PHOTO: Stew Leonard, Jr. recently at his Yonkers, NY store

‘I haven’t met anybody price gouging,’ Leonard told FOX Business’s Elizabeth MacDonald during an interview on ‘The Evening Edit’ – but noted that farmers and ranchers he’s met have adjusted their prices to reflect rising costs.

By Agustin Hays | Fox Business

The CEO of [an iconic, innovative and super-successful tri-state] grocery chain is setting the record straight on Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim over price gouging.

“I haven’t met anybody price gouging.” Stew Leonard Jr. told FOX Business’ Elizabeth MacDonald during an interview on “The Evening Edit.”

However, he noted the farmers and ranchers he has met have adjusted their prices to reflect the rise in costs.

“Our farmers and our ranchers have been reflecting their price increases that they’ve had, which has elevated food prices over the last two, three years now,” he noted.

“We’re seeing increases, you know, like everybody who has a house or a condo or an apartment, you’re seeing costs go up on fuel and energy or gas used to be around 2 or 3 bucks a gallon, it’s a little higher than that now,” he continued.

Leonard Jr. also mentioned how he speaks and deals with his suppliers who inform him their prices are rising.

“They’re not calling me up and trying to artificially increase their prices, they’re calling me because their prices are going up.”

The Harris’ campaign released a document last week saying that if she’s elected, her administration would work with Congress to “advance the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries; set clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive profits on food and groceries.”

When it comes to the vice president’s plan to fight price gouging, Leonard Jr. said, “I’m sure” there was a “small percentage” of companies who saw a “little window during COVID.”

“Most of the people out there right now had to increase their prices due to their costs going up,” and added that overall regulation for his business is “good” to “protect the consumer.”

As far as regulating grocery prices, Leonard Jr. said, “let the market handle pricing.”

“One thing I’ve learned in my 50 years of retailing in our family business, if you raise prices, guess what happens to sales, they go down, you know, unless you’re Gucci or Prada or something like that.”

FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.

About Stew Leonard’s
Stew Leonard’s, a family-owned and operated fresh food store founded in 1969, has eight stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, Conn.; in East Meadow, Farmingdale, and Yonkers, N.Y.; and in Clifton and Paramus, NJ.

Stew’s earned its nickname, the “Disneyland of Dairy Stores” because of its country-fair atmosphere, with costumed characters and animated entertainment throughout the store that keep children entertained while parents shop.

Stew Leonard’s legion of loyal shoppers is largely due to the stores’ passionate approach to customer service: “Rule #1 — The Customer is Always Right”; Rule #2 – If the Customer is Ever Wrong, Re-Read Rule #1.” This principle is so essential to the foundation of the company that it is etched in a three-ton granite rock at each store’s entrance.

The company says its culture is built around an acronym for S.T.E.W.: Satisfy the customer; Teamwork gets it done; Excellence makes it better; WOW makes it fun.##