Inventories

12 Months Ended

Dec. 25, 2021

Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]

Inventories

Note 3    Inventories

Merchandise inventories, as of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, were valued as follows:

(amounts in thousands)	2021		2020
LIFO	$	178,520	$	191,051
Average cost		91,067		77,973
	$	269,587	$	269,024

Management believes the use of the LIFO method for valuing certain inventories represents the most appropriate matching of costs and revenues in the Company’s circumstances. If all inventories were valued on the average cost method, which approximates current cost, total inventories would have been $74.5 million and $70.4 million higher than as reported on the above methods as of December 25, 2021 and December 26, 2020, respectively. During 2021 and 2020, the Company had certain decrements in its LIFO pools, which had an insignificant impact on the cost of sales.