. “I was trying to kind of piece together information from social media and videos of different locations.”
Ingles’ stock price fell 18 percent from the month before the storm as news of the devastation spread, McAuliffe said.
The stock price, $62 as of Tuesday, was down $12 from Sept. 26.
The property and inventory losses, which Ingles cautioned could change “due to the complexity and preliminary nature of the information currently available to us,” represents a one-time loss.
The company could see additional losses in sales from the closed stores and others operating at reduced capacity over the next two quarters, McAuliffe said.
“A larger question is just sort of the general economy of the communities that Ingles is in,” he said. “All of the businesses in the region, how quickly does the local economy kind of ramp up?”
Ingles said in the news release that its distribution center “is fully operational and has returned to normal operations.”
“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted in our communities who lost lives, loved ones, homes and access to basic necessities,” the release said. “We are proud to see our hard-working associates come together with neighbors and local resources to continue the Ingles commitment of serving our customers and communities.”
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Email [email protected]. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.