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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K


(Mark One)

 

 
þý ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



For the fiscal year ended August 1, 2009July 31, 2010

 

 

or

o

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

 

For the transition period from                                    to                                   

Commission File Number: 0-21531

UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Delaware


05-0376157
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 05-0376157
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

313 Iron Horse Way, Providence, RI 02908
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
(401) 528-8634

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None

          Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þý No o

          Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No þý

          Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þý No o

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o No o

          Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K o

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filerþý Accelerated Filero
Non-accelerated Filero
(Do (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
 Smaller Reporting Companyo

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þý

          The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $667,268,501$1,165,070,685 based upon the closing price of the registrant's common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market® on January 30, 2009.29, 2010. The number of shares of the registrant's common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding as of September 10, 20097, 2010 was 43,236,752.43,552,259.


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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant's definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on January 13,December 16, 2010 are incorporated herein by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.


UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section  
 Page

Part I

    

Item 1.

 

Business

 
1

Executive Officers of the Registrant


13

Item 1A.

 

Risk Factors

 
1215

Item 1B.

 

Unresolved Staff Comments

 
1823

Item 2.

 

Properties

 
1823

Item 3.

 

Legal Proceedings

 
1925

Item 4.

 

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders (Removed and Reserved)

 
1925

Executive Officers of the Registrant


20

Part II

    

Item 5.

 

Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 
2226

Item 6.

 

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

 
2428

Item 7.

 

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 
2529

Item 7A.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 
4046

Item 8.

 

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

 
4147

Item 9.

 

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

 
7379

Item 9A.

 

Controls and Procedures

 
7379

Item 9B.

 

Other Information

 
7480

Part III

    

Item 10.

 

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

 
7581

Item 11.

 

Executive Compensation

 
7581

Item 12.

 

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

 
7581

Item 13.

 

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

 
7581

Item 14.

 

Principal Accounting Fees and Services

 
7681

Part IV

    

Item 15.

 

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

 
7682

 

Signatures

 
7783

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PART I.

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

Overview

        We believe we are athe leading national distributor based on sales of natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products in the United States.States and Canada. We operate twenty-eight distribution centers, representing approximately 7.6 million square feet of warehouse space, which we believe provide us with the largest capacity of any North American-based distributor in the natural, organic and specialty products industry. We carry more than 60,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products, consisting of national, brand, regional brand,and private label and master distribution products,brands in six product categories: grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition, bulk and food servicefoodservice products and personal care items. We serve more than 17,00023,000 customer locations primarily located across the United States the majority ofand Canada which can be classified into one of the following categories: as follows:

        We were the first organic food distribution network in the United States designated as a "Certified Organic Distributor" by Quality Assurance International, Inc. ("QAI"). This process involved a comprehensive review by QAI of our operating and purchasing systems and procedures. This certification covers all of our broadline distribution centers except for our recently completed facility in York, Pennsylvania, which we anticipate will be tested during October 2009, andthe US, except our UNFI Specialty Distributiondistribution centers. Four of our Canadian distribution centers are certified by either QAI or Ecocert Canada, while the remaining distribution center sells only Kosher foods and is therefore not certified organic.

        Since the formation of our predecessor in 1976, we have expanded our distribution network, product selection and customer base both organically and through acquisitions. Since fiscal year 2000, our net sales have increased at a compounded annual growth rate ("CAGR") of 15.3%. In recent years, our sales to existing and new customers have increased through the continued growth of the natural products industry in general, increased market share as a result of our high-quality service and broader product selection, the expansion of our existing distribution centers, the construction of new distribution centers and the development of our own line of natural and organic branded products. Through these efforts, we believe that we have broadened our geographic penetration, expanded our customer base, enhanced and diversified our product selection and increased our market share.

        We have been the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market, for more than 1112 years. Effective June 2, 2010, we amended our distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market to extend the term of the agreement for an additional seven years. Under the terms of the amended agreement, we will continue to serve as the primary wholesale natural grocery distributor to Whole Foods Market in its United States regions where we were serving as the primary distributor at the time of the amendment. The amendment extended the expiration date of the agreement from September 25, 2013 to September 25, 2020. On July 28, 2010, we announced that we had entered into an asset purchase agreement under which we have agreed to acquire certain distribution and related assets of Whole Foods Market Distribution, Inc. previously used for their self-distribution of non-perishables in their Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions and have undertaken to become the primary distributor in these regions. Consummation of the transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur in late September 2010 in the case of the Southwest region and early October 2010 in the case of the Rocky Mountain region. Following the closing of this transaction, we will serve as the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States. Our relationship


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with Whole Foods Market was expanded to cover the former Wild Oats Markets, Inc. ("Wild Oats Market"Markets") stores retained by Whole Foods Market following Whole Foods Market's merger with Wild Oats Markets in August 2007. We had served as the primary distributor of natural and organic foods and non-food products to Wild Oats MarketMarkets prior to the merger. The Henry's

        On June 11, 2010, we acquired certain Canadian food distribution assets of the SunOpta Distribution Group business ("SDG") of SunOpta Inc. ("SunOpta") (the "SDG assets"), through our wholly-owned subsidiary, UNFI Canada, Inc. ("UNFI Canada"). With the acquisition, we believe we are the largest distributor of natural, organic and Sun Harvest stores divested by Whole Foods Market, and acquired byspecialty foods, including kosher foods, in Canada. This was a subsidiary of Smart & Final Inc., remain our customers.strategic acquisition as UNFI Canada provides us with an immediate platform for growth in the Canadian market.

