Supermarket Equipment Appraisals

This is especially important to consider in an equipment valuation using an “in place” appraisal definition of value, such as Fair Market Value Installed or Liquidation Value in Place. And it’s not just all the compressors, back-up systems and cold cases –– it’s how they are all linked together in one large system connected with large amounts of copper pipe and control modules that monitor system wide operations and automatically notify staff if there is a problem.

This is truly a case of the whole being greater than the parts.

Valuing Grocery Equipment in Place

In many situations, grocery equipment would be most appropriately valued “in place.” For instance, we appraised equipment in nearly a dozen supermarkets for a buy/sell situation: one local grocery store chain planned to buy stores from another grocery store chain. Because it was a collateral lending situation, in which the stores being purchased would continue as supermarkets, the appropriate value was Liquidation in Place, which meant that all of the grocery store equipment, including the refrigeration compression system, retained some installation value.

The firm buying the stores also wanted a value for purchase price allocation. This required that we also provide a value of Fair Market Value Installed. While we could have provided separate appraisal reports for the two different values, it’s often more convenient and less expensive for the client when more than one value definition is included in a single report. In a property tax appeal case, we often include values for more than one year so that the report can be used for successive retrospective appeals.

Considering Market Conditions

Acknowledging how major economic trends influence the value of grocery and supermarket equipment and being able to communicate these trends in a clear manner is a key part of our valuation process. For instance, in a valuation for a local grocery chain, we addressed how changes in consumer demand for fresh and ready-to-eat products in the area was creating significant changes in the grocery industry, ultimately effecting value of some types of equipment.

Appraiser Qualifications

Our accredited equipment and machinery appraiser, Jack Young, started his high school working career as a bag boy and stocker at an independent grocery store.  More recently, he has served on the Davis Food Co-op Board and also on the Audit Committee. As Auction Manager for West Auctions in Woodland, CA, Jack liquidated several groceries and supermarkets, and as an equipment appraiser, has valued numerous stores. One of his interests when traveling is visiting supermarkets and grocery stores to study regional differences in equipment and design.

Our machinery and equipment appraisal reports are the work of an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in Machinery & Technical Specialties, the designation awarded by the American Society of Appraisers to educated, experienced and qualified individuals in the specialized equipment appraisal industry.

Call us at 530.795.5536 for a free consultation regarding your grocery equipment appraisal needs.

We appraise all Fixtures & Equipment used in Grocery Facilities and Supermarkets, including Warehouse Stores: Establishments, Racking, Displays, Point of Sale Systems, Telephone System Equipment and Computer Equipment — and related equipment — including: