-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----
Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR
Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov
Originator-Key-Asymmetric:
 MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen
 TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB
MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA,
 ROY1bpe26x0s9eFiQJe6w9n9P0R49q4bSfM9RSkoqzyWaaKJQ115u6s1cNyMvy3h
 dvrSC5fLdWA5pp5CM6Pwyg==

<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001193125-08-064523.txt : 20080912
<SEC-HEADER>0001193125-08-064523.hdr.sgml : 20080912
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20080325153228
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001193125-08-064523
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20080325

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			INGLES MARKETS INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000050493
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-GROCERY STORES [5411]
		IRS NUMBER:				560846267
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			NC
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0929

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		PO BOX 6676
		CITY:			ASHEVILLE
		STATE:			NC
		ZIP:			28816
		BUSINESS PHONE:		7046692941

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		P O BOX 6676
		CITY:			ASHEVILLE
		STATE:			NC
		ZIP:			28816
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
<HTML><HEAD>
<TITLE>Correspondence</TITLE>
</HEAD>
 <BODY BGCOLOR="WHITE">

 <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px" ALIGN="center"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">March&nbsp;25, 2008 </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"
SIZE="2">Michael Moran </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Accounting Branch Chief </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Brian
McAllister </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Staff Accountant </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Donna Di Silvio </FONT></P> <P
STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Review Accountant </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">United States Securities and Exchange Commission
</FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">100 F Street N.E. </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Washington, DC 20549-7010 </FONT></P> <P
STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Dear Messrs. Moran and McAllister and Ms.&nbsp;Di Silvio: </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"
SIZE="2">We are in receipt of your letter dated March&nbsp;4, 2008 regarding our response dated February&nbsp;19, 2008 to your comment letter dated January&nbsp;17, 2008. Our responses to your comments are provided below. We have repeated each of
your comments in full and the response to each such comment is noted directly below the quoted comment. As noted in response to comment No.&nbsp;1, we will make the changes discussed in future filings, commencing with our Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ending March&nbsp;29, 2008. </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:18px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2"><U>Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September&nbsp;29, 2007 </U></FONT></P> <P
STYLE="margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2"><U>Item&nbsp;7. Management&#146;s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 17 </U></FONT></P> <P
STYLE="margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2"><U>Results of Operations, page 19 </U></FONT></P> <P STYLE="font-size:6px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px">&nbsp;</P>
<TABLE STYLE="BORDER-COLLAPSE:COLLAPSE" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">1.</FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">We have read your response to comment one of our letter dated January&nbsp;17, 2008. Please revise disclosure in future filings to include in tabular form for each period presented
the amount or percentage of total sales contributed by each class of similar products or services such as, for example; grocery, meat and dairy products, produce, frozen foods and other perishables, pharmacy, fuel and other general merchandise.
Refer to Item&nbsp;101(c)(1)(i) of Regulation S-K. Also, revise the notes to your financial statements to provide the disclosure required by paragraph 37 of SFAS No.&nbsp;131. If providing the information to investors is impracticable, disclose that
fact. In your response please show us what your revised disclosure will look like. </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<p Style='page-break-before:always'>
<HR  SIZE="3" COLOR="#999999" WIDTH="100%" ALIGN="CENTER">


 <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">March 25, 2008 </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Page 2
</FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT SIZE="1">&nbsp;</FONT></P>
 <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2"><U>Response</U>: </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">We
understand that one of the primary purposes of Management&#146;s Discussion and Analysis is to present to investors an analysis of company operations through the lens of a Company&#146;s management and in accordance with guidelines provided by the
Commission and by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Our emphasis in day-to-day management and in analyzing our results is on the performance of individual stores. In analyzing this performance, we accord very little significance to increases
or decreases in sales of any particular product or product line. </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">We do not believe that providing a breakdown of the amount or percentage of total sales
contributed by each class of similar products would be helpful to our investors because our executive management team makes no distinction between product type sales in financial information reported or in the day-to-day management of individual
stores. Accordingly, we believe our Management&#146;s Discussion and Analysis should reflect the emphasis on store performance, and that providing data regarding individual product categories would introduce artificial metrics that are not used by
management in assessing Company performance. </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Finally, we repeat our belief from our letter to the Commission dated February&nbsp;19, 2008 that tabular
product sales disclosure would place the Company at a competitive disadvantage in relation to its grocery industry peers in that tabular disclosure is not present in grocery industry peer filings. </FONT></P> <P
STYLE="font-size:12px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px">&nbsp;</P>
<TABLE STYLE="BORDER-COLLAPSE:COLLAPSE" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">2.</FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Further, management&#146;s discussion should also provide a more detailed and specific discussion of material information within the comparable store sales increase for the
comparative periods. For example, your discussion cites promotions, service execution and expanded product selections to be the general reasons for a $268.7 million increase in grocery segment sales in fiscal 2007. Presently, the guidance in SEC
Release No.&nbsp;33-8350 requires an analysis of the material period-to-period changes within the comparable store sales increase and suggests a layered approach of the principal factors underlying financial information already available in the
financial statements. Please further advise or provide us with an example of your revised MD&amp;A quantitatively disclosing material changes within sales and expenses that assist in the understanding of your results of operations. Please also
incorporate key financial metrics used by management including the average customer ticket and customer traffic, as materially applicable. See Item&nbsp;303(a)(3) of Regulation S-K </FONT></TD></TR></TABLE> <P
STYLE="margin-top:18px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2"><U>Response</U>: </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">We currently disclose that gasoline sales accounted for
$80.9 million of the $268.7 million increase in grocery segment comparable sales in fiscal 2007. This was the singular material impact on grocery segment comparable sales that can be quantified. </FONT></P> <P
STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">We will add the following disclosure to our discussion of net sales: </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"
SIZE="2">&#147;Increases in the number of customer transactions and average transaction size (excluding gasoline sales and transactions) during fiscal year 2007 also contributed to the increase grocery segment comparable sales.&#148; </FONT></P>

<p Style='page-break-before:always'>
<HR  SIZE="3" COLOR="#999999" WIDTH="100%" ALIGN="CENTER">


 <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">March 25, 2008 </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Page 3
</FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT SIZE="1">&nbsp;</FONT></P>
<center> <P STYLE="line-height:6px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:2px;border-bottom:1pt solid #000000;width:21%">&nbsp;</P></center> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%"><FONT
FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">The Company acknowledges that: </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">(1) the Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the
disclosure in its filings with the Commission; </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">(2) the staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not
foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to any filing; and </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">(3) the Company may not assert staff comments as a defense
in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. </FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">If you have any
questions or comments regarding the foregoing responses, please contact the undersigned at 828-669-2941, Ext. 223. </FONT></P> <P STYLE="font-size:12px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px">&nbsp;</P><DIV ALIGN="right">
<TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" WIDTH="40%" BORDER="0">

<TR>
<TD WIDTH="100%"></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Very truly yours,</FONT></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD HEIGHT="8"></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Ingles Markets, Incorporated</FONT></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD HEIGHT="16"></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:1px;border-bottom:1px solid #000000"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">/s/ Ronald B. Freeman</FONT></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Ronald B. Freeman</FONT></P></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Chief Financial Officer</FONT></P></TD></TR>
</TABLE></DIV> <P STYLE="margin-top:18px;margin-bottom:0px"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">Attachment </FONT></P>
</BODY></HTML>
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
</SEC-DOCUMENT>
-----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----