        On November 2, 2007, we acquired Distribution Holdings, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Millbrook Distribution Services, Inc. ("DHI"), which we now refer to as UNFI Specialty Distribution Services ("UNFI Specialty"). Through UNFI Specialty, we distribute specialty food items (including ethnic, kosher, gourmet, organic and natural foods), health and beauty care items and other non-food items. We believe that the acquisition of DHI accomplishesaccomplished certain of our strategic objectives, including accelerating our expansion into a number of high-growth business segments and establishing immediate market share in the fast-growing specialty foods market. Due to our expansion into specialty foods, during fiscal 2010 we gained new business with a number of conventional supermarkets that previously had not done business with us because we did not distribute specialty products. We believe that UNFI Specialty's customer base enhances our conventional supermarket business channel and that our complementary product lines present opportunities for cross-selling. See "—Our"Our Operating Structure—Wholesale Division" for further information regarding this acquisition and our specialty distribution business.

        In recent years, our sales to existing and new customers have increased through the continued growth of the natural products industry in general, increased market share as a result of our high-quality service and broader product selection, the acquisition of, or merger with, natural and specialty products distributors, the expansion of our existing distribution centers, the construction of new distribution centers and the development of our own line of natural and organic branded products. Through these efforts, we believe that we have been able to broaden our geographic penetration, expand our customer base, enhance and diversify our product selections and increase our market share. We also own and operate 1312 natural products retail stores within the United States, located primarily in Florida (with two locations in Maryland and one in Massachusetts), through our subsidiary, Natural Retail Group, Inc. ("NRG"). We also operate one natural product retail store, Drive Organics, in Vancouver, British Columbia. We believe that our retail business serves as a natural complement to our distribution business because it enables us to develop new marketing programs and improve customer service.


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In addition, our United Natural Trading Co. subsidiary, which does business as Woodstock Farms and was previously known as Hershey Imports Company,Manufacturing, specializes in the international importation, roasting, packaging and packagingdistribution of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, dried fruitstrail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items.items and confections.

        We are a Delaware corporation based in Providence, Rhode Island and we conduct business through our various wholly owned subsidiaries. We operated twentytwenty-eight distribution centers at 20092010 fiscal year end. We believe that our distribution centers provide us with the largest capacity of any distributor in theof natural, organic and specialty products industry. Wein the United States or Canada. In July 2010, our newest distribution center, located in Lancaster, Texas commenced operations and began receiving product. Shipments to customers from this facility commenced in late September 2010. With the opening of our Lancaster, Texas facility and following our acquisition in Canada, we have increased our distribution capacity to approximately 6.37.6 million square feet.

Unless otherwise specified, references to "United Natural Foods," "we," "us," "our" or "the Company" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include our consolidated subsidiaries. We operate in one reportable segment, the wholesale segment. See the financial statements and notes thereto included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Report for information regarding our financial performance.

The Natural Products Industry

        The natural products industry encompasses a wide range of products in addition to food products (includingincluding organic foods). These other product categories includeand non-organic foods, nutritional, herbal and sports supplements;supplements, toiletries and personal care items;items, naturally-based cosmetics;cosmetics, natural/homeopathic medicines;medicines, pet products and cleaning agents. According to the June 2009 issue ofThe Natural Foods Merchandiser, a leading natural products industry trade publication, sales for all


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types of natural products were $76.1 billion in 2009 and the industry has grown at a CAGR of 10.5% over the last ten years. We believe the growth rate of the natural products industry saleshas outpaced the growth of the overall food-at-home industry as a result of the increasing demand by consumers for all types of natural products rose to $68.0 billion in 2008, an increase of approximately 9.0% over 2007. According toThe Natural Foods Merchandiser, this increase in sales, from a total dollar perspective, was driven primarily by growth in the following categories:

        The fastest growing categories, although not necessarily the largest dollar volume categories, in the natural products industry were pet products, housewares, fresh meat/seafood and beer/wine. environmental protection.

Our Operating Structure

        Our operations are comprised of three principal operating divisions. These operating divisions are:

        Our broadline distribution business is organized into twothree regions—our Eastern Region, our Western Region and our Western Region.Canadian region. We distribute natural, organic and organicspecialty products in all of our product categories to


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customers in the Eastern and Midwestern portions of the United States through our Eastern Region and to customers in the Western and Central portions of the United States through our Western Region. Our Canadian Region distributes natural, organic and specialty products in all of our product categories to all of our customers in Canada. As of our 20092010 fiscal year end, our Eastern Region operatesoperated seven distribution centers, which provideprovided approximately 2.6 million square feet of warehouse space, and our Western Region operatesoperated six distribution centers, which provideprovided approximately 2.02.3 million square feet of warehouse space and our Canadian Region operated five distribution centers, which provided approximately 0.3 million square feet of warehouse space.

        We acquired our specialty distribution business, which we refer to as UNFI Specialty, through our acquisition of DHI on November 2, 2007. Our UNFI Specialty division operates distribution centers located in Massachusetts and Arkansas, which provide approximately 1.4 million square feet of warehouse space, serving customers primarily throughout the Eastern and Midwestern portions of the United States. We have also begun the integration ofThrough UNFI Specialty, and specialty products are now being sold through several of our broadline distribution centers. Through our specialty distribution division, we distribute specialty food items (including ethnic, kosher, gourmet, organic and natural foods), health and beauty care items and other non-food items. We have also continued the integration of UNFI Specialty and specialty products are now being sold through our broadline distribution centers.

