UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
ý | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |
For the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 | ||
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) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
313 Iron Horse Way, Providence, RI 02908 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) | ||
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (401) 528-8634 | ||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Name of each exchange on which registered | |
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | NASDAQ Global Select Market | |
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 ý 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 ý
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 ý 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 ý 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.
Large Accelerated Filer ý | Accelerated Filer o | |
Non-accelerated Filer o (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller Reporting Company o | |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No ý
The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $3,869,497,158 based upon the closing price of the registrant's common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market® on January 30, 2015. The number of shares of the registrant's common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding as of September 11, 2015 was 50,100,946.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant's definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on December 16, 2015 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
Unless otherwise specified, references to "United Natural Foods," "we," "us," "our" or "the Company" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Annual Report" or "Report") mean United Natural Foods, Inc. and all entities included in our consolidated financial statements. See the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Report for information regarding our financial performance.
Overview
We believe we are a leading distributor based on sales of natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products in the United States and Canada, and that our thirty-one distribution centers, representing approximately 7.7 million square feet of warehouse space, provide us with the largest capacity of any North American-based distributor in the natural, organic and specialty products industry. We offer more than 85,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products, consisting of national, regional and private label brands grouped into six product categories: grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition, bulk and foodservice products and personal care items. We serve more than 40,000 customer locations primarily located across the United States and Canada which can be classified as follows:
• | independently owned natural products retailers, which include buying clubs; |
• | supernatural chains, which consist solely of Whole Foods Market, Inc. ("Whole Foods Market"); |
• | conventional supermarkets, which include mass market chains; and |
• | other, which includes foodservice and international customers outside of Canada. |
We were the first organic food distribution network in the United States designated as a "Certified Organic Distributor" by Quality Assurance International, Inc. ("QAI"), an organic certifying agency accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA"). 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 in the United States, except our primarily specialty products distribution center in Leicester, Massachusetts and facilities acquired in the acquisition of Tony's Fine Foods ("Tony's"). Although not designated as a "Certified Organic Distributor" by QAI, the four Tony's California locations are certified as Organic by the State of California Departments of Public Health Food and Drug Branch. In addition, three of our Canadian distribution centers are certified organic by either QAI, EcoCert Canada or ProCert Canada, while the remaining Canadian distribution center sells only Kosher foods and is therefore not certified organic.
Since the formation of our predecessor in 1976, we have grown our business both organically and through acquisitions which have expanded our distribution network, product selection and customer base. Since fiscal 2005, our net sales have increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 14.8%. In recent years, our sales to existing and new customers have increased through the continued growth of the natural and organic products industry in general; our efforts to increase the number of conventional supermarket customers to whom we distribute products; increased market share through our high-quality service and broader product selection, including specialty products, the acquisition of, or merger with, natural, organic, and specialty product distributors; the expansion of our existing distribution centers; the construction of new distribution centers; the introduction of new products 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 seventeen years. Under the terms of our agreement with Whole Foods Market, we serve as the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States. Our agreement with Whole Foods Market expires on September 25, 2020.
In July 2014, we completed the acquisition of all of the outstanding capital stock of Tony's, through our wholly-owned subsidiary UNFI West, Inc. ("UNFI West"), for consideration of approximately $202.7 million. With the completion of the transaction, Tony's is now a wholly-owned subsidiary and continues to operate as Tony's Fine Foods. Founded in 1934 by the Ingoglia family, Tony's is headquartered in West Sacramento, California and is a leading distributor of perishable food products, including a wide array of specialty protein, cheese, deli, food service and bakery goods to retail and specialty grocers, food service customers and other distribution companies principally located throughout the Western United States, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. We believe that the acquisition of Tony's accomplished certain of our strategic objectives as Tony's has provided us with a platform for expanding both our high-growth perishable product offerings and our distribution footprint in the Western Region of the United States.
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During fiscal 2015, we began shipping customers both center of the store products and fresh, perishable products. Our customers utilized both UNFI’s broadline and Tony's offerings, including grocery, refrigerated, protein, specialty cheese and prepared foods. Our customers’ broad utilization supports our belief that there is significant value in UNFI's position as a leading provider of logistics, distribution and category management for both center store and perimeter products. Additionally, we believe that gourmet and ethnic products and fresh foods represent significant incremental growth opportunities for UNFI.
Our ability to distribute specialty food items (including ethnic, kosher and gourmet products) has accelerated our expansion into a number of high-growth business markets and allowed us to establish immediate market share in the fast-growing specialty foods market. We have now integrated specialty food products and natural and organic specialty non-food items into all of our broadline distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Due to our expansion into specialty foods, over the past several fiscal years we have been awarded 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 the distribution of these products enhances our conventional supermarket business channel and that our complementary product lines continue to present opportunities for cross-selling.
In June 2011, we entered into an asset purchase agreement with L&R Distributors, Inc. (“L&R Distributors”) pursuant to which we agreed to sell our conventional non-foods and general merchandise lines of business, including certain inventory related to these product lines. This divestiture was completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, and has allowed us to concentrate on our core business of the distribution of natural, organic, and specialty foods and non-food products.
We are a Delaware corporation based in Providence, Rhode Island, and we conduct business through our various wholly owned subsidiaries. We operated thirty-one distribution centers at our 2015 fiscal year end, and we believe that our approximately 7.7 million square feet of distribution space provide us with the largest capacity of any distributor that solely distributes natural, organic and specialty products in the United States or Canada.
We operate thirteen natural products retail stores within the United States, located primarily in Florida (with two locations in Maryland and one in Massachusetts), through our subsidiary doing business as Earth Origins Market ("Earth Origins"). 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. In addition, our subsidiary doing business as Woodstock Farms Manufacturing specializes in the international importation, roasting, packaging and distribution of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, trail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items and confections for our customers and in branded products of our own.
Our Industry
The natural products industry encompasses a wide range of products including organic and non-organic foods, nutritional, herbal and sports supplements, toiletries and personal care items, naturally-based cosmetics, natural/homeopathic medicines, pet products and cleaning agents. According to The Natural Foods Merchandiser, a leading natural products industry trade publication, sales for all types of natural products were $120.4 billion in calendar 2014, a growth of $11.6 billion or approximately 10.7% from calendar 2013. According to the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, a leading specialty food industry trade publication, sales in calendar 2014 were $109.0 billion, representing growth of 19% from calendar 2012. We believe the growth of the natural products industry is a result of the increasing demand by consumers for a healthy lifestyle, food safety and environmental sustainability.
Our Operating Structure
Our operations are comprised of three principal operating divisions. These operating divisions are:
• | our wholesale division, which includes our broadline natural, organic and specialty distribution business in the United States, our wholly-owned subsidiary, UNFI Canada, Inc. ("UNFI Canada"), which is our natural, organic and specialty distribution business in Canada, Tony's, which is a leading distributor of a wide array of specialty protein, cheese, deli, food service and bakery goods, principally throughout the Western United States, Albert's Organics, Inc. ("Albert's"), which is a leading distributor within the United States of organically grown produce and non-produce perishable items, and Select Nutrition, which distributes vitamins, minerals and supplements; |
• | our retail division, consisting of Earth Origins, which operates our thirteen natural products retail stores within the United States; and |
• | our manufacturing and branded products divisions, consisting of Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, which specializes in the international importation, roasting, packaging and distribution of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, trail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items and confections, and our Blue Marble Brands product lines. |
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Wholesale Division
Our broadline distribution business is organized into three regions—our Eastern Region, Western Region and our Canadian Region. We distribute natural, organic and specialty products in all of our product categories to 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 2015 fiscal year end, our Eastern Region operated eleven distribution centers, which provided approximately 3.9 million square feet of warehouse space, our Western Region operated six distribution centers, which provided approximately 2.6 million square feet of warehouse space and our Canadian Region operated four distribution centers, which provided approximately 0.3 million square feet of warehouse space.
Through Tony's, we distribute perishable food products, including a wide array of specialty protein, cheese, deli, food service and bakery goods. Tony's operates out of four distribution centers strategically located on the West coast in California and Washington, providing approximately 0.5 million square feet of warehouse space. The four California locations are certified as Organic by the State of California Departments of Public Health Food and Drug Branch.
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 four distribution centers strategically located throughout the United States, providing approximately 0.3 million square feet of warehouse space, and is designated as a "Certified Organic Distributor" by QAI.
Through Select Nutrition, we distribute more than 15,000 health and beauty aids, vitamins, minerals and supplements from distribution centers in Pennsylvania and California.
Certain of our distribution centers are shared by multiple operations within our wholesale division.
Retail Division
We operate thirteen natural products retail stores as Earth Origins within the United States, ten of which are located in Florida, two in Maryland and one in Massachusetts. We believe that our retail business serves as a natural complement to our distribution business because it enables us to see market trends, develop new marketing programs and receive direct customer feedback.
We believe our natural products 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 Earth Origins and the breadth of our product selection.
We believe that we benefit from certain advantages in acting as a distributor to our natural products retail stores, including our ability to:
• | control the purchases made by these stores; |
• | expand the number of high-growth, high-margin product categories, such as produce and prepared foods, within these stores; and |
• | stay abreast of the trends in the retail marketplace, which enables us to better anticipate and serve the needs of our wholesale customers. |
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 natural products 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 wholesale customer base.
Manufacturing & Branded Products Divisions
Our subsidiary, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, specializes in the international importation, roasting, packaging and distribution of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, trail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items and confections. We sell these items in bulk and through private label packaging arrangements with large health food, supermarket and convenience store chains and independent owners. We operate an organic (USDA and QAI) and kosher (Circle K) certified packaging, roasting, and processing facility in New Jersey that is SQF (Safety Quality Food) level 2 certified.
Our Blue Marble Brands portfolio is a collection of 15 organic, natural and specialty food brands representing more than 650 unique products. We have a dedicated team of marketing, supply chain and sales professionals that have a passion to energize our retail partners and provide consumers with affordable Non-GMO foods. Our unique Blue Marble Brands products are sold
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through our wholesale division, third-party distributors and directly to retailers. Our Field Day® brand is primarily sold to customers in our independent natural products retailer channel ("independent retailers"), and is meant to serve as a private label brand for independent retailers to allow them to compete with conventional supermarkets and supernatural chains which often have their own private label store brands.
Our Competitive Strengths
We believe we distinguish ourselves from our competitors through the following strengths:
We are a market leader with a nationwide presence in the United States and Canada.
We believe that we are the largest distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food 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 regional and local independent retailer customers, conventional supermarket chains, and the supernatural chain. The opening of a new larger Albert's facility in New Jersey in May 2013 and a new facility in Hudson Valley, New York in September 2014 has provided additional space to serve the growing New York City metropolitan market. We believe the consolidation into a new, larger, facility in Aurora, Colorado in May 2013 and the opening of our Racine and Prescott, Wisconsin facilities in June 2014 and April 2015, respectively, will allow us to serve these growing markets with greater operational efficiencies. We believe that our network of thirty-one distribution centers (including four in Canada) creates significant advantages over smaller national and regional distributors. Our nationwide presence across the United States and Canada allows us to in many instances have locations closer to our customers than our competitors, offer marketing and customer service programs across regions, offer a broader product selection and provide operational excellence with high service levels and same day or next day on-time deliveries.
We are an efficient distributor.
We believe that our scale affords us significant benefits within a highly fragmented industry including volume purchasing opportunities and warehouse and distribution efficiencies. Our continued growth has allowed us to expand our existing facilities and open new facilities as we seek to achieve maximum operating efficiencies, including reduced fuel and other transportation costs, and has created sufficient capacity for future growth. Some of the efficiency improvements we have instituted 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 investments in our people, facilities, equipment and technology to broaden our footprint and enhance the efficiency of our operations. Key examples in the last several years include the following:
• | In connection with the acquisition of certain Canadian food distribution assets of the SunOpta Distribution Group business of SunOpta, Inc. in June 2010, we acquired five distribution centers which provided a nationwide presence in Canada with approximately 286,000 square feet of distribution space and the ability to serve all major markets in Canada. |
• | In September 2010 we commenced operations at a new facility in Lancaster, Texas serving customers throughout the Southwestern United States, including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas and Louisiana. |
• | During July 2011 we completed the integration of specialty food products into our nationwide platform. |
• | In May 2013 our Albert's division commenced operations at a new facility in Logan Township, New Jersey with 55,000 square feet of distribution space to more efficiently serve our growing customer base on the East Coast, including the New York City metropolitan market. |
• | In June 2013 we commenced operations at a new 540,000 square foot distribution center in Aurora, Colorado and consolidated all existing Aurora operations including an Albert's location and off-site storage into one building. |
• | In June 2014 we commenced operations at a new 450,000 square foot distribution center in Racine, Wisconsin. |
• | In connection with the acquisition of Tony's in July 2014, we acquired four distribution centers in California and Washington with approximately 500,000 square feet of distribution space. |
• | In September 2014 we commenced operations at a new 510,000 square foot distribution center in Hudson Valley, New York which allows us to service the growing New York City metropolitan market and to transfer certain routes from our York, Pennsylvania, Chesterfield, New Hampshire and Dayville, Connecticut distribution centers. |
• | In April 2015 we commenced operations at a new 300,000 square foot distribution center in Prescott, Wisconsin which services the Twin Cities market. |
We have extensive and long-standing customer relationships and provide superior service.
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Throughout the 39 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 17 years. We believe a key driver of 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 broadline distribution in-stock service level for fiscal 2015, measured as the percentage of items ordered by customers that are delivered by the requested delivery date (excluding manufacturer out-of-stocks and discontinued items), was approximately 97%. We believe that our high distribution service levels are attributable to our experienced inventory planning and replenishment department and sophisticated warehousing, inventory control and distribution systems. Furthermore, we offer next-day delivery service to a majority of our active customers and offer multiple deliveries each week to our largest customers, which we believe differentiates us from many of our competitors.
We have an experienced, motivated management team.
Our management team has extensive experience in the retail and distribution business, including the natural, organic and specialty product industries. On average, each of our ten executive officers has over twenty-four years of experience in the retail, natural products or food distribution industry. Furthermore, a significant portion of our management-level employees' compensation is equity based or performance based, and, therefore management is incentivized to seek to, generate strong operating results in the future.
Our Growth Strategy
We seek to maintain and enhance our position within 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 organically and 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, UNFI Canada, Earth Origins, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, Tony's and specialty businesses.
Beginning in fiscal 2009, our strategic plan has focused on increasing market share, particularly in our conventional supermarket channel. This channel typically generates lower gross margins than our independent retailer channel, but also typically has lower operating expenses. With our acquisition of Tony's we have moved more heavily into the growing market of perishable food products. Our strategic plan also includes the roll-out of new technology including a national warehouse management and procurement system and transportation management system upgrade. These steps and others are intended to promote operational efficiencies and further reduce our operating expenses to offset the lower gross margins we expect with increased sales to the conventional supermarket and supernatural channels and from sales of our fresh perishable products, which can sell for a lower gross margin than our other natural, organic and specialty products.
To implement our growth strategy, we intend to continue increasing our 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. 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:
Expanding Our Customer Base
As of August 1, 2015, we served more than 40,000 customer locations primarily in the United States and Canada. We plan to expand our coverage of the natural and organic and specialty products industry by cultivating new customer relationships within the industry and by further developing our existing channels of distribution, such as independent natural products retailers, conventional supermarkets, mass market outlets, institutional foodservice providers, buying clubs, restaurants and gourmet stores. With the coordinated distribution of our specialty products with our natural and organic products, including our increased array of specialty protein, cheese, deli, food service and bakery offerings as a result of our acquisition of Tony's, 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. We have gained new business from a number of conventional supermarket customers, including Giant-Landover, Giant Eagle, Shop-Rite, and Kings, partially as a result of our complementary product selection.
Increasing Our Market Share of Existing Customers' Business
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 to 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 expansion of fresh, perishable and specialty product offerings,
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including proteins, cheeses and deli items as a result of the Tony's acquisition, we believe that we have the ability to further meet our existing customers' needs for specialty foods and non-food products, representing an opportunity to continue to grow within the conventional supermarket, supernatural and independent channels.
