DAYVILLE, Conn., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Natural Foods,
Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) today announced that it has received approval from local
planning and zoning officials to commence the expansion of its Iowa City, Iowa
distribution facility from its existing 120,000 square feet to 260,000 square
feet. The Company acquired the facility, located at 2340 Heinz Road in Iowa
City, Iowa, when it acquired Blooming Prairie Cooperative in October 2002.
Steven Townsend, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I am pleased that
the project was approved by the Iowa City Council, which cited the benefits of
new jobs and increased commercial and industrial development. We are planning
to begin the project by September 2003 and expect the expansion to be
completed by Spring 2004. Accommodating our current and near-term growth
plans, the expansion of our Iowa City facility will enable us to provide
enhanced service levels to our midwestern customers and continue to grow our
sales base in that market. Furthermore, additional storage space allows for
more product diversity and the elimination of outside storage expenses. While
we anticipate incremental short-term costs during the first half of fiscal
2004, we expect the efficiencies created by expanding our Iowa City facility
to lower our expenses relative to sales over the long-term."
Mr. Townsend continued, "On June 23, 2003 we completed the expansion of
our Chesterfield, New Hampshire distribution facility, which included the
consolidation of our operations from Brattleboro, Vermont to Chesterfield, New
Hampshire. The result is a 289,000 square foot facility that provides more
product diversity and enables us to better serve customers in our Eastern
Region. The success of this major transition was possible because of the
transition team's diligence, planning and execution."
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 30,500 products to
more than 11,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of
retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product
superstores and independent retail operators.
For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's
web site at www.unfi.com .
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding United Natural Foods,
Inc.'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 quarterly report on
Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 16, 2003,
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 Foods, Inc. is not undertaking to update any information in the
foregoing reports until the effective date of its future reports required by
applicable laws.
SOURCE United Natural Foods, Inc.
-0- 07/15/2003
/CONTACT: Rick D. Puckett, Chief Financial Officer of United Natural
Foods, +1-860-779-2800; or General Information, Joseph Calabrese,
+1-212-445-8434, or Analyst Information, Vanessa Schwartz, +1-212-445-8433,
both of FRB Weber Shandwick/
/Web site: http://www.unfi.com /
(UNFI)
CO: United Natural Foods, Inc.