New Warehouse Will Expand Capacity and Reduce Outside Storage
DAYVILLE, Conn., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI - news) today announced that it has signed an agreement to lease a 311,793 square foot distribution center located at 100 LakeView Court in Atlanta, Georgia. This facility will replace the 175,000 square foot facility on Shirley Drive in Atlanta, as well as the outside storage facility in Atlanta, currently being utilized by the Company. United Natural Foods also has an option to purchase the LakeView building later this calendar year.
Steve Townsend, United Natural Foods President and President of the Eastern Region, said, ``The LakeView facility will enable us to provide enhanced service levels to our Southeastern customers and continue to grow our sales base in that market. While we anticipate incremental short-term costs between $0.5 million and $1.0 million during the second and third quarters of fiscal 2002 while we relocate operations into this facility, we expect the efficiencies created by consolidating our two existing facilities into one to lower our expenses relative to sales over the long-term. The size of LakeView gives us current excess capacity that can accommodate future growth. We expect to sublease the current excess capacity.''
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries over 30,000 products to more than 7,000 customers in 50 states. The Company serves a wide variety of retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores and independent retail operators.
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``Safe Harbor'' Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding United Natural's business which are not historical facts are ``forward-looking statements'' that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to general business conditions, the impact of competition and our dependence on principal customers, see ``Risk Factors'' in the Company's annual report on Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on December 15, 2000, and its other filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. United Natural is not undertaking to update any information in the foregoing reports until the effective date of its future reports required by applicable laws.