Continuing to Improve the Efficiency of Our Nationwide Distribution Network
We have invested more than $415 million in our distribution network and infrastructure over the past five fiscal years. In fiscal 2013 we began operations at our new Albert's distribution facility in Logan, New Jersey, and we commenced operations at a new 540,000 square foot distribution center in Aurora, Colorado consolidating all existing Aurora operations, including an Albert's location and off-site storage, into one building. In fiscal 2014 we commenced operations at our new distribution center in Racine, Wisconsin. Our multi-year expansion plan continues to progress as we commenced operations at our new distribution center in Hudson Valley, New York in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, our new Prescott, Wisconsin facility in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, and we are currently constructing an additional facility in Gilroy, California, from which we expect to begin operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
Further, we will strive to continue to maintain our focus on realizing efficiencies and economies of scale in purchasing, warehousing, transportation and general and administrative functions, which, combined with transportation expense savings and incremental fixed cost leverage, should lead to continued improvements in our operating margin.
Expanding into Other Distribution Channels and Geographic Markets
We believe that we will be successful in continuing to expand into the foodservice channel as well as continuing to develop our presence outside of the United States and Canada through our relationships with brokers primarily in Asia and the Caribbean. 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 foodservice channel and seek other alliances outside the United States and Canada.
Continuing to Selectively Pursue Opportunistic Acquisitions
Throughout our history, we have successfully identified, consummated and integrated multiple acquisitions. Since fiscal 2000, we have successfully completed fifteen acquisitions of distributors, manufacturers and suppliers, the most recent being the acquisition of Tony's in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. We intend to continue to selectively pursue opportunistic acquisitions to expand the breadth of our distribution network, increase our efficiency, procure beneficial customer relationships or add additional products and capabilities.
Continuing to Provide the Leading Distribution Solution
We believe that we provide a leading distribution solution to the natural, organic and specialty products industry through our national presence, regional preferences, 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 inventory planning and replenishment department 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.
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 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 2015:
• | Whole Foods Market, the largest supernatural chain in the United States and Canada; and |
• | conventional supermarket chains, including Kroger, Vitamin Cottage, Wegmans, Sprouts Farmers Market, Giant-Carlisle, Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover, Giant Eagle, Hannaford, Food Lion, Bashas', Shop-Rite, Publix and Fred Meyer. |
Whole Foods Market is our only customer that represented more than 10% of total net sales in fiscal 2015, and accounted for approximately 35% of our net sales.
The following table lists the percentage of sales by customer type for the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015, August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013:
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Percentage of Net Sales | |||||||||
Customer Type | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||||||
Independently owned natural products retailers | 32 | % | 33 | % | 34 | % | |||
Supernatural chains | 35 | % | 36 | % | 36 | % | |||
Conventional supermarkets and mass market chains | 26 | % | 26 | % | 25 | % | |||
Other | 7 | % | 5 | % | 5 | % | |||
We distribute natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products to customers located in the United States and Canada, as well as to customers located in other foreign countries. Our total international sales, including those by UNFI Canada, represented approximately four percent of our business in fiscal 2015, compared to five percent in 2014 and 2013. We believe that our sales outside the United States, as a percentage of our total sales, will expand as we seek to continue to grow our Canadian operations.
Our Marketing Services
We offer a variety of marketing services designed to increase sales for our customers and suppliers, including consumer and trade marketing programs, as well as programs to support suppliers in understanding our markets. Trade and consumer marketing programs are supplier-sponsored 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 consumer marketing programs include:
• | multiple monthly, region-specific, consumer circular programs, which feature the logo and address of the participating retailer imprinted on a circular that advertises products sold by the retailer to its customers. The monthly circular programs are structured to pass through the benefit of our negotiated discounts and advertising allowances to the retailer, and also provide retailers with posters and shelf tags to coincide with each month's promotions. We also offer a web-based tool which retailers can use to produce highly customized circulars and other marketing materials for their stores. |
• | quarterly coupon programs featuring supplier sponsored coupons, for display and distribution by participating retailers. |
• | themed "Celebration" sales and educational brochures to drive sales and educate consumers. Brochures are imprinted with participating retailers' store logo and information. |
• | a truck advertising program that allows our suppliers to purchase advertising space on the sides of our hundreds of trailers traveling throughout the United States and Canada, increasing brand exposure to consumers. |
Our trade marketing programs include:
• | wholesale tri-annual catalogs, which serve as a primary reference guide and ordering tool for retailers. |
• | a website for retailers with category management tools, retail staff development resources and other resources designed to help our customers succeed. |
• | a web advertising program that allows our suppliers to purchase advertising space on the customer section of our web site, increasing brand exposure to retailers. |
• | a variety of programs with advertising focus on foodservice options designed to support accounts in that category. |
• | a variety of programs designed to feature suppliers and generate volume sales. |
• | monthly specials catalogs that highlight promotions and new product introductions. |
• | specialized catalogs for holiday promotions and to serve other customer needs. |
Our supplier marketing programs include:
• | ClearVue®, an information sharing program designed to improve the transparency of information and drive efficiency within the supply chain. With the availability of in-depth data and tailored reporting tools, participants are able to reduce inventory balances with the elimination of forward buys, while improving service levels. |
• | Supply Chain by ClearVue®, an information sharing program designed to provide heightened transparency to suppliers through demand planning, forecasting and procurement insights. This program offers weekly and monthly reporting enabling suppliers to identify areas of sales growth while pinpointing specific focuses in which the supplier can become more profitable. |
• | SIS, an information-sharing program that helps our suppliers better understand our customers' businesses, in order to generate mutually beneficial incremental sales in an efficient manner. |
• | Growth incentive programs, supplier-focused high-level sales and marketing support for selected brands, which foster our partnership by building incremental, mutually profitable sales for suppliers and us. |
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We keep current with the latest trends in the industry. Periodically, we conduct focus group sessions with certain key retailers and suppliers to ascertain their needs and allow us to better service them. We also:
• | produce a quarterly report of trends in the natural and organic industry; |
• | provide product data information such as best seller lists, store usage reports and easy-to-use product catalogs; |
• | provide assistance with store layout designs; new store design and equipment procurement; |
• | provide planogramming, shelf and category management support; |
• | offer in-store signage and promotional materials, including shopping bags and end-cap displays; |
• | provide assistance with planning and setting up product displays; |
• | provide shelf tags for products; and |
• | provide a website on which retailers can access various individual retailer-specific reports and product information. |
Our Products
Our extensive selection of high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products enables us to provide a primary source of supply to a diverse base of customers whose product needs vary significantly. We offer more than 85,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food 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 and sports nutrition, bulk and food service products and personal care items. Our branded product lines address certain needs of our customers, including providing a lower-cost label known as Field Day.
We continuously evaluate potential new products based on both existing and anticipated trends in consumer preferences and buying patterns. Our Retail Category Management and Supplier Relationship Management teams 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 utilize syndicated data as a compass to ensure that we are carrying the right mix of products in each of our distribution centers. We make the majority of our new product decisions at the regional level and look to carry those items through national distribution as we begin to spot an emerging trend or brand. We believe that our category review practices at the local distribution center level allow our supplier relationship managers to react quickly to changing consumer preferences and to evaluate new products and new product categories regionally. Additionally, as many of the new products that we offer are marketed on a regional basis or in our own natural products retail stores prior to being offered nationally, this enables us to evaluate 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 most organic commodities and produce in order to verify the authenticity of the product. Most 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 more than 9,000 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 suppliers of natural and organic products seek to distribute their products through us because we provide access to a large and growing 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. In addition, although we have exclusive distribution arrangements and vendor support programs with several suppliers, none of our suppliers account for more than 10% of our total purchases in fiscal 2015. Our largest supplier, Hain Celestial Group, Inc. ("Hain"), accounted for approximately 5% of our total purchases in fiscal 2015. However, the product categories we purchase from Hain can be purchased from a number of other suppliers.
We have positioned ourselves as one of the largest purchasers 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, some of our purchase arrangements include the right of return to the supplier with respect to products that we do not sell in a certain period of time. As described under "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 $17.5 million as of August 1, 2015.
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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 hundred miles away. We believe that we incur lower inbound freight expense than our regional competitors, because our scale allows us to buy full and partial truckloads of products. Products are delivered to our distribution centers primarily by our fleet of leased trucks, contract carriers and the suppliers themselves. When financially advantageous, we backhaul between vendors or satellite, staging facilities and our distribution centers using our own trucks. Additionally, we generally can redistribute overstocks and inventory imbalances between distribution centers if needed, which helps to reduce out of stocks and to sell perishable products prior to their expiration date.
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 significant investments in distribution, financial, information and warehouse management systems. We continually evaluate and upgrade our management information systems at our regional operations in an effort 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 efficiency software that assists us in developing the most efficient routes for our outbound trucks. We are in the process of rolling out a national warehouse management and procurement system to convert our existing facilities into a single warehouse management and supply chain platform ("WMS"). We have completed WMS system conversions at our Lancaster, Texas, Ridgefield, Washington, Auburn, Washington, Prescott, Wisconsin, Racine, Wisconsin, Hudson Valley, New York and Auburn, California facilities, and we expect to complete the roll-out to all existing facilities by the end of fiscal 2018.
Intellectual Property
We do not own or have the right to use any patent, trademark, trade name, license, franchise, or concession which upon loss would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
Competition
Our largest competition comes from direct distribution, whereby a customer reaches a product volume level that justifies distribution directly from the manufacturer in order to obtain a lower price. Our major wholesale distribution competitor in both the United States and Canada is KeHE Distributors, LLC ("Kehe"). In addition to its natural and organic products, Kehe distributes specialty food products and markets its own private label program. Kehe's subsidiary, Tree of Life, has also earned QAI certification. We also compete in the United States and Canada with numerous smaller regional and local distributors of natural, organic, 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 natural products 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.
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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 USDA and the United States Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA"), which generally impose standards for product quality and sanitation and are responsible for the administration of bioterrorism legislation. In the United States, our facilities generally are inspected at least once annually by state or federal authorities. For certain product lines, we are also subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, the Packers and Stockyard Act and regulations promulgated by the USDA to interpret and implement these statutory provisions. The USDA imposes standards for product safety, quality and sanitation through the federal meat and poultry inspection program.
In late 2010, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act ("FSMA") was enacted. The FSMA represents a significant expansion of food safety requirements and FDA food safety authorities and, among other things, requires that the FDA impose comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the food supply chain, further regulates food products imported into the United States, and provides the FDA with mandatory recall authority. The FSMA requires the FDA to undertake numerous rulemakings and to issue numerous guidance documents, as well as reports, plans, standards, notices, and other tasks. As a result, implementation of the legislation is ongoing and likely to take several years.
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 United States 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.
Many of our facilities in the U.S. and in Canada are subject to various environmental protection statutes and regulations, including those relating to the use of water resources and the discharge of wastewater. Further, many of our distribution facilities have ammonia-based refrigeration systems and tanks for the storage of diesel fuel, hydrogen fuel and other petroleum products which are subject to laws regulating such systems and storage tanks. Moreover, in some of our facilities we, or third parties with whom we contract, perform vehicle maintenance. Our policy is to comply with all applicable environmental and safety legal requirements. We are subject to other federal, state, provincial and local provisions relating to the protection of the environment or the discharge of materials; however, these provisions do not materially impact the use or operation of our facilities.
The failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in, among other things, administrative, civil, or criminal penalties or fines, mandatory or voluntary product recalls, warning or untitled letters, cease and desist orders against operations that are not in compliance, closure of facilities or operations, the loss, revocation, or modification of any existing licenses, permits, registrations, or approvals, or the failure to obtain additional licenses, permits, registrations, or approvals in new jurisdictions where we intend to do business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. These laws and regulations may change in the future and we may incur material costs in our efforts to comply with current or future laws and regulations or in any required product recalls.
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, 2015, we had approximately 8,700 full and part-time employees, 428 of whom (approximately 4.9%) are covered by collective bargaining agreements at our Edison, New Jersey, Leicester, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa, Dayville, Connecticut and Auburn, Washington facilities. The Edison, New Jersey, Leicester, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa, Auburn, Washington and Dayville, Connecticut agreements expire in June 2017, March 2017, June 2017, February 2017 and July 2019, respectively. We continue to believe that our relations with our employees are good.
Seasonality
Generally, we do not experience any material seasonality. However, our sales and operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to factors such as changes in our operating expenses, management's ability to execute our operating and growth strategies, personnel changes, demand for our products, supply shortages and general economic conditions.
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 Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") available free of charge through
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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 that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and employees within our finance operations, and sales departments. Our code of conduct and ethics is publicly available on our website at www.unfi.com and is available free of charge by writing to United Natural Foods, Inc., 313 Iron Horse Way, Providence, Rhode Island 02908, Attn: Investor Relations. We intend to make any legally required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of, the provisions of the code of conduct and ethics on our website at www.unfi.com. Please note that our website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only.
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 30, 2015 are listed below:
Name | Age | Position | ||
Steven L. Spinner | 55 | President and Chief Executive Officer | ||
Mark E. Shamber | 46 | Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | ||
Joseph J. Traficanti | 64 | Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary | ||
Sean F. Griffin | 56 | Chief Operating Officer | ||
Eric A. Dorne | 54 | Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer | ||
Thomas A. Dziki | 54 | Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resource and Sustainability Officer | ||
Craig H. Smith | 56 | Senior Vice President, National Sales and Service and President of the Eastern Region | ||
Donald P. McIntyre | 60 | Senior Vice President, National Supply Chain and Strategy and President of the Western Region | ||
Christopher P. Testa | 45 | President, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing and Blue Marble Brands | ||
Michael P. Zechmeister | 48 | Senior Vice President | ||
Steven L. Spinner has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors since September 2008. Mr. Spinner served as the Interim President of our Eastern Region, after David Matthews became President of UNFI International in September 2010 and prior to the hiring of Craig H. Smith in December 2010. Prior to joining us 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, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since October 2006. 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 us, Mr. Traficanti served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of PFG from November 2004 until April 2009.
Sean F. Griffin has served as our Chief Operating Officer since September 2014. Mr. Griffin previously served as our Senior Vice President, Group President from June 2012 to September 2014 and as our Senior Vice President, National Distribution from January 2010 to June 2012. Prior to joining us, Mr. Griffin was East Region Broadline President of PFG. 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.
Eric A. Dorne has served as our Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer since September 2011. Prior to joining us, Mr. Dorne was Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., the parent
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company of the A&P, Pathmark, SuperFresh, Food Emporium and Waldbaum's supermarket chains located in the Eastern United States from January 2011 to August 2011, and Vice President and Chief Information Officer from August 2005 to January 2011. In his more than thirty years at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Mr. Dorne held various executive positions including Vice President of Enterprise IT Application Management and Development, Vice President of Store Operations Systems and Director of Retail Support Services.
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 June 2009, 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, Earth Origins, Albert's, and our predecessor company, Cornucopia Natural Foods, Inc., from 1995 to May 2002.
Craig H. Smith has served as our Senior Vice President, National Sales and Service since September 2013 and was reappointed as President of the Eastern Region in August 2014, a position he previously held from December 2010 to August 2013. Prior to joining us, Mr. Smith was Atlantic Region President of U.S. Foodservice, a leading broadline foodservice distributor of national, private label, and signature brand items in the United States from May 2008 to December 2010. In his seventeen years at U.S. Foodservice, Mr. Smith held various executive positions including Senior Vice President Street Sales, North Region Zone President, Detroit Market President and Boston Market President. Prior to U.S. Foodservice, Mr. Smith held several positions at food service industry manufacturer and distributor Rykoff-Sexton, Inc. from 1982 until 1993.
Donald P. McIntyre has served as our Senior Vice President, National Supply Chain and Strategy since September 2013 and was reappointed as our President of the Western Region in August 2014, a position previously held from July 2012 to August 2013. Prior to joining us, Mr. McIntyre served as President and CEO of Claridge Foods from March 2006 to January 2012. Mr. McIntyre also held several senior positions within subsidiaries of Sara Lee Corporation, including President and CEO of Sara Lee Coffee & Tea from April 2004 to March 2006, and CFO of Sara Lee Coffee & Tea from August 2002 to March 2004.
