Following United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) acquisition of SuperValu, news that SuperValu CEO Mark Gross was stepping down from his role, as we reported on our sister publication AndNowUKnow, circulated. This week, UNFI reported its financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year, ended July 28, 2018, as well as announced that Sean Griffin would be succeeding Gross as the new SuperValu CEO.
"We have a robust plan and team in place, and we're delighted that Sean Griffin is energized to lead this effort as the incoming CEO of SuperValu," said UNFI's Chairman and CEO Steven Spinner in an earnings conference call. "Sean has more than 30 years of industry experience, and with him at the helm, we have a high degree of confidence that we'll be able to capitalize on the synergy opportunities and realize the full potential of this transformative combination."
Griffin had previously served as UNFI's Chief Operating Officer, and in May of this year, the company announced plans for Griffin to transition from his role into a strategic advisory position following his retirement October 1st.
"When I look back at my career with UNFI, I am most proud of driving the Company's mission forward and having the opportunity to work with, and learn from, so many talented people...It has been a great privilege to serve UNFI and I am now ready to retire with enthusiasm for the Company's future," Griffin said at that time.
In terms of its financial results, the company noted growth across the board and plans to continue that upward momentum through the 2018 calendar year. According to a press release, the company’s fourth quarter fiscal 2018 results included the following:
“We continued to deliver solid top-line growth across our customer channels, demonstrating sustained strong demand for UNFI’s product assortment and services. On the bottom-line, our results reflected the impact of customer mix shift and higher than anticipated freight costs, while improvement in our working capital has resulted in record free cash flow for the quarter,” Spinner said. “We are on track to close the SuperValu transaction in the fourth quarter of calendar 2018, and our teams are hard at work planning for the integration to capture the significant synergies and strategic benefits of this transformative combination, positioning our company for growth and value creation,” said Chairman and CEO Steven Spinner.
For more information regarding the pending SuperValu acquisition, set to close in the fourth quarter of the 2018 calendar year, and UNFI’s financial report, click here.
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