UNFI's CEO Steve Spinner Divulges Details of Possible Cub Foods and Shoppers Sale
PROVIDENCE, RI - Late last year, reports began circling the newswire that asserted UNFI was possibly seeking a buyer for its Cub Foods banner. While at the time, UNFI remained tight-lipped about its search, the retailer has now officially disclosed that not only is it planning on divesting Cub Foods—as well as its Shoppers banner—but deals are in the works as we speak.
Following the release of its fourth quarter financial report for fiscal 2019, the company’s Chairman and CEO, Steve Spinner, disclosed in a call with analysts a few pivotal details regarding UNFI’s sale of both its Cub Foods and Shoppers banners.
“We're working diligently to divest both Shoppers and Cub and have advisors fully engaged to push this forward who were working on several deals, each of which involves multiple stores, which increases the level of complexity,” Spinner said. “The tentative timeline, which experience suggests is subject to change, has us completing the Shoppers sales early in calendar 2020. At Cub, we are also in a process and expect to have something to announce early in calendar year 2020 as well.”
While Spinner did not reveal who was interested in purchasing Shoppers and Cub Foods, he did speak highly of both banners and the role they’ve played in UNFI’s bottom line in its last quarter.
“We’re pleased with Cub’s results and the work being led by a new leadership team within that organization,” Spinner stated. “We're excited about building on fiscal 2019's accomplishments and delivering better, stronger results across the business in fiscal 2020…Our culture and people are dedicated to transforming the world of food distribution safely and with integrity. We're aggressively pursuing cross-selling consistent with our build-out-the-store strategy."
UNFI also rocked the retail market late last year when it acquired SuperValu, which Spinner also addressed in the retailer’s quarterly report.
“This past fiscal year has been a transformational one for us as we began realizing some of the key benefits and competitive advantages from the SuperValu acquisition that will be foundation of our long-term success,” Spinner asserted.
As we await more information on UNFI’s two possible divestments, you can bet your bottom dollar that AndNowUKnow will continue to bring you the latest.