Christopher P. Testa has served as our President, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing since September 2012 and President, Blue Marble Brands since August 2009. Prior to joining us, Mr. Testa served as Vice President of Marketing for Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages from August 2002 to May 2005 and as CEO of Wild Waters, Inc. from May 2005 to August 2009.
Michael P. Zechmeister has served as our Senior Vice President since September 2015. Prior to joining us, Mr. Zechmeister served in a variety of senior finance roles with General Mills, Inc., including most recently as Vice President, Finance Yoplait USA from 2012 to September 2015. In addition, Mr. Zechmeister was Vice President and Treasurer from 2010 to 2012, Vice President, Finance US Retail Sales from 2007 to 2010 and Vice President, Finance, Pillsbury Division from 2005 to 2007.
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."
We depend heavily on our principal customers and our success is heavily dependent on our principal customers' ability to grow their business.
Whole Foods Market accounted for approximately 35% of our net sales in fiscal 2015. We serve as the primary distributor of natural, organic and specialty non-perishable products to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States under the terms of our distribution agreement which expires on September 25, 2020. Through our Tony's subsidiary, we also sell certain specialty protein, cheese, and deli items to certain Whole Foods Market stores in California and other states in the Western United States. Whole Foods Market was Tony's largest customer in fiscal 2015. Our ability to maintain a close mutually beneficial relationship with Whole Foods Market is an important element to our continued growth.
The loss or cancellation of business from Whole Foods Market, including from increased distribution to their own facilities or closures of stores, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Similarly, if
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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 or competition from other retailers, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
In addition to our dependence on Whole Foods Market, we are also dependent upon sales to our conventional supermarket customers. Net sales to these customers accounted for approximately 26% of our total net sales in fiscal 2015, and the recent notification to us by the Albertsons/Safeway group of stores that they intended to change the source of purchases of natural and organic products from us to another distributor demonstrated both the importance of this customer group to our results and operations as well as to the public perception of our business in the investor and analyst community. To the extent that customers in this group make decisions to utilize alternative sources of products, whether other distributors or self distribution, our results of operations and stock price may be materially or adversely affected.
Our operations are sensitive to economic downturns.
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. Future economic conditions such as employment levels, business conditions, housing starts, interest rates, inflation rates, energy and fuel costs, fund 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, which we refer to as 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.
Our business is a low margin business and our profit margins may decrease due to consolidation in the grocery industry and our increased focus on sales to the conventional supermarket channel.
The grocery distribution industry generally is characterized by relatively high volume of sales with relatively low profit margins. The continuing consolidation of retailers in the natural products industry and the growth of supernatural chains may reduce our profit margins in the future as more customers qualify for greater volume discounts, and we experience pricing pressures from suppliers and retailers. Over the last three fiscal years, when excluding the impact that acquisitions may have had, we have increased our sales to our supernatural chain and conventional supermarket customers in relation to our total net sales. Sales to customers within our supernatural chain and conventional supermarket channels generate a lower gross margin than do sales to our independent customers. Many of these customers, including our largest customer, have agreements with us that include volume discounts. As the amounts these customers purchase from us increase, the price that they pay for the products they purchase is reduced, putting downward pressure on our gross margins on these sales. To compensate for these lower gross margins, we must reduce the expenses we incur to service these customers. If we are unable to reduce our expenses as a percentage of net sales, including our expenses related to servicing this lower gross margin business, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted.
Our business may be sensitive to inflationary and deflationary pressures.
Many of our sales are at prices that are based on our product cost plus a percentage markup. As a result, volatile food costs have a direct impact upon our profitability. Prolonged periods of product cost inflation and periods of rapidly increasing inflation may have a negative impact on our profit margins and results of operations to the extent that we are unable to pass on all or a portion of such product cost increases to our customers. In addition, product cost inflation may negatively impact the consumer discretionary spending trends of our customers' customers, which could adversely affect our sales. Conversely, because many of our sales are at prices that are based upon product cost plus a percentage markup, our profit levels may be negatively impacted during periods of product cost deflation even though our gross profit as a percentage of net sales may remain relatively constant. To compensate for lower gross margins, we, in turn, must reduce expenses that we incur to service our customers. If we are unable to reduce our expenses as a percentage of net sales, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted.
Our customers generally are not obligated to continue purchasing products from us and larger customers that do have multiyear contracts with us may terminate these contracts early in certain situations or choose not to renew or extend the contract at its expiration.
Many of our customers buy from us under purchase orders, and we generally do not have agreements with or commitments from these customers for the purchase of products. We cannot assure you that these customers will maintain or increase their sales volumes or orders for the products supplied by us or that we will be able to maintain or add to our existing customer base. Decreases in our volumes or orders for products supplied by us for these customers with whom we do not have a long-term contract may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
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We may have contracts with certain of our customers (as is the case with many of our conventional supermarket customers) that obligate the customer to buy products from us for a particular period of time. Even in this case, the contracts may not require the customer to purchase a minimum amount of products from us or the contracts may afford the customer better pricing in the event that the volume of the customer’s purchases exceeds certain levels. If these customers were to terminate these contracts prior to their scheduled termination, or if we or the customer elected not to renew or extend the term of the contract at its expiration, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, including additional operational expenses to transition out of the business or to adjust our staffing levels to account for the reduction in net sales.
We have significant competition from a variety of sources.
We operate in competitive markets and our future success will be largely dependent on our ability to provide quality products and services at competitive prices. Bidding for contracts or arrangements with customers, particularly within the supernatural chain and conventional supermarket channels, is highly competitive and distributors may market their services to a particular customer over a long period of time before they are invited to bid. Our competition comes from a variety of sources, including other distributors of natural products as well as specialty grocery and mass market grocery distributors and retail customers that have their own distribution channels. Mass market grocery distributors in recent years have increased their emphasis on natural and organic products and are now competing more directly with us and many conventional supermarket chains have increased self-distribution of particular items or have increased their purchases of particular items directly from suppliers. New competitors are also entering our markets as barriers to entry for new competitors are relatively low. Some of the mass market grocery distributors with whom we compete may have been in business longer than we have, may have substantially greater financial and other resources than we have and may be better established in their markets. We cannot assure you that our current or potential competitors will not provide products or services comparable or superior to those provided by us or adapt more quickly than we do to evolving industry trends or changing market requirements. It is also possible that alliances among competitors may develop and rapidly acquire significant market share or that certain of our customers will increase distribution to their own retail facilities. Increased competition may result in price reductions, reduced gross margins, lost business and loss of market share, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete effectively against current and future competitors.
Our investment in information technology may not result in the anticipated benefits.
Much of our sales growth is occurring in our lower gross margin supernatural and conventional supermarket channels. In our attempt to reduce operating expenses and increase operating efficiencies, we have aggressively invested in the development and implementation of new information technology. Based on our currently anticipated timeline, we expect to complete the roll-out of our warehouse management system and transportation management system by the end of fiscal 2018. While we currently believe this revised timeline will be met, we may not be able to implement these technological changes in the time frame that we have planned and delays in implementation could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the costs to make these changes may exceed our estimates and will exceed the benefits during the early stages of implementation. Even if we are able to implement the changes in accordance with our revised plans, and within our current cost estimates, we may not be able to achieve the expected efficiencies and cost savings from this investment, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Moreover, as we implement information technology enhancements, disruptions in our business may be created (including disruption with our customers) which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Failure by us to develop and operate a reliable technology platform could negatively impact our business.
Our ability to decrease costs and increase profits, as well as our ability to serve customers most effectively, depends on the reliability of our technology platform. We use software and other technology systems, among other things, to generate and select orders, to load and route trucks and to monitor and manage our business on a day-to-day basis. Any disruption to these computer systems could adversely impact our customer service, decrease the volume of our business and result in increased costs negatively affecting our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We have experienced losses due to the uncollectability of accounts receivable in the past and could experience increases in such losses in the future if our customers are unable to timely pay their debts to us.
Certain of our customers have from time to time experienced bankruptcy, insolvency and/or an inability to pay their debts to us as they come due. If our customers suffer significant financial difficulty, they may be unable to pay their debts to us timely or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. It is possible that customers may reject their contractual obligations to us under bankruptcy laws or otherwise. Significant customer bankruptcies could further adversely affect our revenues and increase our operating expenses by requiring larger provisions for bad debt. In addition, even when our contracts with these customers are not rejected, if customers are unable to meet their obligations on a timely basis, it could adversely affect
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our ability to collect receivables. Further, we may have to negotiate significant discounts and/or extended financing terms with these customers in such a situation, each of which could have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. During periods of economic weakness, small to medium-sized businesses, like many of our independently owned natural products retailer customers, may be impacted more severely and more quickly than larger businesses. Similarly, these smaller businesses may be more likely to be more severely impacted by events outside of their control, like significant weather events. Consequently, the ability of such businesses to repay their obligations to us may deteriorate, and in some cases this deterioration may occur quickly, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our acquisition strategy may adversely affect our business.
A portion of our past growth has been achieved through acquisitions of, or mergers with, other distributors of natural, organic and specialty products. We also continually evaluate opportunities to acquire other companies. We believe that there are risks related to acquiring companies, including an inability to successfully identify suitable acquisition candidates or consummate such potential acquisitions. To the extent that our future growth includes acquisitions, we cannot assure you that we will not overpay for acquisitions, lose key employees of acquired companies, or fail to achieve potential synergies or expansion into new markets as a result of our acquisitions. Therefore, future acquisitions, if any, may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, particularly in periods immediately following the consummation of those transactions while the operations of the acquired business are being integrated with our operations. Achieving the benefits of acquisitions depends on timely, efficient and successful execution of a number of post-acquisition events, including, among other things:
• | maintaining the customer and supplier base; |
• | optimizing delivery routes; |
• | coordinating administrative, distribution and finance functions; and |
• | integrating management information systems and personnel. |
The integration process could divert the attention of management and any difficulties or problems encountered in the transition process could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In particular, the integration process may temporarily redirect resources previously focused on reducing product cost and operating expenses, resulting in lower gross profits in relation to sales. In addition, the process of combining companies could cause the interruption of, or a loss of momentum and operating profits in, the activities of the respective businesses, which could have an adverse effect on their combined operations.
In connection with acquisitions of businesses in the future, if any, we may decide to consolidate the operations of any acquired businesses with our existing operations or make other changes with respect to the acquired businesses, which could result in special charges or other expenses. Our results of operations also may be adversely affected by expenses we incur in making acquisitions, by amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets with definite lives and by additional depreciation attributable to acquired assets. Any of the businesses we acquire may also have liabilities or adverse operating issues, including some that we fail to discover before the acquisition, and our indemnity for such liabilities may also be limited. Additionally, our ability to make any future acquisitions may depend upon obtaining additional financing. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms or at all. To the extent that we seek to acquire other businesses in exchange for our common stock, fluctuations in our stock price could have a material adverse effect on our ability to complete acquisitions.
Our business strategy of increasing our sales of fresh, perishable items, that we accelerated with our acquisition of Tony’s, may not produce the results that we expect.
A key element of our current growth strategy is to increase the amount of fresh, perishable products that we distribute. We believe that the ability to distribute these products that are typically found in the perimeter of our customers’ stores, in addition to the products we have historically distributed, will differentiate us from our competitors and increase demand for our products. We accelerated this strategy with our acquisition of Tony’s. If we are unable to grow this portion of our business and manage that growth effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
We may have difficulty managing our growth.
The growth in the size of our business and operations has placed, and is expected to continue to place, a significant strain on our management. Our future growth may be limited by our inability to make acquisitions, successfully integrate acquired entities or significant new customers, implement information systems initiatives, acquire or timely construct new distribution centers or expand our existing distribution centers, or adequately manage our personnel. Our future growth is limited in part by the size and location of our distribution centers. As we near maximum utilization of a given facility or maximize our processing capacity, operations may be constrained and inefficiencies have been and may be created, which could adversely affect our results of operations unless the facility is expanded, volume is shifted to another facility or additional processing capacity is added. Conversely, as we add additional facilities or expand existing operations or facilities, excess capacity may be created. Any excess
15
capacity may also create inefficiencies and adversely affect our results of operations, including as a result of incurring additional operating costs for these facilities before demand for products to be supplied from these facilities rises to a sufficient level. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully expand our existing distribution centers or open new distribution centers in new or existing markets as needed to accommodate or facilitate growth. Even if we are able to expand our distribution network, our ability to compete effectively and to manage future growth, if any, will depend on our ability to continue to implement and improve operational, financial and management information systems , including our warehouse management systems, on a timely basis and to expand, train, motivate and manage our work force. We cannot assure you that our existing personnel, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support the future growth of our operations. Our inability to manage our growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Increased fuel costs may adversely affect our results of operations.
Increased fuel costs may have a negative impact on our results of operations. The high cost of diesel fuel can increase the price we pay for products as well as the costs we incur to deliver products to our customers. These factors, in turn, may negatively impact our net sales, margins, operating expenses and operating results. To manage this risk, we have in the past periodically entered, and may in the future periodically enter, into heating oil derivative contracts to hedge a portion of our projected diesel fuel requirements. Heating crude oil prices have a highly correlated relationship to fuel prices, making these derivatives effective in offsetting changes in the cost of diesel fuel. We are not party to any commodity swap agreements and, as a result, our exposure to volatility in the price of diesel fuel has increased relative to our exposure to volatility in prior periods in which we had outstanding heating oil derivative contracts. We do not enter into fuel hedge contracts for speculative purposes. We have in the past, and may in the future, periodically enter into forward purchase commitments for a portion of our projected monthly diesel fuel requirements at fixed prices. As of August 1, 2015, we had forward diesel fuel commitments totaling approximately $11.3 million and $10.4 million through December 2015 and December 2016, respectively. Our commitments were entered into at prevailing rates throughout the fiscal year. If fuel prices decrease significantly, these forward purchases may prove ineffective and result in us paying higher than the then market costs for a portion of our diesel fuel. We also maintain a fuel surcharge program which allows us to pass some of our higher fuel costs through to our customers. We cannot guarantee that we will continue to be able to pass a comparable proportion or any of our higher fuel costs to our customers in the future, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Disruption of our distribution network could adversely affect our business.
Damage or disruption to our distribution capabilities due to weather, natural disaster, fire, terrorism, pandemic, strikes, the financial and/or operational instability of key suppliers, or other reasons could impair our ability to distribute our products. To the extent that we are unable, or it is not financially feasible, to mitigate the likelihood or potential impact of such events, or to manage effectively such events if they occur, there could be an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The cost of the capital available to us and any limitations on our ability to access additional capital may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
In May 2014, we entered into a First Amendment Agreement (the "Amendment") to our amended and restated revolving credit facility, which increased the maximum borrowings under the amended and restated revolving credit facility to $600.0 million and extended the maturity date to May 21, 2019. Up to $550.0 million is available to our U.S. subsidiaries and up to $50.0 million is available to UNFI Canada. After giving effect to the Amendment, the amended and restated revolving credit facility provides a one-time option to increase the borrowing base by up to an additional $150.0 million (but in not less than $10.0 million increments) subject to certain customary conditions and the lenders committing to provide the increase in funding, and also permits the Company to enter into a real-estate backed term loan facility which shall not exceed $200.0 million. The borrowings of the US portion of the amended and restated credit facility, prior to and after giving effect to the Amendment, accrue interest, at our option, at either (i) a base rate (generally defined as the highest of (x) the Bank of America Business Capital prime rate, (y) the average overnight federal funds effective rate plus one-half percent (0.50%) per annum and (z) one-month London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus one percent (1%) per annum) plus an initial margin of 0.50%, or (ii) the LIBOR for one, two, three or six months or, if approved by all affected lenders, nine months plus an initial margin of 1.50%. The borrowings on the Canadian portion of the credit facility for Canadian swing-line loans, Canadian overadvance loans or Canadian protective advances accrue interest, at the Company's option, at either (i) a prime rate (generally defined as the highest of (x) 0.50% over 30-day Reuters Canadian Deposit Offering Rate for bankers' acceptances, (y) the prime rate of Bank of America, N.A.'s Canada branch, and (z) a bankers' acceptance equivalent rate for a one month interest period plus 1.00%) plus an initial margin of 0.50%, or (ii) a bankers' acceptance equivalent rate of the rate of interest per annum equal to the annual rates applicable to Canadian Dollar bankers' acceptances on the "CDOR Page" of Reuter Monitor Money Rates Service, plus five basis points (the "CDOR rate"), and an initial margin of 1.50%. All other borrowings on the Canadian portion of the amended and restated credit facility, prior to and after giving effect to the Amendment, must exclusively accrue interest under the CDOR rate plus the applicable margin. The amended and restated revolving credit facility includes an annual commitment fee in the amount of 0.30% if the average daily balance of amounts actually used (other
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than swing-line loans) is less than 40% of the aggregate commitments, or 0.25% if such average daily balance is 40% or more of the aggregate commitments.