        Through Albert's, we distribute organically grown produce and non-produce perishables, such as organic milk, dressings, eggs, juices, poultry and various other refrigerated specialty items. Albert's operates out of sixeight distribution centers strategically located in all regions of the United States, and is designated as a "Certified Organic Distributor" by QAI.

        Through Select Nutrition, we distribute more than 14,000 health and beauty aids, vitamins, minerals and supplements from distribution centers in CaliforniaPennsylvania and Pennsylvania.California.

        Certain of our distribution centers are shared by multiple operations inwithin our wholesale division.


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        We own and operate 1312 natural products retail stores within the United States, located primarily in Florida (with two locations in Maryland and one in Massachusetts), through NRG. We also operate a retail store in Vancouver, British Columbia within Canada that is reflected within our wholesale division. We believe that our retail business serves as a natural complement to our distribution business because it enables us to develop new marketing programs and improve customer service.

        We believe our retail stores have a number of advantages over their competitors, including our financial strength and marketing expertise, the purchasing power resulting from group purchasing by stores within NRG and the breadth of our product selection.

        We believe that we benefit from certain advantages in acting as a distributor to our retail stores, including our ability to:

        Additionally, as the primary natural products distributor to our retail locations, we realize significant economies of scale and operating and buying efficiencies. As an operator of retail stores, we also have the ability to test market select products prior to offering them nationally. We can then evaluate consumer reaction to the product without incurring significant inventory risk. We also are able to test new marketing and promotional programs within our stores prior to offering them to our broaderwholesale customer base.

        Our subsidiary Woodstock Farms Manufacturing specializes in the international importation, roasting, packaging and packagingdistribution of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, dried fruitstrail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items.items and confections. We sell these items in bulk in our own packaged


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snack lines, EXPRESSnacks, Woodfield Farms and Woodstock Farms, and through private label packaging arrangements we have established with large health food, supermarket and convenience store chains.chains and independent owners. We operate our manufacturing operations out of aan organic (USDA and QAI) and kosher (Circle K) certified packaging, roasting, and processing facility in New Jersey and a warehouse in Los Angeles, California.Jersey.

        Our Blue Marble Brands product lines address certain needs or preferences of customers of our wholesale division, which are not otherwise being met by other suppliers. We carry over 2025 brand names, representing over 700900 unique products. Our Blue Marble Brands products are sold through our wholesale division, through third-party distributors in the natural, organic and specialty industry and directly to retailers. Our Field Day brand is only sold to customers in our independent channel, and is meant to serve as a private label brand for independent retailers to allow them to compete with conventional supermarkets which often have their own private label store brands.

Our Competitive AdvantagesStrengths

        We believe that we benefitdistinguish ourselves from a number of significant competitive advantages, includingour competitors through the following.following strengths:

        We believe that we are the largest distributor of natural, organic and specialty products by sales in the United States and Canada, and one of the few distributors capable of meeting the natural, organic and specialty product needs of local and regional customers, as well assupermarket chains, and the rapidly growing national supernatural and supermarket chains.chain. We completed the build-out of our distribution system in July 2010 with


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the opening of our facility in Lancaster, Texas. We believe we havethat our network of twenty-eight distribution centers (including five in Canada) creates significant advantages over smaller and regional natural, organicdistributors. Our nationwide presence across the United States and specialty products distributors as a result of our ability to:

same day or next day on-time deliveries.

        In addition toWe believe that our scale affords us significant benefits within a highly fragmented industry, including volume purchasing opportunities a critical component of being an efficient distributor is our management ofand warehouse and distribution costs.efficiencies. Our continued growth has created the needallowed us to expand our existing facilities and open new facilities to achieve maximum operating efficiencies, including by reducingreduced fuel and other transportation costs, and to assure adequate spacehas created sufficient capacity for future needs.growth. Recent efficiency improvements include the centralization of general and administrative functions, the consolidation of systems applications among physical locations and regions and the optimization of customer distribution routes, all of which reduced expenses. We have made significant capital expendituresinvestments in our people, facilities, equipment and have incurred considerable expensestechnology in connection withorder to broaden our footprint and enhance the opening and expansionefficiency of distribution facilities. our operations. Key examples include the following:

        We serve more than 17,000 customer locations primarily located acrossThroughout the United States. We34 years of our, and our predecessors' operations, we have developed long-standing customer relationships, which we believe are among the strongest in our industry. In particular, we have been the primary supplier of natural and organic products to the largest supernatural chain in the United States, Whole Foods Market, for more than eleven12 years. A key driver of


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our strong customer loyalty is our superior service levels, which include accurate fulfillment of orders, timely product delivery, competitive prices and a high level of product marketing support. Our average distribution in-stock service level for fiscal 2009 was approximately 98%, which we believe is the highest in our industry. Distribution service levels refer toyear 2010, measured as the percentage of items ordered by customers that are delivered by the requested delivery date excluding manufacturers' "out of stocks."(excluding manufacturer out-of-stocks), was approximately 98%. We believe that our high distribution service levels are attributable to our experienced purchasing departments and sophisticated warehousing, inventory control and distribution systems. WeFurthermore, we offer next-day delivery service to a majority of our active customers and offer multiple deliveries each week to our largest customers. Wecustomers, which we believe that customer loyalty is dependent upon excellent customer service, including accurate fulfillmentdifferentiates us from many of orders, timely product delivery, competitive prices and a high level of product marketing support.our competitors.

