NOTE – LEASING ARRANGEMENTS

 

The Company conducts its retail operations in facilities leased under non-cancelable operating leases of up to years. Certain leases contain renewal options for between and additional years at increased monthly rentals. Some of the leases provide for contingent rentals based on sales in excess of predetermined base levels. 

 

The Company acts as primary lessee of some franchised store premises, which the Company then subleases to franchisees, but the majority of existing franchised locations are leased by the franchisee directly.

 

In some instances, the Company has leased space for its Company-owned locations that are now occupied by franchisees. When the Company-owned location was sold or transferred, the store was subleased to the franchisee who is responsible for the monthly rent and other obligations under the lease.

 

The following is a schedule of lease expense for all retail operating leases for the years ended or

 

The Company also leases trucking equipment and warehouse space in support of its manufacturing operations. Expense associated with trucking and warehouse leases is included in cost of sales on the consolidated statements of income.

 

The following is a schedule of lease expense for trucking equipment operating leases for the years ended or

ASU - allows, as a practical expedient, the retention of the classification of existing leases as operating or financing. All of the Company’s leases are classified as operating leases and that classification has been retained upon adoption. The Company does believe the utilization of this practical expedient has a material impact on lease classifications.

 

The amount of the ‘Right of Use Asset’ and ‘Lease Liability’ recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets upon the adoption of ASU - was million. The lease liability reflects the present value of the Company’s estimated future minimum lease payments over the life of its leases. This includes known escalations and renewal option periods reasonably assured of being exercised. Typically, renewal options are considered reasonably assured of being exercised if the sales performance of the location remains strong. Therefore, the ‘Right of Use Asset’ and ‘Lease Liability’ include an assumption on renewal options that have yet been exercised by the Company, and are currently a future obligation. The Company has separated non-lease components from lease components in the recognition of the ‘Right of Use Asset’ and ‘Lease Liability’ except in instances where such costs were practical to separate. To the extent that occupancy costs, such as site maintenance, are included in the ‘Right of Use Asset’ and ‘Lease Liability,’ the impact is immaterial. For franchised locations, the related occupancy costs including property taxes, insurance and site maintenance are generally required to be paid by the franchisees as part of the franchise arrangement. In addition, the Company is the lessee under non-store related leases such as storage facilities and trucking equipment. For leases where the implicit rate is readily determinable, the Company uses an incremental borrowing rate to calculate the lease liability that represents an estimate of the interest rate the Company would incur to borrow on a collateralized basis over the term of a lease. The weighted average discount rate used for operating leases was as of The total estimated future minimum lease payments is million.