Fast in grocery, slower in wine and supplements. Do not blend them.
The parent guide is /guides/shrink-margin-and-turns/. Also read SDE, inventory at cost, the valuation pillar, and how a sale works.
USDA FNS: SNAP authorization does not transfer; the new owner files a new application 3.38 average earnings multiple on grocery/supermarket businesses sold on BizBuySell in 2025. This page is the short, citeable answer — not a second CIM.
| Topic | Grocery reading | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings | Recast SDE or EBITDA | SDE |
| Stockroom | Inventory at cost | inventory |
| EBT | New owner application | SNAP |
| Debt | DSCR on the recast | DSCR |
Illustrative, not a quote. For a What is a good inventory turn, recast SDE of $287,342 at 1.75×–2.97× plus $188,454 inventory at cost frames a going-concern band of about $691,303 to $1,041,860. The 2.44× midpoint lands near $889,568. Lease remaining term and license lag can move the check more than the multiple.
Checklist: What is a good inventory turn
- Recast the P&L into SDE
- Separate inventory at cost
- Abstract the lease
- List SNAP, alcohol, food, WIC, tobacco
- Read the wholesaler agreement
- Write license conditions into the LOI
Illustrative, not a quote. Keep the conversation on What is a good inventory turn, scan data, and license clocks — not on a neighbor’s rumor multiple.
Lease remaining term under 24 months without options is a price cut, not a footnote. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
Lottery contracts are often personal. Confirm before you count commission as durable. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Transition hours are a close condition. Write them. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
HFFI and state healthy-food programs change; do not quote a stale dollar cap.
Inventory night needs rules: what is unsellable, who pays the crew, how disputes resolve. See also turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale.
The LOI should say how inventory is counted and how licenses are conditioned. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Scan data is the adult conversation. A weekly-sales spreadsheet without department mix is a rumor. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Banner fees and program charges belong in the recast as continuing costs if the buyer will keep the fascia.
WIC is a vendor file, not a sticker on the door. See also turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale.
Add-backs that repeat every year are the business. Stop calling them one-time. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Food-desert rhetoric does not replace a P&L. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Working capital is the cash to buy the next load, not a vibe. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
Read seller hub, buyer hub, valuation pillar. Cross-check how a sale works and the FAQ. Format pages live under sell an independent supermarket and buy an independent supermarket. Tools: valuation calculator, cash-to-close, rent checker.
Recast before you argue a multiple. Owner pay, one-time legal, and personal autos can move SDE; recurring shrink cannot. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Wholesaler over-advances are debt. They are not a cute add-back. See also turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale.
SNAP authorization does not transfer. Budget downtime in cash and in the story you tell the landlord.
Unreported cash does not survive SBA. It also does not survive a serious conventional buyer. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Ethnic mix without language on the floor is a shrink plan. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Seller notes often sit on standby behind SBA. Read the standby, not the folklore. See also SDE, inventory at cost, shrink, SNAP authorization.
A CIM that omits the lease abstract is a brochure.
Selling to family or a manager still needs a real price and a real note. Soft language creates hard lawsuits. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
DSD vendors will keep delivering after a sloppy close only if someone is paying them. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Owned real estate is a second asset. Recast the store on market rent, then cap the building. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
Tax clearance belongs in escrow language, not in a handshake. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
A rural box can be a good living and a terrible loan. Those are different questions.
DSCR is annual cash flow over annual debt service. Hope is not a ratio. See also SDE, inventory at cost, shrink, SNAP authorization.
Comparing offers means cash at close, note terms, inventory treatment, and license risk — not the headline price. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.
Multi-store sales need a shared recast and a shared license calendar, or they unravel store by store. That is how a grocery file is actually read.
Turns are not one number. Center store and wine do not share a clock.
A below-market related-party rent juiced the earnings and will reverse on day one. See also lease diligence, liquor transfer, recasting a P&L.
Bulk-sale or successor-liability practice can still exist after UCC Article 6 died. Put it in the CIM or it will show up as a re-trade.