        Our management team has extensive experience in the retail and distribution business, including the natural and specialty product industries. On average, our senior management team has approximately 16 years of experience in the retail, natural products industries and has been successful in identifying, consummating and integrating multiple acquisitions. Since 2000, we have successfully completed seven acquisitions of distributors, manufacturers and suppliers, two acquisitions of retail stores and eleven acquisitions of branded product lines.or distribution industry. In addition, we believe our executive officers and directors, andemployee base is highly motivated as our Employee Stock Ownership Trust beneficially own in the aggregateowns approximately 6.7%5.6% of our common stock. AFurthermore, a significant portion of our employees' compensation is equity based or performance based, and, therefore, there is a substantial incentive to continue to generate strong growth in operating results in the future.

Our Growth Strategy

        Our growth strategy isWe seek to maintain and enhance our position as a leading national distributor towithin the natural and organic industry in the United States and Canada and to increase our market share in the specialty products industry. Since our formation, we have grown our business through the acquisition of a number of distributors and suppliers, which has expanded our distribution network, product selection and customer base. For example, we acquired our Albert's, NRG, and Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, and UNFI Specialty businesses and, during fiscal 2008,2010, we acquired DHI, the source of our specialty distribution business.assets that comprise UNFI Canada.

        To implement our growth strategy, we intend to continue to increaseincreasing our leading market share of the growing natural and organic products industry by expanding our customer base, increasing our share of existing customers' business and continuing to expand and further penetrate new distribution territories, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic Southern Pennsylvania and South CentralSouthwestern United States markets and Canadian markets. We plan to expand our presence within the specialty industry by offering new and existing customers a single wholesale distributor capable of meeting their specialty and natural and organic product needs on a national or regional basis. Key elements of our strategy include:

        As of August 1, 2009,July 31, 2010, we served more than 17,00023,000 customer locations primarily located throughoutin the United States.States and Canada. We plan to continue expandingexpand our coverage of the highly fragmented natural and organic and specialty products industryindustries by cultivating new customer relationships within the industrythese industries and by further developing otherour existing channels of distribution, such as traditionalindependent natural products retailers, conventional supermarkets, mass market outlets, institutional food servicefoodservice providers, international, buying clubs hotels and gourmet stores. With the coordinated distribution of our specialty products with our natural and organic products, which commenced with the integration of our York, Pennsylvania facility in April 2009, we believe that we have the opportunity to continue gaining market share in the conventional supermarket channel as the result of our ability to offer an integrated and efficient distribution solution for our customers. In fiscal 2010 we gained new business from a number of conventional supermarket customers, including Giant-Landover, Shop-Rite and Kings, partially as a result of our complementary product selection.


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        We believe that we are the primary distributor of natural and organic products to the majority of our natural products customer base, including to Whole Foods Market, our largest customer. We intend to maintain our position as the primary supplier for a majority of our customers, and add to the number of customers for which we serve as primary supplier, by offering the broadest product selection in our industry at competitive prices. With the acquisition of DHI, and the expansion of UNFI Specialty, we further believe that we have the ability to further meet our existing customers' needs for specialty foods and products as well as certain general merchandise. We believe this representsmerchandise, representing an opportunity to accelerate our sales growth within the conventional supermarket, channel and potentially our supernatural and independent channels.

        We have launched a numberinvested in excess of private label or branded product lines$200 million in order to provide our customers with a broader selection of product offerings. Indistribution network and infrastructure over the past five fiscal 2009, our branded product net sales were approximately 3.1%years. We completed the build-out of our overall net sales. Wenationwide distribution system in July 2010 with the opening of our facility in Lancaster, Texas which began serving customers in late September 2010. Our Lancaster facility is the first facility to use our national supply chain platform and warehouse management system which we plan to increaseimplement throughout our branded products business through organic growth. Wenetwork over the next few years and which we believe this initiative differentiates us from other distributors withinwill further enhance the efficiency of our industry, enables usnetwork. Although our distribution network services all markets in the United States and Canada, we will continue to selectively evaluate opportunities to build long-term brand equity for the Companyor lease new facilities or to acquire distributors to better serve existing markets. Further, we will maintain our focus on realizing efficiencies and allows useconomies of scale in purchasing, warehousing, transportation and general and administrative functions, which, combined with incremental fixed cost leverage, should lead to generate higher gross margins, as branded product revenues generally yield higher margins than do third party branded product revenues.continued improvements in our operating margin.

        We believe that we will be successful in expanding into the food servicefoodservice channel as well as further enhancing our presence inoutside of the international channel.United States and Canada. We will continue to seek to develop regional relationships and alliances with companies such as Aramark Corporation, the Compass Group North America, and Sodexho Inc. in the food servicefoodservice channel and seek other alliances inoutside the international channel.United States and Canada.