As of August 1, 2015, our borrowing base, based on accounts receivable and inventory levels and described more completely below under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Revenues," was $581.4 million, with remaining availability of $180.6 million.
In August 2014, we and our Albert’s subsidiary entered into a $150.0 million Term Loan Agreement (the “Term Loan Agreement”), with the financial institutions that are parties thereto and Bank of America, N.A., as the administrative agent. The Term Loan Agreement requires us to make quarterly principal payments of $2.5 million commencing on November 1, 2014, with the remaining principal balance to be paid at maturity. The Term Loan Agreement terminates on the earlier of (a) August 14, 2022 and (b) the date that is ninety days prior to the termination date of our amended and restated revolving credit facility. The term loan facility is secured by certain parcels of our and certain of our subsidiaries’ real property. Additionally, the Term Loan Agreement is guaranteed by most of our subsidiaries. The borrowings under the Term Loan Agreement accrue interest, at our option, at either (i) a base rate (generally defined as the highest of (x) the Bank of America’s prime rate, (y) the average overnight federal funds effective rate plus one-half percent (0.50%) per annum and (z) one-month LIBOR plus one percent (1%) per annum) plus a margin of 1.50%, or (ii) the LIBOR for one, two, three or six months or, if approved by all affected lenders, nine months plus a margin of 2.50%.
In an effort to maximize our profit margins, we rely on strategic investment buying initiatives, such as discounted bulk purchases, which require spending significant amounts of working capital up front to purchase products that we will sell over a multi-month time period. In the event that our cost of capital increases, such as during a period in which we are not in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio covenants under our amended and restated revolving credit facility, or our ability to borrow funds or raise equity capital is limited, we could suffer reduced profit margins and be unable to grow our business organically or through acquisitions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our debt agreements contain restrictive covenants that may limit our operating flexibility.
Our debt agreements underlying our amended and restated revolving credit facility and Term Loan Agreement contain financial covenants and other restrictions that limit our operating flexibility, limit our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and competitive pressures. Our indebtedness could have significant negative consequences, including:
• | increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions; |
• | limiting our ability to obtain additional financing; |
• | limiting our ability to pursue certain acquisitions; |
• | limiting our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and the industry in which we compete; and |
• | placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors with less leverage or better access to capital resources. |
In addition, our amended and restated revolving credit facility and the Term Loan Agreement each require that we comply with various financial tests and impose certain restrictions on us, including among other things, restrictions on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, create liens on assets, make loans or investments or pay dividends. Failure to comply with these covenants could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our operating results are subject to significant fluctuations.
Our operating results may vary significantly from period to period due to:
• | demand for our products, including as a result of seasonal fluctuations; |
• | changes in our operating expenses, including fuel and insurance expenses; |
• | management's ability to execute our business and growth strategies; |
• | changes in customer preferences, including levels of enthusiasm for health, fitness and environmental issues; |
• | public perception of the benefits of natural and organic products when compared to similar conventional products; |
• | fluctuation of natural product prices due to competitive pressures; |
• | the addition or loss of significant customers; |
• | personnel changes; |
• | general economic conditions, including inflation; |
• | supply shortages, including a lack of an adequate supply of high-quality livestock or agricultural products due to poor growing conditions, water shortages, natural disasters or otherwise; |
• | volatility in prices of high-quality livestock or agricultural products resulting from poor growing conditions, water shortages, natural disasters or otherwise; and |
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• | future acquisitions, particularly in periods immediately following the consummation of such acquisition transactions while the operations of the acquired businesses are being integrated into our operations. |
Due to the foregoing factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not necessarily be meaningful and that such comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance.
Conditions beyond our control can interrupt our supplies and increase our product costs.
We offer more than 85,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products, which we purchase from more than 9,000 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. For the most part, we do not have long-term contracts with our suppliers committing them to provide products to us. Although our purchasing volume can provide benefits when dealing with suppliers, suppliers may not provide the products needed by us in the quantities and at the prices requested. We are also subject to delays caused by interruption in production and increases in product costs based on conditions outside of our control. These conditions include work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes or other job actions by employees of suppliers, short-term weather conditions or more prolonged climate change, crop conditions, product recalls, water shortages, transportation interruptions, unavailability of fuel or increases in fuel costs, competitive demands, raw material shortages and natural disasters or other catastrophic events (including, but not limited to food-borne illnesses). We have continued to experience higher levels of manufacturer out-of-stocks causing us to incur higher operating expenses as we moved products around our distribution facilities as we sought to keep our service level high, and we cannot be sure when this trend will end or whether it will recur during future years. As the consumer demand for natural and organic products has increased, certain retailers and other producers have entered the market and attempted to buy certain raw materials directly, limiting their availability to be used in certain vendor products. Further, increased frequency or duration of extreme weather conditions could also impair production capabilities, disrupt our supply chain or impact demand for our products, including the specialty protein and cheese products sold by Tony's. For example, weather patterns in recent years have resulted in lower than normal levels of precipitation in key agricultural states such as California, impacting the price of water and corresponding prices of food products grown in states facing drought conditions. The impact of sustained droughts are uncertain and could result in volatile input costs. Input costs could increase at any point in time for a large portion of the products that we sell for a prolonged period. Our inability to obtain adequate products as a result of any of the foregoing factors or otherwise could mean that we could not fulfill our obligations to customers, and customers may turn to other distributors. In that case, our financial condition, results of operations and business could be adversely affected.
We are subject to significant governmental regulation.
Our business is highly regulated at the federal, state and local levels and our products and distribution operations require various licenses, permits and approvals. In particular:
• | the products that we distribute in the United States are subject to inspection by the FDA; |
• | our warehouse and distribution centers are subject to inspection by the USDA and state health authorities; and |
• | the United States Department of Transportation and the United States Federal Highway Administration regulate our United States trucking operations. |
Our Canadian operations are similarly subject to extensive regulation, including the English and French dual labeling requirements applicable to products that we distribute in Canada. The loss or revocation of any existing licenses, permits or approvals or the failure to obtain any additional licenses, permits or approvals in new jurisdictions where we intend to do business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, as a distributor and manufacturer of natural, organic, and specialty foods, we are subject to increasing governmental scrutiny of and public awareness regarding food safety and the sale, packaging and marketing of natural and organic products. Compliance with these laws may impose a significant burden on our operations. If we were to manufacture or distribute foods that are or are perceived to be contaminated, any resulting product recalls could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, concern over climate change, including the impact of global warming, has led to significant United States and international legislative and regulatory efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Increased regulation regarding greenhouse gas emissions, especially diesel engine emissions, could impose substantial costs on us. These costs include an increase in the cost of the fuel and other energy we purchase and capital costs associated with updating or replacing our vehicles prematurely. Until the timing, scope and extent of such regulation becomes known, we cannot predict its effect on our results of operations. It is reasonably possible, however, that it could impose material costs on us which we may be unable to pass on to our customers.
If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations or encounter disagreements with respect to our contracts subject to governmental regulations, including those referred to above, we may be subject to investigations, criminal sanctions or civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, prohibitions on exporting, seizures or debarments from contracting with the government. The cost of compliance or the consequences of non-compliance, including debarments, could have a material adverse
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effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, governmental units may make changes in the regulatory frameworks within which we operate that may require either the corporation as a whole or individual businesses to incur substantial increases in costs in order to comply with such laws and regulations.
Product liability claims could have an adverse effect on our business.
We face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims if the products we manufacture or sell cause injury or illness. In addition, meat, seafood and poultry products that we distribute could be subject to recall because they are, or are alleged to be, contaminated, spoiled or inappropriately labeled. Our meat and poultry products may be subject to contamination by disease-producing organisms, or pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and generic E.coli. These pathogens are generally found in the environment, and as a result, there is a risk that they, as a result of food processing, could be present in our meat and poultry products. These pathogens can also be introduced as a result of improper handling at the consumer level. These risks may be controlled, although not eliminated, by adherence to good manufacturing practices and finished product testing. We have little, if any, control over proper handling before we receive the product or once the product has been shipped to our customers. We may be subject to liability, which could be substantial, because of actual or alleged contamination in products manufactured or sold by us, including products sold by companies before we acquired them. We have, and the companies we have acquired have had, liability insurance with respect to product liability claims. This insurance may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost or at all, and may not be adequate to cover product liability claims against us or against companies we have acquired. We generally seek contractual indemnification from manufacturers, but any such indemnification is limited, as a practical matter, to the creditworthiness of the indemnifying party. If we or any of our acquired companies do not have adequate insurance or contractual indemnification available, product liability claims and costs associated with product recalls, including a loss of business, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
A cybersecurity incident and other technology disruptions could negatively impact our business and our relationships with customers.
We use computers in substantially all aspects of our business operations. We also use mobile devices, social networking and other online activities to connect with our employees, suppliers, business partners and our customers. Such uses give rise to cybersecurity risks, including security breach, espionage, system disruption, theft and inadvertent release of information. Our business involves the storage and transmission of numerous classes of sensitive and/or confidential information and intellectual property, including customers’ and suppliers' personal information, private information about employees, and financial and strategic information about the Company and its business partners. Further, as we pursue our strategy to grow through acquisitions and to pursue new initiatives that improve our operations and cost structure, we are also expanding and improving our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk. If we fail to assess and identify cybersecurity risks associated with acquisitions and new initiatives, we may become increasingly vulnerable to such risks. Additionally, while we have implemented measures to prevent security breaches and cyber incidents, our preventative measures and incident response efforts may not be entirely effective. The theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation, or release of sensitive and/or confidential information or intellectual property, or interference with our information technology systems or the technology systems of third parties on which we rely, could result in business disruption, negative publicity, brand damage, violation of privacy laws, loss of customers, potential liability and competitive disadvantage.
We are dependent on a number of key executives.
Management of our business is substantially dependent upon the services of certain key management employees. Loss of the services of any officers or any other key management employee could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Union-organizing activities could cause labor relations difficulties.
As of August 1, 2015 we had approximately 8,700 full and part-time employees, 428 of whom (approximately 4.9%) are covered by collective bargaining agreements at our Edison, New Jersey, Auburn, Washington, Leicester, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa, and Dayville, Connecticut facilities. The Edison, New Jersey, Leicester, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa, Auburn, Washington, and Dayville, Connecticut agreements expire in June 2017, March 2017, June 2017, February 2017, and July 2019, respectively. We have in the past been the focus of union-organizing efforts, and we believe it is likely that we will be the focus of similar efforts in the future.
As we increase our employee base and broaden our distribution operations to new geographic markets, our increased visibility could result in increased or expanded union-organizing efforts. In the event we are unable to negotiate contract renewals with our union associates, we could be subject to work stoppages. In that event, it would be necessary for us to hire replacement workers to continue to meet our obligations to our customers. The costs to hire replacement workers and employ effective security measures could negatively impact the profitability of the facility, and depending on the length of time that we are required to employ
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replacement workers and security measures these costs could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
In November 2014, the National Labor Relations Board certified the election results of our drivers in Moreno Valley, California to be represented by the Teamsters Local 63. Management has appealed those results to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on the grounds that the election was not held within an appropriate unit of bargaining. During the pendency of the appeal, we could be subject to work stoppages which could cause us difficulties in meeting all our obligations to our customers, as well as result in our need to hire temporary drivers and enhance our security measures, all of which could negatively impact the profitability of the Moreno Valley facility and any of our other facilities that are impacted by these events.
We may fail to establish sufficient insurance reserves and adequately estimate for future workers' compensation and automobile liabilities.
We are primarily self-insured for workers' compensation and automobile liability insurance. We believe that our workers' compensation and automobile insurance coverage is customary for businesses of our size and type. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not commercially reasonable to insure. These losses, should they occur, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the cost of workers' compensation insurance and automobile insurance fluctuates based upon our historical trends, market conditions and availability.
Any projection of losses concerning workers' compensation and automobile insurance is subject to a considerable degree of variability. Among the causes of this variability are unpredictable external factors affecting litigation trends, benefit level changes and claim settlement patterns. If actual losses incurred are greater than those anticipated, our reserves may be insufficient and additional costs could be recorded in our consolidated financial statements. If we suffer a substantial loss that is not covered by our self-insurance reserves, the loss and attendant expenses could harm our business and operating results. We have purchased stop loss coverage from third parties, which limits our exposure above the amounts we have self-insured.
Adverse judgments or settlements resulting from legal proceedings in which we may be involved in the normal course of our business could reduce our profits or limit our ability to operate our business.
In the normal course of our business, we are involved in various legal proceedings. The outcome of these proceedings cannot be predicted. If any of these proceedings were to be determined adversely to us or a settlement involving a payment of a material sum of money were to occur, it could materially and adversely affect our profits or ability to operate our business. Additionally, we could become the subject of future claims by third parties, including our employees, our investors, or regulators. Any significant adverse judgments or settlements would reduce our profits and could limit our ability to operate our business. Further, we may incur costs related to claims for which we have appropriate third-party indemnity, but such third parties fail to fulfill their contractual obligations.
The market price for our common stock may be volatile.
At times, there has been significant volatility in the market price of our common stock. In addition, the market price of our common stock could fluctuate substantially in the future in response to a number of factors, including the following:
• | our quarterly operating results or the operating results of other distributors of organic or natural food and non-food products and of supernatural chains and conventional supermarkets and other of our customers; |
• | the addition or loss of significant customers; |
• | changes in general conditions in the economy, the financial markets or the organic or natural food and non-food product distribution industries; |
• | changes in financial estimates or recommendations by stock market analysts regarding us or our competitors; |
• | announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions; |
• | increases in labor, energy, fuel costs or the costs of food products; |
• | natural disasters, severe weather conditions or other developments affecting us or our competitors; |
• | publication of research reports about us, the benefits of organic and natural products, or the organic or natural food and non-food product distribution industries generally; |
• | changes in market valuations of similar companies; |
• | additions or departures of key management personnel; |
• | actions by institutional stockholders; and |
• | speculation in the press or investment community. |
In addition, in recent years the stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant effect on the market prices of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated to their operating performance. These broad market fluctuations may materially adversely affect our stock price, regardless of our operating results.
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A failure of our internal control over financial reporting could materially impact our business or stock price.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and in the second quarter of fiscal 2015 we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Although we have remediated this material weakness and management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of August 1, 2015, an internal control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all internal control systems, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Any failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or to detect and prevent fraud, and could expose us to litigation or adversely affect the market price of our common stock. See Part II, “Item 9A. Controls and Procedures - Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting,” of this report for additional information regarding our internal control over financial report.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We maintained thirty-one distribution centers at August 1, 2015 which were utilized by our wholesale division. These facilities, including offsite storage space, consisted of an aggregate of approximately 7.7 million square feet of storage space, which we believe represents the largest capacity of any distributor within the United States in the natural, organic and specialty products industry. In the first and third quarter of fiscal 2015, respectively, we began operations at our new distribution centers in Hudson Valley, New York and Prescott, Wisconsin. We are also constructing a new distribution center in Gilroy, California.
Set forth below for each of our distribution centers is its location and the expiration of leases as of August 1, 2015 for those distribution centers that we do not own.
