Behind the Rankings
The management of working capital combines two measures, weighted equally:
1. Days of Working Capital (DWC) = (Receivables + Inventory Payables) ÷ (Sales ÷ 365 Days). If payables exceed the sum of receivables and inventory, DWC is negative.
2. Cash Conversion Efficiency (CCE) = Cash Flow from Operations ÷ Sales.
The overall ranking: (Highest Overall CCE Company CCE) ÷ (Highest Overall CCE Lowest Overall CCE) + (Lowest Overall DWC Company DWC) ÷ (Lowest Overall DWC Highest Overall DWC). Days of Sales Outstanding (DSO), Inventory Turns, and Days of Payables Outstanding (DPO) are not part of the overall ranking criteria. Industry averages consider all companies in an industry, not just the top five.
Sources: REL Consultancy Group, Piranha Web
Back to “Forget the Float? — The 2001 Working Capital Survey”
FOOD RETAILERS & WHOLESALERS | ||||||||||||
Over- all Rank | Company Name | Prior Year Sales | Cash Conver. Effic. | Days Working Capital | Days Sales Outst. | Inven. Turns | Days Payable Outst. | |||||
CCE | Rk. | DWC | Rk. | DSO | Rk. | Ts. | Rk. | DPO | Rk. | |||
233 | CASEY S GENERAL STORES INC | $1,653 | 6% | 619 | (1) | 42 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 120 | 13 | 928 |
245 | WILD OATS MARKETS INC | $838 | 6% | 632 | 2 | 52 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 232 | 25 | 618 |
278 | PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS INC | $13,069 | 6% | 670 | 5 | 71 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 234 | 18 | 833 |
280 | WHOLE FOODS MARKET INC | $1,839 | 7% | 567 | 14 | 132 | 4 | 44 | 12 | 255 | 10 | 965 |
296 | PANTRY INC | $2,432 | 4% | 740 | 1 | 50 | 4 | 43 | 18 | 159 | 19 | 824 |
321 | 7 ELEVEN INC | $9,346 | 4% | 760 | 5 | 70 | 8 | 71 | 53 | 60 | 8 | 977 |
344 | WEIS MARKETS INC | $2,061 | 6% | 649 | 22 | 190 | 6 | 56 | 9 | 348 | 14 | 911 |
356 | KROGER CO | $45,352 | 4% | 769 | 9 | 91 | 5 | 49 | 10 | 291 | 22 | 692 |
361 | ALBERTSON S INC | $37,478 | 4% | 730 | 14 | 133 | 4 | 45 | 12 | 267 | 17 | 864 |
381 | INGLES MARKETS INC | $1,916 | 3% | 785 | 11 | 107 | 5 | 46 | 8 | 388 | 27 | 537 |
417 | DELHAIZE AMERICA INC | $12,670 | 5% | 716 | 25 | 212 | 7 | 65 | 7 | 438 | 20 | 771 |
421 | SUPERVALU INC | $20,339 | 2% | 835 | 11 | 113 | 9 | 85 | 14 | 227 | 22 | 703 |
426 | GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA CO INC | $10,151 | 4% | 776 | 19 | 160 | 8 | 73 | 9 | 355 | 19 | 813 |
430 | GRAND UNION CO | $2,205 | 0% | 940 | (1) | 41 | 7 | 63 | 10 | 306 | 36 | 310 |
431 | WINN DIXIE STORES INC | $13,698 | 4% | 753 | 22 | 192 | 4 | 39 | 8 | 410 | 17 | 873 |
434 | RUDDICK CORP | $2,683 | 4% | 750 | 23 | 196 | 11 | 96 | 8 | 379 | 20 | 792 |
453 | FOODARAMA SUPER- MARKETS INC | $886 | 2% | 858 | 13 | 124 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 201 | 7 | 979 |
455 | SUPER- MARKETS GENERAL HOLDINGS CORP | $3,698 | 0% | 928 | 5 | 74 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 162 | 10 | 963 |
470 | MARSH SUPER- MARKETS INC | $1,790 | 2% | 851 | 17 | 151 | 8 | 74 | 11 | 278 | 16 | 887 |
486 | FLEMING COS INC | $14,444 | 1% | 912 | 12 | 116 | 12 | 101 | 14 | 216 | 24 | 635 |
488 | SYSCO CORP | $19,303 | 3% | 794 | 25 | 221 | 29 | 239 | 16 | 185 | 21 | 731 |
498 | NASH FINCH CO | $4,016 | 2% | 854 | 20 | 172 | 14 | 112 | 14 | 222 | 17 | 868 |
510 | EAGLE FOOD CENTERS INC | $933 | 1% | 899 | 18 | 155 | 6 | 53 | 10 | 320 | 16 | 880 |
518 | SMART & FINAL INC | $1,864 | 3% | 826 | 27 | 232 | 14 | 116 | 10 | 318 | 20 | 777 |
524 | PERFOR- MANCE FOOD GROUP CO | $2,605 | 1% | 880 | 21 | 187 | 23 | 180 | 17 | 180 | 20 | 789 |
564 | FRESH AMERICA CORP | $670 | 0% | 932 | 20 | 168 | 39 | 370 | 52 | 63 | 25 | 589 |
784 | UNITED NATURAL FOODS INC | $909 | 0% | 937 | 53 | 477 | 26 | 209 | 7 | 450 | 15 | 891 |
422 | Industry Average | $8,476 | 3% | 15 | 10 | 15 | 19 |