        As discussed under "—Our Competitive Advantages" above,Throughout our history, we have made significant capital expendituressuccessfully identified, consummated and incurred considerable expenses in connection with the constructionintegrated multiple acquisitions. Since 2000, we have successfully completed eight acquisitions of new, or the expansiondistributors, manufacturers and suppliers, two acquisitions of existing, distribution facilities.retail stores and eleven acquisitions of branded product lines. We willintend to continue to selectively evaluate opportunities to build or lease new facilities or to acquire distributors to better serve existing markets and expand into new markets. Further, we will maintain our focus on integrating these new or acquired facilities into our nationwide distribution networkpursue opportunistic acquisitions in order to improveexpand the breadth of our economies of scale in purchasing, warehousing, transportationdistribution network, increase our efficiency or add additional products and general and administrative functions, which we believe will lead to continued improvements in our operating margin.capabilities.

        We believe that we provide the leading distribution solution to the natural, organic and specialty products industry through our national presence, regional responsiveness, focus on customer service and breadth of product offerings. Our service levels, which we believe to be the highest in our industry, are attributable to our experienced purchasing departments and our sophisticated warehousing, inventory control and distribution systems. See "—Our Focus on Technology" below for more information regarding our use of technology in our warehousing, inventory control and distribution systems.


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        Among the benefits we provide to our customers is access, at preferred rates and terms, to the suite of products developed by Living Naturally, LLC, a leading provider of marketing promotion and


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electronic ordering systems to the natural and organic products industry. We have maintained a strategic alliance with Living Naturally since 2002. The products provided by Living Naturally include an intelligent electronic ordering system and turnkey retailer website services, which create new opportunities for our retailers to increase their inventory turns, reduce their costs and enhance their profits. We also offer our customers a selection of inventory management, merchandising, marketing, promotional and event management services designed to increase sales and enhance customer satisfaction. These marketing services, which primarily are utilized by customers in our independently owned natural products retailers channel and many of which are co-sponsored with suppliers, include monthly and thematic circular programs, in-store signage and assistance in product display.

Our Customers

        We maintain long-standing customer relationships with independently-owned natural products retailers, supernatural chains and supermarket chains. In addition, we emphasize our relationships with new customers, such as national conventional supermarkets, mass market outlets and gourmet stores, which are continually increasing their natural product offerings. The following were included among our wholesale customers for fiscal 2009:2010:

        Whole Foods Market accounted for approximately 33.1%35% of our net sales in fiscal 2009.2010. In October 2006, we announced a seven-year distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market, which commenced on September 26, 2006, under which2006. In June 2010 we amended our distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market to extend the term of the agreement for an additional seven years. Under the terms of the amended agreement, we will continue to serve as the primary U.S.wholesale natural grocery distributor to Whole Foods Market in theits United States regions where we previously served. In January 2007, we expanded our Whole Foods Market relationship incurrently serve as the Southern Pacific regionprimary distributor. The amendment extended the expiration date of the United States.agreement from September 25, 2013 to September 25, 2020. Our relationship with Whole Foods Market was further expanded in August 2007, when Whole Foods Market completed its merger with Wild Oats Markets. We had served as the primary distributor of natural and organic foods and non-food products to Wild Oats Markets prior to the merger, and we continue to serve the former Wild Oats Markets stores retained by Whole Foods Market under our distribution arrangement with Whole Foods Market. We also continue to serve as a primary distributor to the Henry's and Sun Harvest store locations previously owned by Wild Oats Markets and sold by Whole Foods Market to a subsidiary of Smart & Final Inc. on September 30, 2007. Sales to Henry's and Sun Harvest store locations were reflected in our conventional supermarket channel beginning in fiscal 2008.

        On July 28, 2010, we announced that we had entered into an asset purchase agreement under which we have agreed to acquire certain distribution and related assets of Whole Foods Market Distribution, Inc. previously used for their self-distribution of non-perishables in their Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions and have undertaken to become the primary distributor in these regions. Consummation of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur in late September 2010 in the case of the Southwest region and early October 2010 in the case of the Rocky Mountain region. Following the closing of this transaction, we will serve as the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States.


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        The following table lists the percentage of sales by customer type for the years ended July 31, 2010 and August 1, 2009 and August 2, 2008:2009:

 
 Percentage
of Net Sales
 
Customer Type
 2009 2008 

Independently owned natural products retailers

  42% 42%

Supernatural chains

  33% 31%

Conventional supermarkets

  20% 23%

Other

  5% 4%

 
 Percentage
of Net Sales
 
Customer Type
 2010 2009 

Independently owned natural products retailers

  40% 42%

Supernatural chains

  35% 33%

Conventional supermarkets

  21% 20%

Other

  4% 5%

        We distribute natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products to customers located in the United States, as well as to customers internationally. Our sales to international customers, representincluding those in Canada, represented approximately one percent of our business in fiscal 2010, and less than one percent of our business.


Tablebusiness in fiscal 2009. We believe that our international sales, as a percentage of Contentsour total sales, will expand as we seek to grow our Canadian operations.

Our Marketing Services

        We have developed a variety of supplier-sponsored marketing services,programs, which cater to a broad range of retail formats. These programs are designed to educate consumers, profile suppliers and increase sales for retailers, many of which do not have the resources necessary to conduct such marketing programs independently.

        Our marketing programs include:

        We keep current with the latest trends in the industry. Periodically, we conduct focus group sessions with certain key retailers and suppliers in order to ascertain their needs and allow us to better service them. We also:


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Our Products

        Our extensive selection of high-quality natural, organic and specialty products enables us to provide a primary source of supply to a diverse base of customers whose product needs vary significantly. We carry more than 60,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty products, consisting of national brand, regional brand, private label and master distribution products, in six product categories: grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, nutritional supplements, bulk and food service products and personal care items. Our branded product lines address certain needs or preferences of our customers, which are not otherwise being met by other suppliers.


