Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 24, 2011

Note H – Fair Value Measurements

The company applies authoritative accounting guidance for fair value measurements of financial and nonfinancial assets and liabilities. This guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The related rules provide the following hierarchy for measuring fair value:

Level 1:

Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2:

Observable market based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.

Level 3:

Significant unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data. Generally, these fair value measures are model-based valuation techniques such as discounted cash flows or option pricing models using our own estimates and assumptions or those expected to be used by market participants.

Foreign currency contracts are valued at amounts receivable or payable to terminate the agreements at the reporting date and are based on observable market data for similar assets and liabilities. The carrying amounts of trade and other accounts receivable, trade and other accounts payable and other accrued expenses approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments.

Fair value estimates may be required to measure certain assets and liabilities on a nonrecurring basis for asset impairments and exit cost valuations.

The following table summarizes the company's financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:


	Level 2
(In thousands)	Fair Value Measurement Category
	September 24, 2011		December 25, 2010		September 25, 2010
Assets
Commodity contracts - fuel	$	725	$	253	$	—
Foreign exchange contracts		952		—		—
Liabilities:
Foreign exchange contracts	$	38	$	434	$	304

The company records its senior notes payable at par value, adjusted for amortization of a fair value hedge which was cancelled in 2005. The fair value of the senior notes indicated in the following table was determined based on quoted market prices.


	September 24, 2011				December 25, 2010				September 25, 2010
(In thousands)	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
$400 million senior notes	$	399,998	$	388,000	$	400,067	$	398,000	$	400,093	$	393,480

The company regularly assesses the performance of each retail store against historic patterns and projections of future profitability for evidence of possible asset impairment. For the retail business, these projections are based on management's estimates of store-level sales, gross margins, direct expenses and resulting cash flows and, by their nature, include judgments about how current initiatives will impact future performance. If the anticipated cash flows of a store cannot support the carrying value of its assets, the projected cash flows are discounted to develop a Level 3 estimate of fair value. An impairment loss is recognized for the amount an individual store's carrying value exceeds its fair value. During the third quarter of 2011 and 2010, impairment charges of $4.5 million and $2.3 million, respectively, were recognized in the North American Retail Division. An additional $0.7 million was recognized in the first quarter of 2011.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the fair value measurement of assets and liabilities which includes [financial] instruments measured at fair value that are classified in stockholders' equity. Such assets and liabilities may be measured on a recurring or nonrecurring basis. The disclosures which may be required or desired include: (1) for assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis, disclosure may include: (a) the fair value measurements at the reporting date; (b) the level within the fair value hierarchy in which the fair value measurements in their entirety fall, segregating fair value measurements using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1), significant other observable inputs (Level 2), and significant unobservable inputs (Level 3); (c) for fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances, separately presenting changes during the period attributable to the following: (i) total gains or losses for the period (realized and unrealized), segregating those gains or losses included in earnings (or changes in net assets), and a description of where those gains or losses included in earnings (or changes in net assets) are reported in the statement of income (or activities); (ii) purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements (net); (iii) transfers in and transfers out of Level 3 (for example, transfers due to changes in the observability of significant inputs); (d) the amount of the total gains or losses for the period in subparagraph (c) (i) above included in earnings (or changes in net assets) that are attributable to the change in unrealized gains or losses relating to those assets and liabilities still held at the reporting date and a description of where those unrealized gains or losses are reported in the statement of income (or activities); (e) the valuation technique(s) used to measure fair value and a discussion of changes in valuation techniques, if any, during the period and (2) for assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis (for example, impaired assets) disclosure may include, in addition to (a) above: (a) the reasons for the fair value measurements recorded; (b) the same as (b) above; (c) for fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), a description of the inputs and the information used to develop the inputs; and (d) the valuation technique(s) used to measure fair value and a discussion of changes, if any, in the valuation technique(s) used to measure similar assets and/or liabilities in prior periods. Where the quoted price in an active market for the identical liability is not available, the Level 1 input is the quoted price of an identical liability when traded as an asset.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6925170&loc=d3e19279-110258

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 157

-Paragraph 32

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 157

-Paragraph 33

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 107

-Paragraph 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 5

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6925170&loc=d3e19296-110258

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6925170&loc=d3e19207-110258

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 157

-Paragraph 6

-Footnote 4

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6925170&loc=d3e19190-110258

+ Details