United Natural Foods Buys Select Nutrition 30908

United Natural Foods Buys Select Nutrition

DAYVILLE, Conn.United NaturalFoods Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI) announced Dec. 21, 2004 it bought Select NutritionDistributors Inc., a New York-based private distributor of health and beautyaids (HBA) and vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS). Details of thetransaction were not disclosed.

In first quarter 2004, the two companies formed a partnershipunder which Select Nutrition began distribution of certain VMS and HBA productsto UNFI customers. From its two warehouses in Visalia, Calif., and Philadelphia,Select Nutrition distributes more than 14,000 products, representing more than450 manufacturers, to some 5,000 customers nationwide, according to UNFI. SelectNutrition filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2001, following a difficultmove to the Philadelphia warehouse, only to emerge by September 2001 toreestablish itself as a major player in VMS and HBA distribution.

Select Nutrition has been a long-standing partner, and itsfranchise is a terrific complement to the United Natural Foods organization,said Steven Townsend, chairman and chief executive officer of UNFI. Webelieve the combined resources of our two organizations will result in enhancedpresence and increased market share, and serve to rationalize distribution ...in the HBA and VMS categories.

Born as a merger of two distributors, Cornucopia Natural Foodsand Mountain Peoples Warehouse, UNFI grew to its present size (revenues of $1.6billion in 2004 revenue) through acquisitions, partnerships and majordistribution agreements, including deals with Alberts Organics, HersheyImport, Northeast Cooperatives and Blooming Prairie Warehouse. For at least thelast decade, the company was the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market, andit reacquired the business of Wild Oats Markets this year in a five-year dealworth $1 billion. Also in 2004, UNFI entered the food service sector, inkingdeals with heavyweights Sodexho and Aramark. The company also poured millionsinto major expansion initiatives at a number of its facilities across thenation, including key plants in Iowa City, Iowa, and Dayville.