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        We continuously evaluate potential new private branded and other products based on both existing and anticipated trends in consumer preferences and buying patterns. Our buyers regularly attend regional and national natural, organic, specialty, ethnic and gourmet product shows to review the latest products that are likely to be of interest to retailers and consumers. We also actively solicit suggestions for new products from our customers. We make the majority of our new product decisions at the regional level. We believe that our decentralized purchasing practices allow our regional buyers to react quickly to changing consumer preferences and to evaluate new products and new product categories regionally. Additionally, many of the new products that we offer are marketed on a regional basis or in our own retail stores prior to being offered nationally, which enables us to evaluate local consumer reaction to the products without incurring significant inventory risk. Furthermore, by exchanging regional product sales information between our regions, we are able to make more informed and timely new product decisions in each region.

        We maintain a comprehensive quality assurance program. All of the products we sell that are represented as "organic" are required to be certified as such by an independent third-party agency. We maintain current certification affidavits on all organic commodities and produce in order to verify the authenticity of the product. All potential suppliers of organic products are required to provide such third-party certifications to us before they are approved as suppliers.

Our Suppliers

        We purchase our products from approximately 4,3004,600 suppliers. The majority of our suppliers are based in the United States and Canada, but we also source products from suppliers throughout Europe, Asia, Central America, South America, Africa and Australia. We believe the reason suppliers of natural and organic products seek to distribute their products through us is because we provide access to a large and growing national customer base across the United States and Canada, distribute the majority of the suppliers' products and offer a wide variety of marketing programs to our customers to help sell the suppliers' products. Substantially all product categories that we distribute are available from a number of suppliers and, therefore, we are not dependent on any single source of supply for any product category. Our largest supplier, Hain Celestial Group, Inc. ("Hain"), accounted for approximately 7.8%7% of our total purchases in fiscal 2009.2010. However, the product categories we purchase from Hain can be purchased from a number of other suppliers. In addition, although we have exclusive distribution


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arrangements and vendor support programs with several suppliers, none of theseour suppliers accounts for more than 10% of our total purchases.

        We have positioned ourselves as the largest purchaser of organically grown bulk products in the natural and organic products industry by centralizing our purchase of nuts, seeds, grains, flours and dried foods. As a result, we are able to negotiate purchases from suppliers on the basis of volume and other considerations that may include discounted pricing or prompt payment discounts. Furthermore, many of our purchase arrangements include the right of return to the supplier with respect to products that we are not able to sell in a certain period of time. As described under "—Our"Our Products" above, each region is responsible for placing its own orders and can select the products that it believes will most appeal to its customers, although each region is able to participate in our company-wide purchasing programs. Our outstanding commitments for the purchase of inventory were approximately $27.7$27.8 million as of August 1, 2009.July 31, 2010.

Our Distribution System

        We have carefully chosen the sites for our distribution centers to provide direct access to our regional markets. This proximity allows us to reduce our transportation costs relative to those of our competitors that seek to service these customers from locations that are often several hundreds of miles away. We anticipate that the opening of our Lancaster, Texas distribution center will significantly reduce the transportation costs associated with servicing the customers of that facility as many of those customers were previously serviced from our Denver, Colorado facility. We believe that we incur lower inbound freight expense than our regional competitors, because our national presencescale allows us to buy full and partial truckloads of products. Whenever possible, we backhaul between our distribution centers and satellite, staging facilities using our own trucks.


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Additionally, we generally can redistribute overstocks and inventory imbalances between distribution centers, which helps us ensure products are sold prior to their expiration date and more appropriately balance inventories.

        Products are delivered to our distribution centers primarily by our fleet of leased trucks, contract carriers and the suppliers themselves. We lease our trucks from national leasing companies such as Ryder Truck Leasing and Penske Truck Leasing, which in some cases maintain facilities on our premises for the maintenance and service of these vehicles. Other trucks are leased from regional firms that offer competitive services.

        We ship certain orders for supplements or for items that are destined for areas outside of regular delivery routes through United Parcel Service and other independent carriers. Deliveries to areas outside the continental United States and Canada are typically shipped by ocean-going containers on a weekly basis.

Our Focus on Technology

        We have made a significant investment in distribution, financial, information and warehouse management systems. We continually evaluate and upgrade our management information systems at our regional operations based on the best practices in the distribution industry in order to make the systems more efficient, cost-effective and responsive to customer needs. These systems include functionality in radio frequency inventory control, pick-to-voice systems, pick-to-light systems, computer-assisted order processing and slot locator/retrieval assignment systems. At our receiving docks, warehouse associates attach computer-generated, preprinted locator tags to inbound products. These tags contain the expiration date, locations, quantity, lot number and other information about the products in bar code format. Customer returns are processed by scanning the UPC bar codes. We also employ a management information system that enables us to lower our inbound transportation costs by making optimum use of our own fleet of trucks or by consolidating deliveries into full truckloads. Orders from multiple suppliers and multiple distribution centers are consolidated into single truckloads for efficient use of available vehicle capacity and return-haul trips. In addition, we utilize route


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efficiency software that assists us in developing the most efficient routes for our trucks. During fiscal 2011 and 2012, we will continue the roll-out of our new national supply chain platform and warehouse management system, which was launched in our new Lancaster, Texas facility and is now being implemented distribution center by distribution center.

