Company: NGVC
Filing Date: 2025-12-11
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001437749-25-037556
Chunk: 793

Company: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-12-11
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 793
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 fiscal years 2025 and 2024, we opened two and four new stores, respectively. We plan to open six to eight new stores in fiscal year 2026, none of which opened during the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 prior to the filing of this Form 10-K. We intend to continue to target an annual new store unit growth rate of 4% to 5% for the foreseeable future.

4

Store locations as of September 30, 2025. 

Increase sales from existing customers and grow our customer base. We plan to continue offering an engaging customer experience by providing science-based nutrition education and a differentiated merchandising strategy that delivers affordable, high-quality natural and organic grocery products and dietary supplements. We plan to continue building our brand awareness, including our differentiated offering, which we anticipate will increase sales from existing customers and grow our customer base. During fiscal year 2025, the measures we took that were aimed at enhancing our brand awareness included: (i) featuring promotions through our {N}power® customer rewards program ({N}power), with a focus on local store marketing; (ii) continuing to make enhancements to our monthly Health Hotline magazine; (iii) organizing month-long seasonal and topical special promotions; (iv) expanding our digital and social media reach through increased investment in paid and organic placements on platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, consumer credit card platforms, mobile application display, internet search and social media influencer campaigns; (v) conducting television, radio, newspaper, outdoor advertising and targeted direct mail campaigns in select markets; (vi) continuing home delivery services; and (vii) supporting local vendors, schools and charities. We believe offering nutrition education has historically been one of our most effective marketing strategies for reaching new customers and increasing the demand for natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements in our markets. To maximize their impact, we encourage our NHCs to focus on relationship-building opportunities in our communities and with our customers, including nutrition classes, lectures, seminars and health fairs. Additionally, we seek to enhance the nutritional knowledge of current and prospective customers through the distribution of printed and digital versions of our broad range of educational resources, including the Health Hotline magazine and our “Meet Your Farmer” film series. In addition to offering nutrition education, our strategy is to retain current customers and attract new customers with our Always Affordable Price. We also utilize targeted marketing efforts to reach our existing customers, including through {N}power,