To Open New Distribution Facility in Rocklin, CaDAYVILLE, Conn., March 4, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- United Natural Foods,
Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) (the "Company") today announced plans to open a new
state-of-the-art distribution facility in Rocklin, California. The Company
purchased a new facility on March 1, 2005, and plans to move its current
operations in Auburn, California to Rocklin by late summer of 2005. The new
building is 487,000 square feet and will be the largest facility in UNFI's
nationwide distribution network.
The Rocklin facility is scheduled to commence operations by September 2005
and will serve as a distribution hub for customers in northern California and
surrounding states. United Natural Foods currently has 17 distribution
centers throughout the United States, consisting of approximately 3.0 million
square feet of space. United Natural Foods has the largest warehouse capacity
of any distributor in the natural products industry.
"We are excited about the opportunity to further strengthen our
distribution network and open a new state-of-the-art facility in northern
California," commented Steven Townsend, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
"We remain focused on meeting the strong and growing consumer demand for
natural and organic products and are committed to being the highest quality
and most efficient distributor for the natural products industry. The Rocklin
center will utilize innovative technologies to create greater efficiencies and
productivity, and will ensure that our customers continue to receive enhanced
product diversity and superior customer service."
Mr. Townsend added, "Consistent with our strategy to invest in our people,
facilities, equipment and technology to continue to drive efficiencies
throughout our Company, this facility will be a solid addition to our
extensive nationwide distribution infrastructure and has the capacity to
accommodate future growth."
The Company noted that the distance between the new facility in Rocklin,
California and its current center in Auburn, California is approximately
20 miles and no jobs are expected to be impacted in the transition.
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 43,000 products to
more than 21,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of
retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product
superstores, independent retail operators and the food service channel. For
more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's website at
http://www.unfi.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding the Company's business
that 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 Commission on December 10, 2004, 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. The Company is not
undertaking to update any information in the foregoing reports until the
effective date of its future reports required by applicable laws. Any
projections of future results of operations should not be construed in any
manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections
are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results.
The Company may from time to time update these publicly announced projections,
but it is not obligated to do so.
SOURCE United Natural Foods, Inc.
Rick D. Puckett, Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, United Natural Foods,
+1-860-779-2800; or Joseph Calabrese, General Information of Financial Relations
Board, +1-212-827-3772