HOUSTON, July 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), North America's largest foodservice marketer and distributor, announced today that its subsidiary for personal care amenities and other hotel operating supplies, Guest Supply, LLC, has acquired Austin Tatum, a personal care amenity company headquartered in Hong Kong. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of Austin Tatum represents an important step for Guest Supply's and SYSCO's expansion into the international market," said Richard J. Schnieders, SYSCO's chairman and chief executive officer. "With a local presence and infrastructure in place, Guest Supply will now be in a position to better service the Asian properties of its U.S.-based clients as well as increase its Asian client base and the number of product categories it sells in Asia."
Austin Tatum was founded in 1996. The company creates its own amenity designs and under license also distributes a variety of name brand personal care products. Austin Tatum currently sells to hotels located in Australia, China, Dubai, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.
SYSCO is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers that prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. For the calendar year 2006, the company generated $33.9 billion in sales. For more information about SYSCO visit www.sysco.com.
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