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Location | Lease Expiration | |
Atlanta, Georgia* | Owned | |
Auburn, California* | Owned | |
Auburn, Washington | August 2019 | |
Aurora, Colorado | October 2033 | |
Burnaby, British Columbia | October 2018 | |
Charlotte, North Carolina | September 2019 | |
Chesterfield, New Hampshire* | Owned | |
Concord, Ontario | December 2021 | |
Dayville, Connecticut* | Owned | |
Greenwood, Indiana* | Owned | |
Hudson Valley, New York* | Owned | |
Iowa City, Iowa* | Owned | |
Lancaster, Texas | July 2025 | |
Leicester, Massachusetts | April 2016 | |
Logan Township, New Jersey | May 2028 | |
Moreno Valley, California | July 2023 | |
Mounds View, Minnesota | November 2015 | |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | January 2020 | |
Prescott, Wisconsin | Owned | |
Racine, Wisconsin* | Owned | |
Richmond, British Columbia | August 2022 | |
Ridgefield, Washington* | Owned | |
Ridgefield, Washington | September 2017 | |
Rocklin, California* | Owned | |
Sarasota, Florida | July 2017 | |
St. Laurent, Quebec | July 2017 | |
Truckee, California | August 2020 | |
Vernon, California* | Owned | |
West Sacramento, California | Owned | |
York, Pennsylvania | May 2020 | |
Yuba City, California | September 2021 | |
*The properties noted above are mortgaged under and encumbered by our Term Loan Agreement entered into on August 14, 2014.
We lease facilities to operate thirteen natural products retail stores through our Earth Origins division in Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts, each with various lease expiration dates. We also lease a processing and manufacturing facility in Edison, New Jersey with a lease expiration date of March 31, 2018.
We lease office space in Santa Cruz, California, Chesterfield, New Hampshire, Uniondale, New York, Richmond, Virginia, and Providence, Rhode Island, the site of our corporate headquarters. Our leases have been entered into upon terms that we believe to be reasonable and customary.
We lease warehouse facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota that we acquired in connection with our acquisition of Roots & Fruits Produce Cooperative in 2005 and West Sacramento, California that we acquired in connection with our acquisition of Tony's. Both of these facilities are currently being subleased under an agreement that expires concurrently with our lease termination in November 2016 and April 2018, respectively. We also lease offsite storage space near certain of our distribution facilities.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
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From time to time, we are involved in routine litigation that arises in the ordinary course of our business. There are no pending material legal proceedings to which we are a party or to which our property is subject.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II.
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market® under the symbol "UNFI." Our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market® on November 1, 1996.
The following table sets forth, for the fiscal periods indicated, the high and low sale prices per share of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market®:
Fiscal 2015 | High | Low | ||||||
First Quarter | $ | 69.51 | $ | 58.48 | ||||
Second Quarter | 80.77 | 67.71 | ||||||
Third Quarter | 83.91 | 66.34 | ||||||
Fourth Quarter | 69.26 | 45.26 | ||||||
Fiscal 2014 | ||||||||
First Quarter | $ | 75.85 | $ | 58.29 | ||||
Second Quarter | 76.85 | 66.74 | ||||||
Third Quarter | 79.64 | 64.12 | ||||||
Fourth Quarter | 69.85 | 58.04 | ||||||
On August 1, 2015, we had 88 stockholders of record. The number of record holders may not be representative of the number of beneficial holders of our common stock because depositories, brokers or other nominees hold many shares.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We anticipate that all of our earnings in the foreseeable future will be retained to finance the continued growth and development of our business, and we have no current intention to pay cash dividends. Our future dividend policy will depend on our earnings, capital requirements and financial condition, requirements of the financing agreements to which we are then a party and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors. Additionally, the terms of our existing revolving credit facility restrict us from making any cash dividends unless certain conditions and financial tests are met.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 the UNFI Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “ESOP”) acquired shares of the Company’s common stock on the open market in connection with the ESOP’s final allocation and release of shares under the ESOP. The following table provides information relating to the ESOP’s purchase of those shares:
Period | (a) Total Number of Shares Purchased(1) | (b) Average Price Paid per Share | (c) Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | (d) Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs(2) | |
May 3, 2015 - June 6, 2015 | — | — | — | N/A | |
June 7, 2015 - July 4, 2015 | 455 | $62.86 | — | N/A | |
July 5, 2015 - August 1, 2015 | 8,938 | $55.76 | — | N/A | |
(1) All purchases were made through open market transactions.
(2) The ESOP made its final allocation and release of shares of the Company’s common stock prior to the end of fiscal 2015 and no future purchases of the Company’s common stock under the ESOP are expected.
Except as described in the table above, no shares of the Company's common stock were repurchased in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.
Comparative Stock Performance
The graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock for the last five fiscal years with the cumulative total return on (i) an index of Food Service Distributors and Grocery Wholesalers and (ii) The NASDAQ Composite
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Index. The comparison assumes the investment of $100 on July 31, 2010 in our common stock and in each of the indices and, in each case, assumes reinvestment of all dividends. The stock price performance shown below is not necessarily indicative of future performance.
The index of Food Distributors and Wholesalers includes SuperValu, Inc. and SYSCO Corporation.
This performance graph shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or be deemed to be "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the Exchange Act.
COMPARISION OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among United Natural Foods, Inc., the NASDAQ Composite Index,
and Index of Food Distributors and Wholesalers
* | $100 invested on 7/31/10 in UNFI common stock or 7/31/10 in relevant index, including reinvestment of dividends. Index calculated on a month-end basis. |
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The selected consolidated financial data presented below are derived from our consolidated financial statements, which have been audited by KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm. The historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period. The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with and is qualified by reference to "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Consolidated Statement of Income Data:(1) | August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | August 3, 2013 | July 28, 2012 | July 30, 2011 | |||||||||||||||
(53 weeks) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net sales | $ | 8,184,978 | $ | 6,794,447 | $ | 6,064,355 | $ | 5,236,021 | $ | 4,530,015 | ||||||||||
Cost of sales | 6,924,463 | 5,666,802 | 5,039,279 | 4,320,018 | 3,705,205 | |||||||||||||||
Gross profit | 1,260,515 | 1,127,645 | 1,025,076 | 916,003 | 824,810 | |||||||||||||||
Operating expenses | 1,017,755 | 916,857 | 837,953 | 755,744 | 688,859 | |||||||||||||||
Restructuring and asset impairment expense | 803 | — | 1,629 | 5,101 | 6,270 | |||||||||||||||
Total operating expenses | 1,018,558 | 916,857 | 839,582 | 760,845 | 695,129 | |||||||||||||||
Operating income | 241,957 | 210,788 | 185,494 | 155,158 | 129,681 | |||||||||||||||
Other expense (income): | ||||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense | 14,498 | 7,753 | 5,897 | 4,734 | 5,000 | |||||||||||||||
Interest income | (356 | ) | (508 | ) | (632 | ) | (715 | ) | (1,226 | ) | ||||||||||
Other, net | (1,954 | ) | (3,865 | ) | 6,113 | 356 | (528 | ) | ||||||||||||
Total other expense, net | 12,188 | 3,380 | 11,378 | 4,375 | 3,246 | |||||||||||||||
Income before income taxes | 229,769 | 207,408 | 174,116 | 150,783 | 126,435 | |||||||||||||||
Provision for income taxes | 91,035 | 81,926 | 66,262 | 59,441 | 49,762 | |||||||||||||||
Net income | $ | 138,734 | $ | 125,482 | $ | 107,854 | $ | 91,342 | $ | 76,673 | ||||||||||
Per share data—Basic: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | $ | 2.77 | $ | 2.53 | $ | 2.19 | $ | 1.87 | $ | 1.62 | ||||||||||
Weighted average basic shares of common stock | 50,021 | 49,602 | 49,217 | 48,766 | 47,459 | |||||||||||||||
Per share data—Diluted: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | $ | 2.76 | $ | 2.52 | $ | 2.18 | $ | 1.86 | $ | 1.60 | ||||||||||
Weighted average diluted shares of common stock | 50,267 | 49,888 | 49,509 | 49,100 | 47,815 | |||||||||||||||
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: | August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | August 3, 2013 | July 28, 2012 | July 30, 2011 | ||||||||||||||
(In thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||
Working capital | $ | 1,022,882 | $ | 854,451 | $ | 716,951 | $ | 612,700 | $ | 381,071 | |||||||||
Total assets | 2,550,190 | 2,288,891 | 1,729,908 | 1,493,946 | 1,400,988 | ||||||||||||||
Total long-term debt and capital leases, excluding current portion | 174,780 | 32,510 | 33,091 | 635 | 986 | ||||||||||||||
Total stockholders' equity | $ | 1,385,533 | $ | 1,243,364 | $ | 1,099,146 | $ | 978,716 | $ | 869,667 | |||||||||
(1) | Includes the effect of acquisitions from the date of acquisition. |
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases you can identify these statements by forward-looking words
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such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plans," "seek," "should," "will," and "would," or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations, contain projections of future results of operations or of financial positions or state other "forward-looking" information.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent uncertainty and may ultimately prove to be incorrect or false. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise may be required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or actual operating results. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to:
• | our dependence on principal customers; |
• | our sensitivity to general economic conditions, including the current economic environment; |
• | changes in disposable income levels and consumer spending trends; |
• | our ability to reduce our expenses in amounts sufficient to offset our increased focus on sales to conventional supermarkets and the shift in our product mix as a result of our acquisition of Tony’s and the resulting lower gross margins on these sales; |
• | our reliance on the continued growth in sales of natural and organic foods and non-food products in comparison to conventional products; |
• | our ability to timely and successfully deploy our new warehouse management system throughout our distribution centers and our transportation management system across our Company; |
• | the addition or loss of significant customers; |
• | volatility in fuel costs; |
• | our ability to successfully consummate our expense reduction efforts in connection with the previously announced termination of a contractual customer relationship within the expected timeframe and cost estimates currently contemplated; |
• | our sensitivity to inflationary and deflationary pressures; |
• | the relatively low margins and economic sensitivity of our business; |
• | the potential for disruptions in our supply chain by circumstances beyond our control; |
• | the risk of interruption of supplies due to lack of long-term contracts, severe weather, work stoppages or otherwise; |
• | consumer demand for natural and organic products outpacing suppliers’ ability to produce these products; |
• | union-organizing activities that could cause labor relations difficulties and increased costs; |
• | the ability to identify and successfully complete acquisitions of other natural, organic and specialty food and non-food products distributors; |
• | management's allocation of capital and the timing of capital expenditures; and |
• | our ability to successfully deploy our operational initiatives to achieve synergies from the acquisition of Tony's |
This list of risks and uncertainties, however, is only a summary of some of the most important factors and is not intended to be exhaustive. You should carefully review the risks described under "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors," as well as any other cautionary language in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as the occurrence of any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Overview
We believe we are a leading national distributor based on sales of natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products in the United States and Canada and that our thirty-one distribution centers, representing approximately 7.7 million square feet of warehouse space, provide us with the largest capacity of any North American-based distributor in the natural, organic and specialty products industry. We offer more than 85,000 high-quality natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products, consisting of national brands, regional brands, private label and master distribution products, in six product categories: grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition, bulk and food service products and personal care items. We serve more than 40,000 customer locations primarily located across the United States and Canada, the majority of which can be classified into one of the following categories: independently owned natural products retailers, which include buying clubs; supernatural chains, which consist solely of Whole Foods Market; conventional supermarkets, which include mass market chains; and other which includes foodservice and international customers outside of Canada.
Our operations are comprised of three principal operating divisions. These operating divisions are:
• | our wholesale division, which includes our broadline natural, organic and specialty distribution business in the United States, UNFI Canada, which is our natural, organic and specialty distribution business in Canada, Tony’s which is a leading distributor of a wide variety of specialty protein, cheese, deli, food service and bakery goods, principally throughout |
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the Western United States, Albert's, which is a leading distributor of organically grown produce and non-produce perishable items within the United States, and Select Nutrition, which distributes vitamins, minerals and supplements;
• | our retail division, consisting of Earth Origins, which operates our thirteen natural products retail stores within the United States; and |
• | our manufacturing division, consisting of Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, which specializes in the international importation, roasting, packaging and distribution of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, trail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items, and confections, and our Blue Marble Brands product lines. |
In recent years, our sales to existing and new customers have increased through the continued growth of the natural and organic products industry in general, increased market share as a result of our high quality service and a broader product selection, including specialty products, and the acquisition of, or merger with, natural and specialty products distributors, the expansion of our existing distribution centers; the construction of new distribution centers; the introduction of new products 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 have been the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market for more than seventeen years. We have and continue to serve as the primary distributor to Whole Foods Market in all of its regions in the United States pursuant to a distribution agreement that expires on September 25, 2020. Whole Foods Market accounted for approximately 35% and 36% of our net sales for the years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively.
In July 2014, we completed the acquisition of all of the outstanding capital stock of Tony's, through our wholly-owned subsidiary, UNFI West for consideration of approximately $202.7 million. With the completion of the transaction, Tony's is now a wholly-owned subsidiary and continues to operate as Tony's Fine Foods. Founded in 1934 by the Ingoglia family, Tony's is headquartered in West Sacramento, California and is a leading distributor of perishable food products, including a wide array of specialty protein, cheese, deli, food service and bakery goods to retail and specialty grocers, food service customers and other distribution companies principally located throughout the Western United States, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. We believe that the acquisition of Tony's accomplished certain of our strategic objectives as Tony’s provides us with a platform for expanding both our high-growth perishable product offerings and our distribution footprint in the Western Region of the United States.
The ability to distribute specialty food items (including ethnic, kosher and gourmet) has accelerated our expansion into a number of high-growth business markets and allowed us to establish immediate market share in the fast-growing specialty foods market. We have now integrated specialty food products and natural and organic specialty non-food products into most of our broadline distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Due to our expansion into specialty foods, over the past several years we have been awarded new business with a number of conventional supermarkets that we previously had not done business with because we did not distribute specialty products. We believe that distribution of these products enhances our conventional supermarket business channel and that our complementary product lines continue to present opportunities for cross-selling.
In June 2011, we entered into an asset purchase agreement with L&R Distributors pursuant to which we agreed to sell our conventional non-foods and general merchandise lines of business, including certain inventory related to these product lines. This divestiture was completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, and has allowed us to concentrate on our core business of the distribution of natural, organic, and specialty foods and non-food products.
To maintain our market leadership and improve our operating efficiencies, we seek to continually:
• | expand our marketing and customer service programs across regions; |
• | expand our national purchasing opportunities; |
• | offer a broader product selection than our competitors; |
• | offer operational excellence with high service levels and a higher percentage of on-time deliveries than our competitors; |
• | centralize general and administrative functions to reduce expenses; |
• | consolidate systems applications among physical locations and regions; |
• | increase our investment in people, facilities, equipment and technology; |
• | integrate administrative and accounting functions; and |
• | reduce the geographic overlap between regions. |
Our continued growth has allowed us to expand our existing facilities and open new facilities in an effort to achieve increasing operating efficiencies. We have made significant capital expenditures and incurred considerable expenses in connection with the opening and expansion of our facilities. At August 1, 2015, our distribution capacity totaled approximately 7.7 million square feet.
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In September 2010, we began shipping products from our distribution center in Lancaster, Texas, which serves customers throughout the Southwestern United States, including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas and Louisiana. In May 2013, we began operations at our new 540,000 square foot distribution center in Aurora, Colorado, replacing our existing two broadline distribution centers, an Albert's distribution center and an off-site storage location and also began operations at our new Albert's distribution center in Logan, New Jersey. We have progressed in our multi-year expansion plan, which included new distribution centers in Racine, Wisconsin, Hudson Valley, New York, and Prescott, Wisconsin, from which we began operations in June 2014, September 2014 and April 2015, respectively, and we are currently constructing a new distribution center in Gilroy, California, from which we expect to begin operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
Our net sales consist primarily of sales of natural, organic and specialty products to retailers, adjusted for customer volume discounts, returns and allowances. Net sales also consist of amounts charged by us to customers for shipping and handling and fuel surcharges. The principal components of our cost of sales include the amounts paid to manufacturers and growers for product sold, plus the cost of transportation necessary to bring the product to our distribution centers, offset by consideration received from suppliers in connection with the purchase or promotion of the suppliers' products. Cost of sales also includes amounts incurred by us at our manufacturing subsidiary, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, for inbound transportation costs and for depreciation for manufacturing equipment. Our gross margin may not be comparable to other similar companies within our industry that may include all costs related to their distribution network in their costs of sales rather than as operating expenses. We include purchasing, receiving, selecting and outbound transportation expenses within our operating expenses rather than in our cost of sales. Total operating expenses include salaries and wages, employee benefits (including payments under our Employee Stock Ownership Plan), warehousing and delivery, selling, occupancy, insurance, administrative, share-based compensation, depreciation and amortization expense. Other expenses (income) include interest on our outstanding indebtedness, including the financing obligation related to our Aurora, Colorado distribution center, interest income and miscellaneous income and expenses. Fiscal 2015 other income includes a gain of $4.2 million associated with a transfer of land at the Company's Prescott, Wisconsin facility. Fiscal 2014 other income includes a gain of $4.8 million associated with a non-cash transfer pursuant to which we acquired the land on which we constructed our Racine, Wisconsin facility. Fiscal year 2013 other expense also includes a pre-tax charge of $4.9 million in the first quarter related to an agreement to settle a multi-state unclaimed property audit.
