3 Things You Didn’t Know & The Truth About Broulims (Case Lot Sale)

October 12, 2022 Bill Watt

SHELLEY: Big Bill had the opportunity to visit with Daniel Bailey, the Assistant Store Manager for Broulims in Shelley, Idaho.

Daniel is quite young for being the Assistant Manager in Shelley, being 35 years of age. I was impressed. He started with Broulims 8 years ago. He started in the Freight Department, which set the tone for the Store to work in harmony and run smoothly. He worked from 2 am to 4 pm every day for five years! Wow!!

Daniel shared with me some of his multi-tasking duties, meaning he went the extra mile in everything he was asked to do. You don’t see those attributes anymore; most will do one task and nothing else.

As a result of being an Over Achiever, he was promoted to Assistant Store Manager for the past two years.

Daniel mentioned that Broulims appreciates their employees and ensures they are taken care of, which is rare nowadays.

As you know, Broulims just ran their Fall Case Lot sale that runs 2 Weeks. They do 2 Case Lot Sales every year. One in the Spring, the first week of March, is just one week.

Daniel commented that it was our Customer Appreciation Sale. The Case Lot Items have been marked down to Cost. Most of the time, they lose money because of the tremendous amount of Labor that goes into ordering, stocking, and re-stocking. Very Labor Intensive.

I might also mention that Broulims is celebrating its 100th Birthday this year. That is also an amazing Story of how a small Grocery Store can endure the Economy’s ups and downs over the past 100 years.

Daniel shared that of the 11 Broulim stores, Shelley averages in the Top Middle. Not all Case Lot sales are successful due to the Economy. The Economy is rough on the newlyweds and average families, and the retired who live on fixed incomes. Here is an elderly couple taking advantage of the LOW Prices at this year’s case lot sale.

Daniel felt that Shelley had weathered the inflation storm better than most communities because of the building of new homes in Shelley.

The Bakery Aisle is a big part of the Case Lot Sale; it sounds like people still know how to bake in a world of microwaves.

Daniel is responsible for keeping the store stocked which can get tricky with the Case Lot Sale. There is no “crystal ball” to look in, but because of Broulim’s buying power, he can order and get it the same day from Utah. That is impressive. His first order was over 100,000.00. That is a lot, and considering that it is at a cost in an unsteady rocky financial train wreck economy, Broulims is saying Thank You, Shelley, for being our customer all these years. Daniel has placed a total of 7 grocery orders to keep up with the demand for our community. He felt that the total was over 200,000. Once again, that is a lot with no returning revenue.

The first week of November, they are holding a Food Fair. This Fair will not have cases of food but will share posters of food items you can order for Catering or Events. This information will be extremely helpful for knowing how Broulim’s can assist you with your special parties or family get-togethers.

Broulim works with Associated Foods, but it is impossible to have products available at all times, especially with many plants that have burned down this year. Associated Foods gives Broulims some aggressive pricing which benefits you and me. Here is what is cool: Broulims also outsources at higher prices to find products that Associated Foods can’t get. That is a commitment to take a loss to keep their customers happy.

Here is a list of Store Locations ranked according to volume:

Driggs, Rigby (Corporate Office), Rexburg, Ammon, Alpine, Shelley, Afton, Montpelier, Soda Springs, Thayne, St. Anthony.

I inquired about their flexibility in helping other food service entities. He said that they can give discounts to other food service restaurants and that they will even go above and beyond and create items that they wouldn’t normally stock or create.

Broulims supplies the Sandwich Tree in Idaho Falls with all their Sandwich Bread. They also supply Soda Biz with a particular product for their famous beverages.

The Case Lot Sale is a great opportunity to stock up for those prepping for a scarcity or a rainy day when the trucks can’t get to Shelley or are being shut in by storms.

Inflation is another reason to stock up; pricing has already increased by over 30% from last year.

This year, we have experienced over 30 manufacturing plants that have burned down. Ice Cream was hard to keep in stock this summer because a major dairy plant was destroyed.

This case lot sale will end on October 11^th.

Thank You, Daniel and all of the employees at Broulims and, of course, Broulims Inc., for all you do.