LOS ANGELES, June 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unified Grocers, the largest wholesale grocery distributor in the western Untied States, announced today that Times Supermarkets (Times), a chain of 20 conventional supermarkets in Hawaii (stores are located on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai), has switched its grocery supply business to Unified Grocers and will begin receiving groceries and other products from Unified during the second week of July, 2011. Times Supermarkets had previously been supplied by C&S Wholesale Grocers.
Times operates 17 supermarkets under the Times Supermarkets banner, 2 stores under the Fujioka's Wine Times banner and 1 store under the Shima's Supermarket banner. Recently, the company completed the purchase of 5 Big Save Value Centers on Kauai and those stores will officially become part of Times Supermarket family on July 25, 2011. This will bring to 25 the total number of stores in the chain.
To help facilitate a smooth transition to Unified Grocers as the company's primary grocery supplier, a team of Unified employees will begin working at Times stores in early July, providing a wide array of retail services and merchandising support across all product categories and throughout every store.
Al Plamann, Chief Executive Officer, Unified Grocers, said, "We are very pleased to welcome Times Supermarkets to the Unified family of independent grocery retailers and we look forward to enhancing their success in the markets in which they operate for many years to come. Adding a respected retailer such as Times to our growing customer base will, we believe, create several new business opportunities for us in Hawaii."
Bob Stout, President, Times Supermarkets, said that switching to Unified as supplier made a lot of sense for his company. "We believe that Unified's wide selection of products and efficient distribution systems will help us become more competitive in the months and years ahead," Stout said. "Additionally, we are thrilled about Unified's private label offering and we believe our customers are going to find a lot to like about it, as well."
About Unified Grocers, Inc.
Founded in 1922, Unified Grocers is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries, which generated approximately $4 billion in sales during fiscal 2010, offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.
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Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future performance of Unified Grocers based on Management's assumptions and beliefs in light of information currently available to it. There are a variety of factors that could cause actual and future results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements made above. These factors are outlined in the Company's Form 10-K and other interim reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, Unified undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.