Results of Operations
The following table presents, for the periods indicated, certain income and expense items expressed as a percentage of net sales:
Fiscal year ended | ||||||||||
August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | August 3, 2013 | ||||||||
Net sales | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | ||||
Cost of sales | 84.6 | % | 83.4 | % | 83.1 | % | ||||
Gross profit | 15.4 | % | 16.6 | % | 16.9 | % | ||||
Operating expenses | 12.4 | % | 13.5 | % | 13.8 | % | ||||
Restructuring and asset impairment expenses | — | % | — | % | — | % | ||||
Total operating expenses | 12.4 | % | 13.5 | % | 13.8 | % | ||||
Operating income | 3.0 | % | 3.1 | % | 3.1 | % | ||||
Other expense (income): | ||||||||||
Interest expense | 0.2 | % | 0.1 | % | 0.1 | % | ||||
Interest income | — | % | — | % | — | % | ||||
Other, net | — | % | (0.1 | )% | 0.1 | % | ||||
Total other expense, net | 0.1 | % | * | — | % | 0.2 | % | |||
Income before income taxes | 2.8 | % | * | 3.1 | % | 2.9 | % | |||
Provision for income taxes | 1.1 | % | 1.2 | % | 1.1 | % | ||||
Net income | 1.7 | % | 1.8 | % | * | 1.8 | % | |||
* Total reflects rounding
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Fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 compared to fiscal year ended August 2, 2014
Net Sales
Our net sales for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 increased approximately 20.5%, or $1.39 billion, to a record $8.18 billion from $6.79 billion for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. Net sales for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 were negatively impacted by $9.3 million as a result of additional amounts owed to a customer from an incorrect calculation of contractual obligations to that customer from fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2014. The year-over-year increase in net sales was primarily due to growth in our wholesale segment of $1.39 billion. We experienced organic growth (sales growth excluding the impact of acquisitions) of 7.9% over the prior fiscal year due to the continued growth of the natural and organic products industry in general, increased market share as a result of our focus on service and value added services, and a broader selection of products, including specialty foods. Net sales for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 was favorably impacted by the acquisition of Tony's which contributed approximately $882.8 million of net sales as compared to $45.3 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, as Tony's was acquired during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Our net sales for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 were also favorably impacted by moderate price inflation of approximately 2% during the year.
Our net sales by customer type for the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014 were as follows (in millions):
Customer Type | 2015 Net Sales | % of Total Net Sales | 2014 Net Sales | % of Total Net Sales | |||||||||||
Independently owned natural products retailers | $ | 2,650 | 32 | % | $ | 2,223 | 33 | % | |||||||
Supernatural chains | 2,822 | 35 | % | * | 2,422 | 36 | % | ||||||||
Conventional supermarkets | 2,132 | 26 | % | 1,755 | 26 | % | |||||||||
Other | 581 | 7 | % | 394 | 5 | % | * | ||||||||
Total | $ | 8,185 | 100 | % | $ | 6,794 | 100 | % | |||||||
* Total reflects rounding
Net sales to our independent retailer channel increased by approximately $427 million, or 19.2% during the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 compared to the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, and accounted for 32% and 33% of our total net sales for fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014, respectively. While net sales in this channel have increased, they have grown at a slower rate than net sales in our supernatural and conventional supermarket channels, and therefore represent a lower percentage of our total net sales compared to the prior year.
Whole Foods Market is our only supernatural chain customer, and net sales to Whole Foods Market for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 increased by approximately $400 million or 16.5% over the prior year and accounted for approximately 35% and 36% of our total net sales for the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively. The increase in sales to Whole Foods Market is primarily due to increases in same-store sales as well as net store openings and net sales to Whole Foods Market by our Tony's business.
Net sales to conventional supermarkets for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 increased by approximately $377 million, or 21.5% from fiscal 2014 and represented approximately 26% of total net sales in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014. The increase in net sales to conventional supermarkets is due to continued success in our strategy of seeking to be the sole supplier of natural, organic and specialty products to our conventional supermarket customers, as well as net sales by our Tony's business.
Other net sales, which include sales to foodservice and sales from the United States to other countries, as well as sales through our retail division, manufacturing division, and our branded product lines, increased by approximately $187 million or 47.5% during the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 over the prior fiscal year and accounted for approximately 7% of total net sales in fiscal 2015 as compared to 5% in fiscal 2014. The increase in other net sales is attributable to net sales from our Tony's business and expanded sales to our existing foodservice partners.
As we continue to aggressively pursue new customers and expand relationships with existing customers, we expect net sales for fiscal 2016 to grow over fiscal 2015, although we expect that our net sales growth in fiscal 2016 will be lower than in fiscal 2015 as we experience the reduction in net sales that will result from the loss of business from a significant conventional supermarket customer that notified us in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 that it was terminating its relationship with us in September 2015. We believe that the integration of our specialty business into our national platform has allowed us to attract customers that we would not have been able to attract without that business and will continue to allow us to pursue a broader array of customers as many customers seek a single source for their natural, organic and specialty products. We also expect that our ability to add products that Tony's has historically sold to our selection of products in our other markets will contribute to an increase in net sales. We believe that our projected net sales growth will come from both sales to new customers (including as a result of acquisitions) and an increase in the number of products that we sell to existing customers. We expect that most of this net sales growth will occur
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in our lower gross margin supernatural and conventional supermarket channels. Although sales to these customers typically generate lower gross margins than sales to customers within our independent retailer channel, they also typically carry a lower average cost to serve than sales to our independent customers. We also believe that food price inflation similar to the levels experienced in fiscal 2015 will contribute to our projected net sales growth in fiscal 2016.
Cost of Sales and Gross Profit
Our gross profit increased approximately 11.8%, or $132.9 million, to $1.26 billion for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, from $1.13 billion for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. Our gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 15.4% for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 and 16.6% for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. The decrease in gross profit as a percentage of net sales in fiscal 2015 is primarily due to the dilution from Tony's net sales, the adverse impact from the reduction in net sales attributable to the incorrect calculation of customer contractual obligations disclosed above, the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange on our Canadian business, a decline in fuel surcharges and a shift in the mix of sales.
Our gross profits are generally higher on net sales to independently owned retailers and lower on net sales in the conventional supermarket and the supernatural channels. For the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 approximately $777 million of our total net sales growth of $1.39 billion was from increased net sales in the conventional supermarket and supernatural channels. Approximately 61% of our total net sales for each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2014 were to the conventional supermarket and supernatural channels.
We anticipate net sales growth in the conventional supermarket and supernatural channels will continue to outpace growth in the independent and other channels. We expect that our distribution relationship with Whole Foods Market as well as our opportunities in the conventional supermarket channel will continue to generate lower gross profit percentages than our historical rates. We will seek to fully offset these reductions in gross profit percentages by reducing our operating expenses as a percent of net sales primarily through improved efficiencies in our supply chain and improvements to our information technology infrastructure, including our ongoing warehouse management system platform.
Operating Expenses
Our total operating expenses increased approximately 11.1%, or $101.7 million, to $1.02 billion for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, from $916.9 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. As a percentage of net sales, total operating expenses decreased to approximately 12.4% for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, from approximately 13.5% for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014.The increase in total operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 was primarily due to an increase in net sales and the additional costs to service higher sales volume. Total operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 included startup costs of approximately $3.0 million related to the our Hudson Valley, New York, Auburn, California and Prescott, Wisconsin facilities, $0.6 million associated with the write-off of an intangible asset related to the Company's Canadian division, which was acquired in June 2010, a $0.2 million restructuring charge related to the closure of the Company's Aux Mille facility located in Quebec, Canada, and approximately $0.3 million in costs related to the Company's acquisition of Tony's, offset in part by a $0.8 million energy grant received related to our Hudson Valley, New York facility. Operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 included approximately $2.2 million related to the start up of the Company's Racine, Wisconsin and Hudson Valley, New York facilities, in addition to approximately $1.5 million of Tony's acquisition costs.
Total operating expenses for fiscal 2015 include share-based compensation expense of $14.0 million, compared to $14.6 million in fiscal 2014. Share-based compensation expense for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 includes approximately $1.1 million in expense related to performance share-based awards granted to our Chief Executive Officer related to certain financial goals for the year August 2, 2014. No such expense was recorded for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 as the applicable goals were not attained. Share-based compensation expense also includes an overall benefit of $1.0 million and $0.1 million for the years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively, related to performance-based equity compensation arrangements with a 2-year performance-based vesting component established for members of our executive leadership team. The $1.0 million net benefit recorded for fiscal 2015 was a result of established metrics not being met for the 2-year performance period ended August 1, 2015 as compared to a $0.1 million benefit recorded in fiscal 2014 as result of established metrics not being met for the 2-year performance period ended August 2, 2014. See Note 3 "Equity Plans" to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In connection with the termination of our relationship with a significant conventional supermarket customer in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, we expect to incur approximately $4.0 to $5.0 million in restructuring expenses in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 principally related to severance costs.
Operating Income
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Operating income increased approximately 14.8%, or $31.2 million, to $242.0 million for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, from $210.8 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. As a percentage of net sales, operating income was 3.0% and 3.1% for the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively.
Other Expense (Income)
Other expense, net increased $8.8 million to $12.2 million for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, from $3.4 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. Interest expense for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 increased to $14.5 million from $7.8 million in the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. This increase is primarily due to an increase in borrowings over the prior year and higher average interest rates as well as $0.9 million of interest expense recorded related to the capital lease for our Providence, Rhode Island headquarters as the lease agreement was amended during fiscal 2015. Interest income for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 decreased to $0.4 million from $0.5 million in the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. Other income for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015 includes a gain of $4.2 million associated with a transfer of land at the Company's Prescott, Wisconsin facility. Other income for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 includes a pre-tax gain of $4.8 million associated with a non-cash transfer pursuant to which we acquired the land on which we constructed our Racine, Wisconsin facility.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our effective income tax rate was 39.6% and 39.5% for the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively. The increase in the effective income tax rate is primarily due to the reduced tax benefit of our foreign operations partially offset by the benefit for a federal solar tax credit claimed by the Company in fiscal 2015.
Net Income
Reflecting the factors described in more detail above, net income increased $13.3 million to $138.7 million, or $2.76 per diluted share, for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, compared to $125.5 million, or $2.52 per diluted share for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014.
Fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 compared to fiscal year ended August 3, 2013
Net Sales
Our net sales for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 increased approximately 12.0%, or $730 million, to $6.79 billion from $6.06 billion for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. This increase was primarily due to growth in our wholesale segment of $711.9 million. We experienced organic growth of 10.2% over the prior fiscal year due to the continued growth of the natural and organic products industry in general, increased market share as a result of our focus on service and value added services, and a broader selection of products, including specialty foods. Net sales for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013 were benefited by approximately $118.7 million due to an additional week during the fiscal year compared to fiscal 2014. Net sales for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 were favorably impacted by the acquisition of Trudeau Foods and Tony's which contributed approximately $62.9 million and $45.3 million of net sales, respectively. Our net sales for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 were also favorably impacted by moderate price inflation of approximately 2% during the year.
Our net sales by customer type for the fiscal years ended August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013 were as follows (in millions):
Customer Type | 2014 Net Sales | % of Total Net Sales | 2013 Net Sales | % of Total Net Sales | |||||||||||
Independently owned natural products retailers | $ | 2,223 | 33 | % | $ | 2,040 | 34 | % | |||||||
Supernatural chains | 2,422 | 36 | % | 2,207 | 36 | % | |||||||||
Conventional supermarkets | 1,755 | 26 | % | 1,501 | 25 | % | |||||||||
Other | 394 | 5 | % | * | 316 | 5 | % | ||||||||
Total | $ | 6,794 | 100 | % | $ | 6,064 | 100 | % | |||||||
* Total reflects rounding
Net sales to our independent retailer channel increased by approximately $183 million, or 9.0% during the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 compared to the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. While net sales in this channel increased, they grew at a slower rate than net sales in our supernatural and conventional supermarket channels, and therefore represented a lower percentage of our total net sales compared to the prior year.
Whole Foods Market is our only supernatural chain customer, and net sales to Whole Foods Market for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 increased by approximately $215 million or 9.7% over the prior year and accounted for approximately 36% of
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our total net sales for each of the fiscal years ended August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013. The increase in sales to Whole Foods Market was primarily due to increases in same-store sales as well as sales by our Tony's subsidiary to Whole Foods Market, Tony's largest customer in fiscal 2014.
Net sales to conventional supermarkets for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 increased by approximately $254 million, or 16.9% from fiscal 2013 and represented approximately 26% of total net sales in fiscal 2014 compared to 25% in fiscal 2013. The increase in net sales to conventional supermarkets was due to increased demand for our products, conventional supermarkets expanding the breadth of products carried in their stores, and additional sales as a result of our acquisition of Trudeau Foods and Tony's during fiscal 2014.
Other net sales, which include sales to foodservice and sales from the United States to countries other than Canada, as well as sales through our retail division, manufacturing division, and our branded product lines, increased by approximately $78 million or 24.7% during the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 over the prior fiscal year and accounted for approximately 5% of total net sales in fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2013. The increase in other net sales was primarily driven by an increase in broadline distribution sales to foodservice customers.
Cost of Sales and Gross Profit
Our gross profit increased approximately 10.0%, or $102.6 million, to $1.13 billion for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, from $1.03 billion for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. Our gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 16.6% for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 and 16.9% for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. The decrease in gross profit was attributed to a combination of severe weather in the second quarter, the foreign exchange impact of weakness in the Canadian dollar on our Canadian business and the continued shift in sales growth towards supernatural, national supermarket and multi-unit independent customers. These challenges were partially offset by improved execution by the supply chain group, specifically with respect to procurement and inbound logistics.
Our gross profits are generally higher on net sales to independently owned retailers and lower on net sales in the conventional supermarket and the supernatural channels. For the year fiscal ended August 2, 2014 approximately $469 million of our total net sales growth of $730 million was from increased net sales in the conventional supermarket and supernatural channels. Approximately 61% of our total net sales for each of the fiscal years 2014 and 2013 were to the conventional supermarket and supernatural channels.
Operating Expenses
Our total operating expenses increased approximately 9.2%, or $77.3 million, to $916.9 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, from $839.6 million for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. The increase in total operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 was primarily due to an increase in net sales year over year as well as the inclusion of operating expenses attributable to fiscal 2014 acquisitions. Total operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 included approximately $1.4 million and $0.8 million related to the start up of the Company's Racine, Wisconsin and Hudson Valley, New York facilities, respectively, in addition to approximately $1.5 million of Tony's acquisition costs. Operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013 included $6.3 million in labor action related costs at our Auburn, Washington facility and approximately $1.6 million related to the termination of a licensing agreement and write-off of the associated intangible asset.
