Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Matthew Difrisco with Oppenheimer.
Jake Bartlett - Oppenheimer
Hello, this is Jake Bartlett in for Matt. My question had to do with grocery stores. I’m wondering whether your targets in 2009 for new distribution points is similar to what to talked about most recently? I think that was about 1000 stores?
Pat O'Dea
Yes, it’s still about a 1000 stores. We added about 200 in a quarter and we still feel like a 1000 for the year is about, right.
Jake Bartlett - Oppenheimer
Okay and for the last 800, is that within the next three quarters? I think originally we were expecting it to be more in the back half of the year?
Pat O'Dea
Yes, I think the bulk of the remainder will be in the back half.
Jake Bartlett - Oppenheimer
Okay and could you remind me for a pricing at the grocery channel. When you start to lap the price increases that you took most recently?
Pat O'Dea
Well, let me talk about that for a minute. In August of last year, it was about 6% price increase in selective geographies and given the environment today, we’ve actually given back most of that price increase in the form of lowering our everyday price, given the environment with the customers that we have taken that price increase in last year. So, I wouldn’t think to the August ’08 price increase of having any impact between now and when we lap of.
Jake Bartlett - Oppenheimer
Okay, so did the improvement in the COGS and occupancy that line items, I thought that was to do with pricing a bit?
Pat O'Dea
Yes, Jake what I said in the speech was 60 basis points of our COGS improvement was due to the pricing we took in those businesses, most of that was retail. There is only about 20 basis points. So, we have a slightly higher in that pricing grocery, but it isn’t a huge impact right now.
Jake Bartlett - Oppenheimer
Okay, but you improved the relative COGS in the specialty sales of about a 170 basis points, I think year-over-year?
Pat O'Dea
Yes and so as you at the other items that would have impacted that, the lower plant costs that goes across all channels, so that would have been helping there and so the operational things that would go from the plant and then they got a little bit of the pricing impact and then a lot of the favorable mix stuff came from our specialty channels also.
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