Competition

        Our major national competitor in both the United States and Canada is KeHE Distributors, LLC ("Kehe"), which acquired Tree of Life Distribution, Inc. (a subsidiary of Koninklijke Wessanen N.V.) ("Tree of Life"). in January 2010. In addition to its natural and organic products, Tree of LifeKehe distributes specialty food products, thereby diversifying its product selection, and markets its own private label program. Kehe's subsidiary, Tree of Life, has also earned QAI certification and has a European presence.certification. We also compete in the United States with over 200 smaller regional and local distributors of natural, ethnic, kosher, gourmet and other specialty foods that focus on niche or regional markets, and with national, regional and local distributors of conventional groceries and companies that distribute to their own retail facilities.

        We believe that distributors in the natural and specialty products industries primarily compete on distribution service levels, product quality, depth of inventory selection, price and quality of customer service. We believe that we currently compete effectively with respect to each of these factors.

        Our retail stores compete against other natural products outlets, conventional supermarkets and specialty stores. We believe that retailers of natural products compete principally on product quality and selection, price, customer service, knowledge of personnel and convenience of location. We believe that we currently compete effectively with respect to each of these factors.

Government Regulation

        Our operations and many of the products that we distribute in the United States are subject to regulation by state and local health departments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, which generally impose


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standards for product quality and sanitation and are responsible for the administration of bioterrorism legislation. OurIn the United States, our facilities generally are inspected at least once annually by state or federal authorities.

        The Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Highway Administration regulate our trucking operations. In addition, interstate motor carrier operations are subject to safety requirements prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and other relevant federal and state agencies. Such matters as weight and dimension of equipment are also subject to federal and state regulations.

        We generally are not subject to many of the federal, provincial, state and local laws and regulations that have been enacted or adopted regulating the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment. However, certain of our distribution facilities have above-ground storage tanks for diesel fuel and other petroleum products, which are subject to laws regulating such storage tanks.

        We believe that we are in material compliance with all federal, provincial, state and local laws applicable to our operations.

Employees

        As of August 1, 2009,July 31, 2010, we had approximately 6,0006,500 full and part-time employees. An aggregate of approximately 6.3%5.4% of our total employees, or approximately 374350 of the employees at our Auburn, Washington, Edison, New Jersey, Iowa City, Iowa and Leicester, Massachusetts facilities, are covered by collective bargaining agreements. The Edison, New Jersey, Auburn, Washington, Leicester, Massachusetts and Iowa City, Iowa agreements expire in June 2011, February 2012, March 2013 and June 2011, respectively. Most recently, on June 8, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board issued a


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certification of representative notice to UNFI with respect to its Dayville, Connecticut drivers, resulting from an election there in late May 2010. Currently, UNFI management and the union representing the Dayville, Connecticut drivers are engaged in negotiations of a collective bargaining agreement. We have never experienced a work stoppage by our unionized employees and we believe that our relations with our employees are good.

Available Information

        Our internet address is http://www.unfi.com. The contents of our website are not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our internet address is included in this document as an inactive textual reference only. We make our Annual ReportsReport on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports with, or furnish such reports to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

        We have adopted a code of conduct and ethics for certain employees pursuant to Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. A copy of our code of conduct and ethics is posted on our website, and is available free of charge by writing to United Natural Foods, Inc., 313 Iron Horse Way, Providence, Rhode Island, 02908, Attn: Investor Relations.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

        Our executive officers are elected on an annual basis and serve at the discretion of our Board of Directors. Our executive officers and their ages as of September 15, 2010 are listed below:

Name
AgePosition
Steven L. Spinner50President and Chief Executive Officer
Mark E. Shamber41Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Joseph J. Traficanti59Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary
Sean Griffin51Senior Vice President, National Distribution
John Stern43Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Thomas A. Dziki49Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resource and Sustainability Officer
David A. Matthews45President of UNFI International
Kurt Luttecke43President of the Western Region
Thomas Grillea54President of Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, Select Nutrition and Natural Retail Group

Steven L. Spinner has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors since September 2008. Beginning in September 2010, Mr. Spinner began serving as the Interim President of our Eastern Region, while we search for a replacement for David Matthews, who is now the President of UNFI International. Prior to joining the Company in September 2008, Mr. Spinner served as a director and as Chief Executive Officer of Performance Food Group Company ("PFG") from October 2006 to May 2008, when PFG was acquired by affiliates of The Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management. Mr. Spinner previously had served as PFG's President and Chief Operating Officer beginning in May 2005. Mr. Spinner served as PFG's Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer—Broadline Division from February 2002 to May 2005 and as PFG's Broadline Division President from August 2001 to February 2002.

Mark E. Shamber has served as Senior Vice President since May 2009, and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since October 2006. From October 2006 to May 2009, Mr. Shamber also served as Vice


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President. Mr. Shamber previously served as our Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer from January 2006 until October 2006, as Vice President and Corporate Controller from August 2005 to October 2006 and as our Corporate Controller from June 2003 until August 2005. From February 1995 until June 2003, Mr. Shamber served in various positions of increasing responsibility up to and including senior manager within the assurance and advisory business systems practice at the international accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

Joseph J. Traficanti has served as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary since April 2009. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Traficanti served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of PFG from November 2004 until April 2009.