Total operating expenses for fiscal 2014 included share-based compensation expense of $14.6 million, compared to $15.1 million in fiscal 2013. Share-based compensation expense for the fiscal years ended August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013 included approximately $1.1 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in expense related to performance share-based awards granted to our Chief Executive Officer related to certain financial goals for those years ended August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013. Share-based compensation expense also included an overall benefit of $0.1 million for the year ended August 2, 2014 and expense of $1.7 million for the year ended August 3, 2013, related to performance-based equity compensation arrangements with a 2-year performance-based vesting component that was established for members of our executive leadership team. The $0.1 million net benefit recorded for fiscal 2014 was a result of established metrics not being met for the 2-year performance period ended August 2, 2014, offset by expense recorded for the 2-year performance year ended August 1, 2015. See Note 3 "Equity Plans" to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
As a percentage of net sales, total operating expenses decreased to approximately 13.5% for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, from approximately 13.8% for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. The decrease in total operating expenses as a percentage of net sales was primarily attributable to the growth in the supernatural and conventional supermarket channels which in general have lower operating expenses and higher fixed cost coverage due to higher sales, as well as expense control programs across all of our divisions. Our operating expenses as a percentage of net sales for fiscal 2013 were negatively impacted by $6.3 million in labor action related costs at our Auburn, Washington facility and approximately $1.6 million related to the termination of a licensing agreement and write-off of the associated intangible asset. We were able to manage our fuel costs despite rising prices by locking
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in the price of a portion of our expected fuel usage, updating and revising existing routes to reduce miles traveled and optimize use of trailer space, reducing idle times and other similar measures.
Operating Income
Operating income increased approximately 13.6%, or $25.3 million, to $210.8 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, from $185.5 million for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. As a percentage of net sales, operating income was 3.1% for each of the fiscal years ended August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013.
Other Expense (Income)
Other expense (income) decreased $8.0 million to $3.4 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, from $11.4 million for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. Interest expense for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 increased to $7.8 million from $5.9 million in the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. This increase was primarily related to a full year of interest expense recorded for our Aurora, Colorado facility, which we accounted for under the financing method due to our meeting the criteria for continuing involvement in this sale-leaseback transaction, which increased $1.8 million to $2.5 million for fiscal 2014 from $0.7 million in fiscal 2013. Interest income for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 decreased to $0.5 million from $0.6 million in the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013. Other income for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 included a pre-tax gain of $4.8 million associated with a non-cash transfer pursuant to which we acquired the land on which we constructed our Racine, Wisconsin facility. Other expense for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013 includes a pre-tax charge of $4.9 million related to an agreement to settle a multi-state unclaimed property audit.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our effective income tax rate was 39.5% and 38.1% for the fiscal years ended August 2, 2014 and August 3, 2013, respectively. The increase in the effective income tax rate was the result of a net benefit for the reversal of uncertain tax positions in the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013, and tax credits associated with a renewable energy project in Moreno Valley, California. This increase was partially offset by tax benefits associated with anticipated amended state tax return filings to claim prior year state net operating losses. Our effective income tax rate in both fiscal years was also affected by increased state taxes resulting from the states in which we operate.
Net Income
Reflecting the factors described in more detail above, net income increased $17.6 million to $125.5 million, or $2.52 per diluted share, for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014, compared to $107.9 million, or $2.18 per diluted share for the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We finance our day to day operations and growth primarily with cash flows from operations, borrowings under our amended and restated revolving credit facility, operating leases, a finance lease, trade payables and bank indebtedness. In addition, from time to time, we may issue equity and debt securities to finance our operations and acquisitions. We believe that our cash on hand and available credit through our amended and restated revolving credit facility as discussed below is sufficient for our operations and planned capital expenditures over the next twelve months. We expect to generate an average of $75.0 million to $125 million in cash flow from operations per year for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years. We intend to continue to utilize this cash generated from operations to fund acquisitions, fund investment in working capital and capital expenditure needs and reduce our debt levels. We intend to manage capital expenditures to approximately 0.6% to 0.7% of net sales for fiscal 2016, excluding the impact of any potential sale-leaseback transactions, reflecting a decrease over levels experienced in fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2015. We expect to finance requirements with cash generated from operations and borrowings under our amended and restated revolving credit facility. Our planned capital projects in fiscal 2016 will be focused on the completion of our Gilroy, California distribution facility and continuing the implementation of our information technology projects across the Company that we believe will provide us with increased efficiency and the capacity to continue to support the growth of our customer base. Future investments and acquisitions may be financed through equity, long-term debt or borrowings under our amended and restated revolving credit facility.
In May 2014, we entered into the Amendment to our amended and restated revolving credit facility, which increased the maximum borrowings under the amended and restated revolving credit facility to $600 million and extended the maturity date to May 21, 2019. Up to $550.0 million is available to our U.S. subsidiaries and up to $50.0 million is available to UNFI Canada. After giving effect to the Amendment, the amended and restated revolving credit facility provides a one-time option to increase the borrowing base by up to an additional $150 million (but in not less than $10.0 million increments) subject to certain customary conditions and the lenders committing to provide the increase in funding, and also permits us to enter into a real-estate backed term loan facility which shall not exceed $200.0 million. The borrowings of the U.S. portion of the amended and restated credit facility, prior to and after giving effect to the Amendment, accrue interest, at our option, at either (i) a base rate (generally defined
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as the highest of (x) the Bank of America Business Capital prime rate, (y) the average overnight federal funds effective rate plus one-half percent (0.50%) per annum and (z) one-month LIBOR plus one percent (1%) per annum) plus an initial margin of 0.50%, or (ii) the LIBOR for one, two, three or six months or, if approved by all affected lenders, nine months plus an initial margin of 1.50%. The borrowings on the Canadian portion of the credit facility for Canadian swing-line loans, Canadian overadvance loans or Canadian protective advances accrue interest, at our option, at either (i) a prime rate (generally defined as the highest of (x) 0.50% over 30-day Reuters Canadian Deposit Offering Rate for bankers' acceptances, (y) the prime rate of Bank of America, N.A.'s Canada branch, and (z) a bankers' acceptance equivalent rate for a one month interest period plus 1.00%) plus an initial margin of 0.50%, or (ii) a bankers' acceptance equivalent rate of the rate of interest per annum equal to the annual rates applicable to Canadian Dollar bankers' acceptances on the "CDOR Page" of Reuter Monitor Money Rates Service, plus the CDOR rate, and an initial margin of 1.50%. All other borrowings on the Canadian portion of the amended and restated credit facility, prior to and after giving effect to the Amendment, must exclusively accrue interest under the CDOR rate plus the applicable margin. An annual commitment fee in the amount of 0.30% if the average daily balance of amounts actually used (other than swing-line loans) is less than 40% of the aggregate commitments, or 0.25% if such average daily balance is 40% or more of the aggregate commitments.
As of August 1, 2015, our borrowing base, based on eligible accounts receivable and inventory levels, was $581.4 million. As of August 1, 2015, we had $363.0 million outstanding under our credit facility, $35.2 million in letter of credit commitments and $2.6 million in reserves which generally reduces our available borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility on a dollar for dollar basis. Our resulting remaining availability was $180.6 million as of August 1, 2015. The revolving credit facility, as amended and restated, subjects us to a springing minimum fixed charge coverage ratio (as defined in the underlying credit agreement) of 1.0 to 1.0 calculated at the end of each of our fiscal quarters on a rolling four quarter basis when aggregate availability (as defined in the underlying credit agreement) is less than the greater of (i) $35.0 million and (ii) 10% of the aggregate borrowing base. We were not subject to fixed charge coverage ratio covenants as of the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015.
On August 14, 2014, we entered into a real-estate backed Term Loan Agreement by and among us, our wholly-owned subsidiary Albert’s, the financial institutions that are parties thereto as lenders (collectively, the “Lenders”), Bank of America, N.A. as administrative agent for the Lenders and the other parties thereto. The total initial borrowings under the Term Loan Agreement were $150.0 million. We have been required to make $2.5 million principal payments quarterly since November 1, 2014. The Term Loan Agreement will terminate on the earlier of (a) August 14, 2022 and (b) the date that is ninety days prior to the termination date of our amended and restated revolving credit facility. Under the Term Loan Agreement, we at our option may request the establishment of one or more new term loan commitments in increments of at least $10.0 million, but not to exceed $50.0 million in total, subject to the approval of the Lenders electing to participate in such incremental loans and the satisfaction of the conditions required by the Term Loan Agreement. We will be required to make quarterly principal payments on these incremental borrowings in accordance with the terms of the Term Loan Agreement. Proceeds from this Term Loan Agreement were used to pay down borrowings on our amended and restated revolving credit facility.
The Term Loan Agreement includes financial covenants that require (i) the ratio of the Company’s consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Term Loan Agreement) minus the unfinanced portion of Capital Expenditures (as defined in the Term Loan Agreement) to the Company’s consolidated Fixed Charges (as defined in the Term Loan Agreement) to be at least 1.20 to 1.00 as of the end of any period of four fiscal quarters, (ii) the ratio of the Company’s Consolidated Funded Debt (as defined in the Term Loan Agreement) to the Company’s EBITDA for the four fiscal quarters most recently ended to be not more than 3.00 to 1.00 as of the end of any fiscal quarter and (iii) the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the Company’s outstanding principal balance under the Loans (as defined in the Term Loan Agreement), divided by the Mortgaged Property Value (as defined in the Term Loan Agreement) to be not more than 75% at any time.
On January 23, 2015 we entered into a forward starting interest rate swap agreement with an effective date of August 3, 2015, which expires in August 2022 concurrent with the scheduled maturity of our Term Loan Agreement. This interest rate swap agreement has an initial notional amount of $140.0 million and provides for us to pay interest for a seven-year period at a fixed rate of 1.795% while receiving interest for the same period at the one-month LIBOR on the same notional principal amount. The interest rate swap agreement has an amortizing notional amount which adjusts down on the dates payments are due on the underlying term loan. The interest rate swap has been entered into as a hedge against LIBOR movements on $140.0 million of the current variable rate indebtedness under the Term Loan Agreement at one-month LIBOR plus 1.00% and a margin of 1.50%, thereby fixing our effective rate on the notional amount at 4.295%. The swap agreement qualifies as an “effective” hedge under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 815 Derivatives and Hedging.
Our capital expenditures for the 2015 fiscal year were $129.1 million, compared to $147.3 million for fiscal 2014, primarily driven by the construction of our new Racine, Wisconsin and Hudson Valley, New York distribution centers. We believe that our capital requirements for fiscal 2016 will be between $49 million and $59 million. This does not include any potential proceeds related to a planned sale leaseback transaction at our Prescott, Wisconsin facility. We expect to finance these requirements with cash generated from operations, proceeds from a planned sale leaseback and borrowings under our amended and restated revolving credit facility. Our planned capital projects will provide technology that we believe will provide us with increased efficiency and
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the capacity to continue to support the growth of our customer base. We believe that our capital requirements after fiscal 2016 will be marginally lower than our anticipated fiscal 2016 requirements, as a percentage of net sales, although we plan to continue to invest in technology and expand our facilities. Future investments and acquisitions will be financed through our revolving credit facility, or with the issuance of equity or long-term debt, negotiated at the time of the potential acquisition.
Net cash provided by operations was $48.9 million for the year ended August 1, 2015, a decrease of $13.6 million from the $62.4 million provided by operations for the year ended August 2, 2014. The primary reasons for the net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2015 were net income for the year of $138.7 million, and depreciation and amortization of $63.8 million offset by an increase in inventories of $153.7 million in part as a result stocking inventory at new facilities. Net cash provided by operations of $62.4 million for the year ended August 2, 2014 was impacted by an increase in inventories of $97.8 million in part as a result of stocking inventory in our Racine, Wisconsin facility as we began to commence operations, and an increase in accounts receivable of $71.2 million due to our sales growth during the year, offset by net income of $125.5 million. Days in inventory was 50 days at August 1, 2015, compared to 51 days at August 2, 2014. Days sales outstanding decreased from 23 at August 2, 2014 to 22 days at August 1, 2015. Working capital increased by $168.4 million, or 19.7%, to $1.02 billion at August 1, 2015, compared to working capital of $854.5 million at August 2, 2014, primarily as a result of the increase in our inventory and accounts receivable balances.
Net cash used in investing activities decreased $210.7 million to $142.1 million for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, compared to $352.8 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014. The decrease from the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 was primarily due to the fact that we did not complete any acquisitions during fiscal 2015. Net cash used in investing activities of $352.8 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 was primarily due the acquisitions of Trudeau Foods during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and Tony's in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 as well as an increase in capital spending associated with our Racine, Wisconsin and Hudson Valley, New York distribution centers.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $94.4 million for the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015. We present proceeds and borrowings related to the Company's amended and restated revolving credit facility on a gross basis. The net cash provided by financing activities was primarily due to gross borrowings under our amended and restated revolving credit facility and term loan of $728.3 million and $150.0 million, respectively, partially offset by repayments of our revolving credit line and long-term debt of $779.5 million and $11.2 million, respectively. Net cash provided by financing activities was $295.4 million for the fiscal year ended August 2, 2014 and was primarily due to the borrowings used to fund capital expenditures and the acquisition of Tony's in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.
We may from time to time enter into commodity swap agreements to reduce price risk associated with our anticipated purchases of diesel fuel. These commodity swap agreements hedge a portion of our expected fuel usage for the periods set forth in the agreements. We monitor the commodity (NYMEX #2 Heating oil) used in our swap agreements to determine that the correlation between the commodity and diesel fuel is deemed to be "highly effective." During the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, we had no outstanding commodity swap agreements.
In addition to the previously discussed interest rate and commodity swap agreements, from time-to-time we enter into fixed price fuel supply agreements. As of August 1, 2015, we had entered into agreements which require us to purchase a total of approximately 7.4 million gallons ranging from $3.20 to $3.92 per gallon through December 2015 and approximately 3.6 million gallons ranging from $2.59 to $3.18 through December 2016. As of August 2, 2014, we had entered into agreements which required us to purchase a total of approximately 8.9 million gallons of diesel fuel at prices ranging from $3.17 to $4.00 per gallon through December 2014. These fixed price fuel agreements qualify for the "normal purchase" exception under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging as physical deliveries will occur rather than net settlements, therefore the fuel purchases under these contracts are expensed as incurred and included within operating expenses.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. The Securities and Exchange Commission has defined critical accounting policies as those that are both most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results and require our most difficult, complex or subjective judgments or estimates. Based on this definition, we believe our critical accounting policies are: (i) determining our allowance for doubtful accounts, (ii) determining our reserves for the self-insured portions of our workers' compensation and automobile liabilities, (iii) valuing assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations; and (iv) valuing goodwill and intangible assets. For all financial statement periods presented, there have been no material modifications to the application of these critical accounting policies.
Allowance for doubtful accounts
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We analyze customer creditworthiness, accounts receivable balances, payment history, payment terms and historical bad debt levels when evaluating the adequacy of our allowance for doubtful accounts. In instances where a reserve has been recorded for a particular customer, future sales to the customer are conducted using either cash-on-delivery terms, or the account is closely monitored so that as agreed upon payments are received, orders are released; a failure to pay results in held or cancelled orders. Our accounts receivable balance was $474.5 million and $441.5 million, net of the allowance for doubtful accounts of $7.5 million and $7.6 million, as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively. Our notes receivable balances were $7.4 million and $5.9 million, net of the allowance for doubtful accounts of $1.0 million and $0.7 million, as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively.
Insurance reserves
We are primarily self-insured for workers' compensation and general and automobile liability insurance. It is our policy to record the self-insured portions of our workers' compensation and automobile liabilities based upon actuarial methods of estimating the future cost of claims and related expenses that have been reported but not settled, and that have been incurred but not yet reported. Any projection of losses concerning workers' compensation and automobile liability is subject to a considerable degree of variability. Among the causes of this variability are unpredictable external factors affecting litigation trends, benefit level changes and claim settlement patterns. If actual claims incurred are greater than those anticipated, our reserves may be insufficient and additional costs could be recorded in our consolidated financial statements. Accruals for workers' compensation and automobile liabilities totaled $18.7 million and $18.9 million as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively.
Business Combinations
We account for acquired businesses using the purchase method of accounting which requires that the assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at the date of the acquisition at their respective estimated fair values. The judgments made in determining the estimated fair value assigned to each class of assets acquired, as well as the estimated life of each asset, can materially impact the net income of the periods subsequent to the acquisition through depreciation and amortization, and in certain instances through impairment charges, if the asset becomes impaired in the future. In determining the estimated fair value for intangible assets, we typically utilize the income approach, which discounts the projected future net cash flow using an appropriate discount rate that reflects the risks associated with such projected future cash flow.
