Retail Grocers

Insights to help grocers win despite intense competition

As an independent grocer you probably find yourself in the midst of the battle for today’s food dollars. You now have to compete with the high volume warehouse clubs and superstores for the always cost-conscious food shopper.
So how do you survive and thrive in this kind of environment? An experienced business advisor who understands the challenges of the retail grocery business can help. Plante & Moran serves more than 400 retailers, many of them grocers. Some have multiple locations, some have only one.

Tax minimization strategies to improve cash flow

Because of our size, our retail team can offer grocers a full range of services from tax planning and compliance to loss prevention and from technology solutions to employee benefits consulting.

Our team of tax consultants can help you look at state and local tax issues including multistate income and franchise tax, sales and use tax, and property tax. They can help you investigate possibilities for tax incentives like work opportunity credits, energy saving improvements, and cost segregation on your building improvements. Working with our tax consultants, you can be assured that you have a tax strategy that takes full advantage of all available tax saving opportunities.

You will also benefit from collaboration between our tax specialists and our employee benefits consultants. They can help you assess the impact healthcare reform will have on your business. They can help you determine if you will be required to offer qualifying coverage by 2014 or be subject to a penalty of up to $3,000 per full-time employee.

Fraud prevention and information security

You can also depend on our experienced team of forensic accountants who can help you develop fraud prevention strategies and internal controls to protect against fraud. Identity theft is a major concern for today’s consumer. Our technology consultants are certified to ensure you meet the PCI DSS requirements, data security standards (DSS) imposed by major credit card companies (PCI compliance). They also have expertise in designing data security systems to protect your customers’ sensitive information.

Making good decisions about real estate

Because grocery stores typically serve customers within a one- to two-mile radius, location is important. Our real estate specialists can help you plan your next location. If you lease space, our real estate advisors can determine if you are getting the best deal in today’s declining market. If not, they can negotiate with your landlord to recast the lease.

Plante & Moran has a multidisciplinary team of specialists who combine their talents to help independent grocers thrive.