00:00Stu, always good to catch up with you. I want to talk about the consumer and in general how the
00:04consumer is doing. But first, I just want to get an update from you about how you are adjusting
00:10prices as a result of higher energy costs. Are you seeing them affect the way you're pricing
00:16at Stu Leonard's? It's wild and crazy as far as the food business goes. First of all, retailers
00:24don't want to raise prices. I mean, you can drive around town. Gas stations that have $3.99
00:30a gallon, there's lines at them. The ones that have $4.09, there's no line. So we don't want
00:36to raise prices. And one of the things we're doing is holding our prices. Then Easter prices
00:42this year are about the same. We're in a tough spot right now because the customer is like
00:47everybody listening, right? You're up to here. You got your own personal energy costs going
00:52up. Gasoline's up. Your cost is up. And food on top of that is up. So it's pretty tough
00:58out there. And here we are. We're on a thin margin business. So we're family owned. And
01:04we don't want to raise prices. So right now, what's happening is basically we're eating a
01:10lot of it. And our margins are going to be thinner this holiday than they were last holiday.
01:17Stu, I'm glad you went right there. I mean, we talk about the supermarket world. And you're
01:21right. Your margins are so thin. I mean, how long can you do that to help out your customers?
01:27Not raise prices, but then kind of eat it, if you will, when it comes to margins. How long
01:32can you do that?
01:33Well, you know what? I think this whole thing with the fuel prices and the economy is temporary.
01:41I mean, did I hear right that the stock market's up and the oil's down today?
01:45I mean, what? What happened out there? So I think we're going to get things settled down
01:53a little bit. And you're going to see energy and fuel prices come down in the future. So
01:57we're just going to hold on and try to protect the customer. Our job is to feed families with
02:04the best stuff at the best price. And we're going to keep doing that at Stu Leonard's.
02:08When you look out across what you offer at Stu Leonard's right now, Stu, what are you seeing
02:13affected the most by higher costs? What are you having to beat the biggest margin on?
02:18You see these little guys right here? These are chocolate right now. There's a big drought
02:23and chocolate prices are up. You know, just your normal Easter candy now has gone up. So
02:28I would recommend trying to spit some jelly beans in your kid's basket.
02:36But what about produce, fresh fruits, the stuff that, you know, is really the prices change
02:42constantly because, you know, how much a gallon of diesel costs really affects transportation and
02:48really throughout the entire supply chain.
02:50And fuel touches every aspect of the farming industry. I was just talking to one of our farmers
02:56down in Florida on the West Coast. I know you just talked to your Cape Canaveral reporter there on
03:01East Coast. He said weather was good. He's telling me they had a big cold snap down there.
03:06It's the worst his family has seen in 15 to 20 years. He's got to replant all of his crops.
03:12The price of vegetables is going to go up from Florida temporarily right now.
03:18And you know what he said to me? I got tractors. I got to put my fuel in it. I
03:22got fertilizer.
03:23I got to bring in. He said everything I cut seems to go up 50 percent.
03:27Wow. So you're going to see your vegetable prices go up a little bit right now, unfortunately.
03:34You know, not to that extreme. And, you know, but I think he was being a little a little dramatic
03:40there. But we'll work it out and then see other things that are coming down. You know,
03:46salmon's down a little bit. You know, this is your your, you know, mother. This is your big selling
03:52item, Easter ham right there. That price is $3.99 a pound. I mean, it's a great, you know,
04:00that's a low price for protein right now. And, you know, you look at beef is up in the high
04:04teens
04:05right now. And, you know, one thing we're seeing customers doing, me personally, too, instead of
04:11eating a steak, I'm eating a pork chop. It's a third of the price. So I think we're seeing customers
04:17shift a little bit. We're seeing them also. They got a shopping list, you know, and they're sticking
04:23to it. You know, we're trying to demo. I'm standing next to a basket of donuts right now. We're trying
04:28to get people to buy more donuts. Come and taste the donut. You don't want to put that extra product
04:34in your cart right now. It's going to make your grocery bill go up. So stay away from our demos,
04:39you know, even though I shouldn't say that. I love the honesty. Listen, what about, you know,
04:48my mom always said I had champagne taste. So I want to ask you if I want filet mignon for
04:53Easter,
04:54or I want a lobster, what is that going to cost me? You know, well, our filet mignon steaks are
04:59going
04:59to be the same price. And I think we're like around $16.99 a pound for them right now. I
05:06talked to one
05:07of our ranchers out in Kansas, and he said that, you know, what happened to herd sizes are the lowest
05:14they've ever been in 50 years. So it takes a couple of years to really harvest, to grow and harvest
05:21cattle. He's starting to populate his younger inventory right now with more cattle. So I think
05:31you're going to see that change over the next year or two. And I think, you know, I'm optimistic. I
05:37think
05:37you're going to see beef prices come back down in the low teens again.
05:41What's the message that you'd have for policymakers right now? You know, a lot of what they decide
05:47affects the different parts of your industry. Stu, what message do you have for them?
05:53Boy, oh boy. You mean policy in Washington?
05:55Yeah.
05:56Is that, you know, I look at, I'm a, I'm a retailer here in Connecticut, New York,
06:02and New Jersey. And I don't know if I know how to play all those political games that are going
06:07on.
06:08I don't quite understand it. The only thing I know is that the people pushing the shopping cart
06:13through our store just want to see lower prices. And I think, you know, if I was a leader in
06:21that
06:21thing, I'd want to do whatever I could to help that out. And we'll see. I think we're in a
06:26temporary
06:27blip right now. And I'm hoping a lot of these economic issues will get worked out and prices
06:33will come down. Hey, you know, what's really hot right now? It's TikTok. TikTok. We're like
06:40TikTok. It's amazing. If something comes out on TikTok. Yeah. I mean, we had that,
06:44we had that butter ice cream cone where you dip an ice cream cone in. Yeah. I remember. I saw
06:49it.
06:50Right. Like now, now look what's hot. You see these things? Are they dates? They're strawberries
06:57dipped in with chocolate dripped on it. All right. Stu, we- Save some for us. You are great
07:02for TikTok. I want one of those. Stu Leonard Jr., President and CEO of Stu Leonard's.
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