Determining the useful life of an intangible asset also requires judgment, as different types of intangible assets will have different useful lives and certain assets may even be considered to have indefinite useful lives. Intangible assets determined to have an indefinite useful life are reassessed periodically based on the expected use of the asset by us, legal or contractual provisions that may affect the useful life or renewal or extension of the asset’s contractual life without substantial cost, and the effects of demand, competition and other economic factors.
Valuation of goodwill and intangible assets
We are required to test goodwill for impairment at least annually, and between annual tests if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. We have elected to perform our annual tests for indications of goodwill impairment as of the first day of the fourth quarter of each fiscal year. We test for goodwill impairment at the reporting unit level, which is at or one level below the operating segment level. Beginning in fiscal 2012, the first step in our annual assessment of each of our reporting units is a qualitative assessment as allowed under Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2011-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment ("ASU 2011-08"), unless we believe it is more likely than not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than the carrying value. In order to qualify for an exclusion from the quantitative two-step goodwill test, the thresholds used by the Company for this determination are that a reporting unit must (1) have passed its previous two-step test with a margin of calculated fair value versus carrying value of at least 20%, (2) have had a two-step test within the past five years, (3) have had no significant changes to its working capital structure, (4) have current year income which is at least 85% of prior year amounts, and (5) present no other factors to be considered as outlined in ASU 2011-08. For reporting units which do not meet this exclusion, the quantitative goodwill impairment analysis is a two-step test. The first step, used to identify potential impairment, involves comparing each reporting unit's estimated fair value to its carrying value, including goodwill. Each reporting unit regularly prepares discrete operating forecasts and uses these forecasts as the basis for the assumptions used in the discounted cash flow analysis. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is considered not to be impaired and no further testing is required. If the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value, there is an indication of potential impairment and the second step is performed to measure the amount of impairment. If required, the second step involves calculating an implied fair value of goodwill for each reporting unit for which the first step indicated potential impairment. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in a manner similar to the amount of goodwill calculated in a business combination, by measuring the excess of the estimated fair value of the reporting unit, as determined in the first step, over the aggregate estimated fair values of the individual assets, liabilities and identifiable intangibles as if the reporting unit was being acquired in a business combination. If the implied fair value of goodwill
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exceeds the carrying value of goodwill assigned to the reporting unit, there is no impairment. If the carrying value of goodwill assigned to a reporting unit exceeds the implied fair value of the goodwill, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess.
As of August 1, 2015, our annual assessment of each of our reporting units indicated that no impairment of goodwill existed. Approximately 93.4% of our goodwill is within our wholesale reporting unit. Total goodwill as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014 was $266.6 million and $274.5 million, respectively.
Intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment at least annually as of the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter and if events occur or circumstances change that would indicate that the value of the asset may be impaired. In accordance with ASU No. 2012-02, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment ("ASU No. 2012-02"), we analyzed several qualitative factors to determine whether it was more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset was impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. Impairment would be measured as the difference between the fair value of the asset and its carrying value. As of August 1, 2015, our annual assessment of each of our intangible assets with indefinite lives indicated that no impairment existed, Total indefinite lived intangible assets as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014 were $53.7 million and $53.6 million, respectively.
Intangible assets with finite lives are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Cash flows expected to be generated by the related assets are estimated over the asset's useful life based on updated projections. If the evaluation indicates that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable, the potential impairment is measured based on a projected discounted cash flow model. During the fiscal year ended August 1, 2015, an impairment charge of $0.6 million was recognized in connection with the closure of a Canadian facility. During the fiscal year ended August 3, 2013, an impairment charge of $1.6 million was recognized in connection with the termination of a long-term licensing agreement and the write-off of the associated intangible asset. Total finite-lived intangible assets as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014 were $72.2 million and $81.4 million, respectively.
The assessment of the recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets will be impacted if estimated future cash flows are not achieved.
Commitments and Contingencies
The following schedule summarizes our contractual obligations and commercial commitments as of August 1, 2015:
Payments Due by Period | |||||||||||||||||||
Total | Less than One Year | 1–3 Years | 3–5 Years | Thereafter | |||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||
Inventory purchase commitments | $ | 17,495 | $ | 17,495 | |||||||||||||||
Diesel fuel purchase commitments | 21,671 | 17,332 | 4,339 | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Notes payable (1) | 362,993 | — | — | 362,993 | — | ||||||||||||||
Long-term debt (2) | 186,393 | 11,613 | 23,914 | 115,143 | 35,723 | ||||||||||||||
Deferred compensation | 10,384 | 1,360 | 2,315 | 2,016 | 4,693 | ||||||||||||||
Company owned life insurance premiums | 11,700 | 2,925 | 5,850 | 2,925 | — | ||||||||||||||
Long-term non-capitalized leases | 227,212 | 51,341 | 84,944 | 53,023 | 37,904 | ||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 837,848 | $ | 102,066 | $ | 121,362 | $ | 536,100 | $ | 78,320 | |||||||||
(1) The notes payable obligations shown reflect the expiration of the credit facility, not necessarily the underlying individual borrowings. Notes payable does not included outstanding letters of credit of approximately $35.2 million at August 1, 2015 nor approximately $26.1 million in interest payments (including unused lines fees) projected to be due in future years (less than 1 year – $6.8 million; 1−3 years – $13.7 million; and 3-5 years – $5.6 million) based on the variable rates in effect at August 1, 2015. Variable rates, as well as outstanding principal balances, could change in future periods. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources" above and Note 6 "Notes Payable" to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our credit facility.
(2) Long-term debt does not include interest payments projected to be due in future years related to our capital lease obligations and real-estate backed Term Loan Agreement, which amount to approximately $32.4 million and $18.9 million, respectively, (less than 1 year - $9.9 million; 1-3 years - $18.0 million; 3-5 years - $12.3 million; thereafter - $11.1 million). See Note 7 "Long-Term Debt" to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our long-term debt.
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Included in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet at August 1, 2015 are uncertain tax positions including potential interest and penalties of $0.5 million that have been taken or are expected to be taken in various income tax returns. The Company does not know the ultimate resolution of these uncertain tax positions and as such, does not know the ultimate timing of payments related to this liability. Accordingly, these amounts are not included in the table above.
Seasonality
Generally, we do not experience any material seasonality. However, our sales and operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to factors such as changes in our operating expenses, management's ability to execute our operating and growth strategies, personnel changes, demand for natural products, supply shortages and general economic conditions.
Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards
In August 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date deferring the adoption of previously issued guidance published in May 2014, ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, (Topic 606). The core principle of the new guidance is that an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new pronouncement is effective for public companies with annual periods, and interim periods within those periods, beginning after December 15, 2017, which for the Company will be the first quarter of the fiscal year ending August 3, 2019. We are in the process of evaluating the impact that this new guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements.
In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30) ("ASU 2015-03"), which simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs. ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with the presentation of debt discounts. ASU 2015-03 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years, which for the Company will be the first quarter of the fiscal year ending July 29, 2017, with early adoption permitted and retrospective application required. If the Company had adopted this standard in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, the result would have been the reclassification of $4.2 million and $3.1 million as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively, from deferred financing costs to long-term debt on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.
In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern. The new guidance requires management to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures as appropriate. The new pronouncement is effective for public companies with annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter, which for the Company will be first quarter of fiscal 2017. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In April 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 2015) and Property Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an entity. The new guidance raises the threshold for disposals that would qualify as discontinued operations and also requires additional disclosures regarding discontinued operations, as well as material disposals that do not meet the definition of discontinued operations. The amendments are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after December 15, 2014, which would be the Company's first quarter of the fiscal year ended July 30, 2016, and should be applied on prospective basis. We do not expect the adoption of these provisions to have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
We are exposed to interest rate fluctuations on our borrowings. As more fully described in Note 8 "Fair Value Measurements" to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have used interest rate swap agreements to modify variable rate obligations to fixed rate obligations.
At August 1, 2015, we had long-term floating rate debt under our amended and restated revolving credit facility of $363.0 million and our real-estate backed Term Loan $140.0 million, and long-term fixed rate debt of $46.4 million, representing 91.6% and 8.4%, respectively, of our long-term borrowings. At August 2, 2014, we had long-term floating rate debt under our amended and restated revolving credit facility of $415.7 million and long-term fixed rate debt of $33.5 million, representing 92.5% and 7.5%, respectively, of our long-term borrowings. Holding other debt levels constant, a 25 basis point decrease in
39
interest rates would change the unrealized fair market value of the fixed rate debt by approximately $0.7 million and $0.6 million for the fiscal years ended August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, respectively.
40
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The financial statements listed below are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
United Natural Foods, Inc. and Subsidiaries: | Page | |
41
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
United Natural Foods, Inc.:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of United Natural Foods, Inc. and subsidiaries (“UNFI”) as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended August 1, 2015. We also have audited UNFI’s internal control over financial reporting as of August 1, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). UNFI’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of United Natural Foods, Inc. and subsidiaries as of August 1, 2015 and August 2, 2014, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended August 1, 2015, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, United Natural Foods, Inc. maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of August 1, 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
Providence, Rhode Island
September 30, 2015
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UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except per share data)
August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | ||||||
ASSETS | |||||||
Current assets: | |||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 17,380 | $ | 16,116 | |||
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $7,489 and $7,589, respectively | 474,494 | 441,528 | |||||
Inventories | 982,559 | 834,722 | |||||
Deferred income taxes | 32,333 | 32,518 | |||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 46,976 | 45,064 | |||||
Total current assets | 1,553,742 | 1,369,948 | |||||
Property and equipment, net | 572,452 | 483,960 | |||||
Goodwill | 266,640 | 274,548 | |||||
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $25,717 and $19,002, respectively | 125,830 | 134,989 | |||||
Other assets | 31,526 | 25,446 | |||||
Total assets | $ | 2,550,190 | $ | 2,288,891 | |||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||||||
Current liabilities: | |||||||
Accounts payable | $ | 390,134 | $ | 377,548 | |||
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 129,113 | 136,959 | |||||
Current portion of long-term debt | 11,613 | 990 | |||||
Total current liabilities | 530,860 | 515,497 | |||||
Notes payable | 362,993 | 415,660 | |||||
Deferred income taxes | 65,644 | 50,995 | |||||
Other long-term liabilities | 30,380 | 30,865 | |||||
Long-term debt, excluding current portion | 174,780 | 32,510 | |||||
Total liabilities | 1,164,657 | 1,045,527 | |||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9) | |||||||
Stockholders' equity: | |||||||
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 5,000 shares; none issued or outstanding | — | — | |||||
Common stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 100,000 shares; 50,096 issued and outstanding shares at August 1, 2015; 49,771 issued and outstanding shares at August 2, 2014 | 501 | 498 | |||||
Additional paid-in capital | 420,584 | 402,875 | |||||
Unallocated shares of Employee Stock Ownership Plan | — | (14 | ) | ||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (19,443 | ) | (5,152 | ) | |||
Retained earnings | 983,891 | 845,157 | |||||
Total stockholders' equity | 1,385,533 | 1,243,364 | |||||
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 2,550,190 | $ | 2,288,891 | |||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except per share data)
Fiscal year ended | |||||||||||
August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | August 3, 2013 | |||||||||
Net sales | $ | 8,184,978 | $ | 6,794,447 | $ | 6,064,355 | |||||
Cost of sales | 6,924,463 | 5,666,802 | 5,039,279 | ||||||||
Gross profit | 1,260,515 | 1,127,645 | 1,025,076 | ||||||||
Operating expenses | 1,017,755 | 916,857 | 837,953 | ||||||||
Restructuring and asset impairment expenses | 803 | — | 1,629 | ||||||||
Total operating expenses | 1,018,558 | 916,857 | 839,582 | ||||||||
Operating income | 241,957 | 210,788 | 185,494 | ||||||||
Other expense (income): | |||||||||||
Interest expense | 14,498 | 7,753 | 5,897 | ||||||||
Interest income | (356 | ) | (508 | ) | (632 | ) | |||||
Other, net | (1,954 | ) | (3,865 | ) | 6,113 | ||||||
Total other expense, net | 12,188 | 3,380 | 11,378 | ||||||||
Income before income taxes | 229,769 | 207,408 | 174,116 | ||||||||
Provision for income taxes | 91,035 | 81,926 | 66,262 | ||||||||
Net income | $ | 138,734 | $ | 125,482 | $ | 107,854 | |||||
Basic per share data: | |||||||||||
Net income | $ | 2.77 | $ | 2.53 | $ | 2.19 | |||||
Weighted average basic shares of common stock | 50,021 | 49,602 | 49,217 | ||||||||
Diluted per share data: | |||||||||||
Net income | $ | 2.76 | $ | 2.52 | $ | 2.18 | |||||
Weighted average diluted shares of common stock | 50,267 | 49,888 | 49,509 | ||||||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands)
Fiscal year ended | |||||||||||
August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | August 3, 2013 | |||||||||
Net income | $ | 138,734 | $ | 125,482 | $ | 107,854 | |||||
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax: | |||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustments | $ | (13,852 | ) | $ | (4,060 | ) | $ | (2,988 | ) | ||
Change in fair value of swap agreements | (439 | ) | — | — | |||||||
Total other comprehensive loss, net of tax | $ | (14,291 | ) | $ | (4,060 | ) | $ | (2,988 | ) | ||
Total comprehensive income | $ | 124,443 | $ | 121,422 | $ | 104,866 | |||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common Stock | Treasury Stock | Additional Paid in Capital | Unallocated Shares of ESOP | Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income | Retained Earnings | Total Stockholders' Equity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(In thousands) | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balances at July 28, 2012 | 49,011 | $ | 490 | — | $ | — | $ | 364,598 | $ | (89 | ) | $ | 1,896 | $ | 611,821 | $ | 978,716 | ||||||||||||||||
Allocation of shares to ESOP | 50 | 50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock option exercises and restricted stock vestings, net | 319 | 3 | (1,545 | ) | (1,542 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation | 15,104 | 15,104 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tax benefit associated with stock plans | 1,952 | 1,952 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | (2,988 | ) | (2,988 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | 107,854 | 107,854 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balances at August 3, 2013 | 49,330 | $ | 493 | — | $ | — | $ | 380,109 | $ | (39 | ) | $ | (1,092 | ) | $ | 719,675 | $ | 1,099,146 | |||||||||||||||
Allocation of shares to ESOP | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock for acquisition | 112 | 1 | 7,103 | 7,104 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock option exercises and restricted stock vestings, net | 329 | 4 | (1,546 | ) | (1,542 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation | 14,608 | 14,608 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tax benefit associated with stock plans | 2,601 | 2,601 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | (4,060 | ) | (4,060 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | 125,482 | 125,482 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balances at August 2, 2014 | 49,771 | $ | 498 | — | $ | — | $ | 402,875 | $ | (14 | ) | $ | (5,152 | ) | $ | 845,157 | $ | 1,243,364 | |||||||||||||||
Allocation of shares to ESOP | 14 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock option exercises and restricted stock vestings, net | 325 | 3 | 982 | 985 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation | 13,981 | 13,981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tax benefit associated with stock plans | 2,746 | 2,746 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fair value of swap agreements, net of tax | (439 | ) | (439 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | (13,852 | ) | (13,852 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | 138,734 | 138,734 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balances at August 1, 2015 | 50,096 | $ | 501 | — | $ | — | $ | 420,584 | $ | — | $ | (19,443 | ) | $ | 983,891 | $ | 1,385,533 | ||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Fiscal year ended | |||||||||||
(In thousands) | August 1, 2015 | August 2, 2014 | August 3, 2013 | ||||||||
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||||||
Net income | $ | 138,734 | $ | 125,482 | $ | 107,854 | |||||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 63,800 | 48,758 | 42,398 | ||||||||
Deferred income tax expense | 15,339 | 881 | 6,780 | ||||||||
Share-based compensation | 13,981 | 14,608 | 15,104 | ||||||||
Excess tax benefit from share-based payment arrangements | (2,746 | ) | (2,601 | ) | (1,952 | ) | |||||
(Gain) loss on disposals of property and equipment | (499 | ) | 647 | ||||||||