Exhibit 99.1
[LETTERHEAD OF UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.]
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2007
UNITED NATURAL FOODS PROMOTES CARL F. KOCH
AND ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT OF ROBERT A. SIGEL
COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2007 ANNUAL MEETING RESULTS
Dayville, Connecticut - December 10, 2007 -- United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq:
UNFI) (the "Company") today announced the promotion of Carl F. Koch to the
position of Vice President, Human Resources and the appointment of Robert A.
Sigel, former president and CEO of Millbrook Distribution Services Inc.
("Millbrook"), to the newly created position of President of Specialty
Distribution of UNFI. Mr. Sigel will continue as President of Millbrook, which
was acquired by United Natural Foods in November 2007.
In making the announcements, Michael Funk, United Natural Foods' President and
Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We continue to position the Company for
sustainable growth and we see the wealth of operating experience and management
skills of both Robert and Carl as integral components to the senior management
team we are building at United Natural Foods."
Mr. Koch, age 39, joined United Natural Foods in 2001 and most recently served
as the Company's Vice President of Risk and Compliance with corporate wide
responsibilities for risk management and human resource functions. Prior to
joining the Company, he worked for a nationwide construction staffing company as
their Director of Finance and Risk Management and, previously, was a manager
with the Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. He is a member of the Society for Human
Resource Management and the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Mr. Koch
graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a BS in Finance &
Insurance and Management and also holds a Masters in Business Administration
from the University of Hartford.
Mr. Sigel, age 54, held several management positions at Millbrook since 1977,
including Vice President, Sales and Merchandising, and Executive Vice President,
and was a key factor in building the company from a small distributor to a
full-line distributor with a substantial specialty food business and an
extensive selection of health and beauty care items. In 1986, McKesson
Corporation acquired Millbrook and Bob was promoted to President and CEO of
Millbrook Distributors in 1990. He became a Corporate Vice President of McKesson
in 1995, a position he held until 1997. He graduated from Bowdoin College with a
BA in Economics and from Syracuse University with an MBA in Accounting and
Finance.
2007 Annual Meeting Results
The Company also announced today the results of its Annual Meeting of
Stockholders, held Thursday, December 6, 2007, at the Company's Western Region
headquarters located at 1101 Sunset Boulevard, Rocklin, CA.
The Company's stockholders voted in favor of the two proposals presented for
action at the annual meeting: the re-election of three incumbent independent
directors, Gordon D. Barker, Gail A. Graham and Thomas B. Simone, to serve as
Class II directors until the 2010 annual meeting of stockholders and the
re-appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending August 2, 2008.
Stockholders can access a webcast replay of the annual meeting via the Investor
Relations section of the Company's website at www.unfi.com. The webcast will be
available on the Company's website through January 5, 2008.
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes more than 40,000 products to
more than 17,000 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. United
Natural Foods, Inc. was ranked by Forbes in 2005 as one of the "Best Managed
Companies in America," ranked by Fortune in 2006 and 2007 as one of its "Most
Admired Companies," and ranked by Business Ethics as one of its "100 Best
Corporate Citizens for 2006."
For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's website
at www.unfi.com.
AT THE COMPANY: FINANCIAL RELATIONS BOARD
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Mark Shamber Joseph Calabrese
Chief Financial Officer General Information
(860) 779-2800 (212) 827-3772
"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 6, 2007, 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.