Smart & Final to Open 100 Stores Over Four Years

In the wake of its one-year anniversary as a public company, Smart & Final Stores has unveiled plans to open 100 new stores over the next four years as part of its "Project 100" program.

The robust expansion will include its "Extra!" and "Cash & Carry" formats, and will create approximately 5,000 new jobs, the company said. The project will also include a series of philanthropic efforts.

"We have achieved strong financial growth during our first year as a public company, and have accelerated the expansion of our "Extra!" store format," said Dave Hirz, the company's CEO. "We believe our consistent focus on value, quality and convenience resonates powerfully with our business and household consumers, and gives us an edge in a competitive market," Hirz said.

In its most recent financial report, the Commerce, Calif.-based grocer posted strong sales gains in both the second quarter and full year ended June 14, 2015, driven primarily by growth in comparable store sales.

For Q2, Smart & Final delivered $905.1 million in net sales, a 9.3 percent increase from the same period in 2014, and 3.5 percent growth in comps.

As the company further expands, Smart & Final has continued to launch several product and marketing initiatives, including the expansion of its private label First Street and organic private label Sun Harvest, and has also partnered with Instacart and Google Shopping for in-home and office delivery service.

Smart & Final operates 266 grocery and foodservice stores under its namesake banner, as well as "Smart & Final Extra!" and "Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice," in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, with an additional 16 stores in northern Mexico operated through a joint venture.