Sean Griffin has served as our Senior Vice President, National Distribution since January 2010. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Griffin was East Region Broadline President of PFG. In this role he managed over 10 divisions and $2 Billion in sales. Previously he served as President of PFG—Springfield, MA from 2003 until 2008. He began his career with Sysco Corporation in 1986 and has held various leadership positions in the foodservice distribution industry with U.S. Foodservice, Alliant Foodservice and Sysco Corporation.

John Stern has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer since January 2008. Prior to joining us, Mr. Stern served in various positions of increasing responsibility up to and including Chief Information Officer at Take Two Interactive Software, Inc. from October 2003 to September 2007 and Deloitte & Touche LLP from December 1999 to October 2003.

Thomas A. Dziki has served as our Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resource and Sustainability Officer since August 2010. Prior to August 2010, Mr. Dziki served as our Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development since January 2010, as our Vice President of Sustainable Development since March 2007, and as National Vice President of Real Estate and Construction since August 2006. Prior to that time, Mr. Dziki had served as President of Woodstock Farms Manufacturing and Select Nutrition from December 2004 until August 2006, Corporate Vice President of Special Projects from December 2003 to November 2004 and as our Manager of Special Projects from May 2002 to December 2003. Prior to joining us, Mr. Dziki served as a private consultant to our company, our subsidiaries, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, NRG, Albert's, and our predecessor company, Cornucopia Natural Foods, Inc., from 1995 to May 2002.

David A. Matthews has served as our President of UNFI International with responsibility for our Canadian and other international operations since September 2010. From June 2009 to September 2010 he was our President of the Eastern Region. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Matthews served as President and CEO of Progressive Group Alliance ("ProGroup"), a wholly owned subsidiary of PFG from January 2007 to May 2009, as Chief Financial Officer of ProGroup from December 2004 to January 2007, and as Senior Vice President of Finance and Technology of ProGroup from July 2000 to December 2004.

Kurt Luttecke has served as our President of the Western Region since June 2009. Mr. Luttecke served as our President of our Albert's Organics division from June 2007 to June 2009. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Luttecke spent 16 years at Wild Oats serving as its Vice President of Perishables from 2006 to June 2007, Vice President of Meat/Seafood & Food Service Supply Chain from 2004 to 2006, Director of Perishables from 2001 to 2004, and Director of Operations from 1995 to 2001.

Thomas Grillea has served as our President of Woodstock Farms Manufacturing since May 2009, President of NRG since May 2008, and President of Select Nutrition since September 2007. Mr. Grillea served as our General Manager for Select Nutrition from September 2006 to September 2007. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Grillea served in a management capacity for Whole Foods Market from 2004 through 2005, and in various management capacities for American Health and Diet Centers and the Vitamin Shoppe from 1998 through 2003.


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ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

        Our business, financial condition and results of operations are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This section discusses factors that, individually or in the aggregate, we think could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks.

        We note these factors for investors as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, you should not consider the following to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties applicable to our business. See "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Forward-Looking Statements."

        Our ability to maintain a close, mutually beneficial relationship with our largest customer, Whole Foods Market, is an important element to our continued growth. In October 2006, we announced a seven-year distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market, which commenced on September 26, 2006, under which we serve as the primary U.S. distributor to Whole Foods Market in the regions where we previously so served. In January 2007, we expanded our Whole Foods Market relationship in the Southern Pacific region of the United States. In August 2007, Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Markets completed their merger, as a result of which, Wild Oats Markets became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Whole Foods Market. We service all of the stores previously owned by Wild Oats Markets and now owned by Whole Foods Market under the terms of our distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market. Excluding sales to Wild Oats Markets' former Henry's and Sun Harvest store locations (which were sold byIn June 2010 we amended our distribution agreement with Whole Foods Market to extend the term for an additional seven years, such that the agreement now expires September 25, 2020.

        In July 2010, we entered into an asset purchase agreement with Whole Foods Market Distribution, Inc., a subsidiaryWhole Foods Market affiliate, pursuant to which we have agreed to acquire certain distribution and related assets previously used in their self-distribution of Smart & Final Inc.non-perishables, leases and employees and have undertaken to become Whole Foods Market's primary distributor in its Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions. The transaction, which is expected to close in late September 2010 with respect to the Southwest region and October 2010 with respect to the Rocky Mountain Region, is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions and we cannot assure you that it will be consummated. Additionally, achieving the increased revenues and operating profit anticipated from servicing the Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions of Whole Foods Market depends on September 30, 2007),timely, efficient and successful execution of a number of post-acquisition events and our ability to successfully deploy our operational initiatives in these regions. Whole Foods Market accounted for approximately 33.1%35% of our net sales in fiscal 2009.2010. As a result of this concentration of our customer base, the loss or cancellation of business from Whole Foods Market, including from increased distribution to their own facilities or closures of stores, previously owned by Wild Oats Markets, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Similarly, if Whole Foods Market is not able to grow its business, including as a result of a reduction in the level of discretionary spending by its customers, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

        The grocery industry is sensitive to national and regional economic conditions and the demand for the products that we distribute, particularly our specialty products, may be adversely affected from time to time by economic downturns that impact consumer spending, including discretionary spending.


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Future economic conditions such as employment levels, business conditions, interest rates, energy and fuel costs and tax rates could reduce consumer spending or change consumer purchasing habits. Among these changes could be a reduction in the number of natural and organic products that consumers purchase where there are non-organic (or "conventional") alternatives, given that many natural and organic products, and particularly natural and organic foods, often have higher retail prices than do their conventional counterparts.