GREENSBORO, N.C., Oct. 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:TFM), a growing specialty grocery retailer, today announced that the Company and the Board of Directors will conduct a strategic and financial review of the Company’s business. This review may result in the Company continuing to pursue value-enhancing initiatives as a standalone company, capital structure optimization, or a sale of the Company or other business combination. The Company has retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as its financial advisor and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. as its legal advisors to assist in this process.
Rich Noll, the Company’s Lead Independent Director, commented, “The Company recently announced the appointment of Rick Anicetti, a seasoned leader with significant experience and success operating grocery businesses in highly competitive environments, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Since joining the Company, Rick and his team have been working to identify and execute on opportunities to improve the Company’s sales growth and to drive operational efficiencies. An update on these findings will be provided when the Company reports its third quarter fiscal 2015 earnings in November. The Board of Directors has determined, consistent with its obligations to the Company and its stockholders and together with the work being done by management, that it is also prudent to conduct a strategic and financial review of the business focusing on the Company’s and its stockholders’ best interests.”
There can be no assurance that this strategic and financial review will result in any specific action. In the event that the Board of Directors concludes that pursuing any potential strategic alternative is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, any such process will be conducted in a manner designed to maximize value for all stockholders. The Company does not intend to comment further regarding the strategic and financial review until the Board of Directors approves a specific action or concludes its review.
About The Fresh Market, Inc.
Founded in 1982, The Fresh Market, Inc. is a specialty grocery retailer focused on providing high-quality products in a unique and inviting atmosphere with a high level of customer service. As of October 19, 2015, the Company operates 178 stores in 27 states across the United States. For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com.
Forward Looking Statements: This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs regarding future business and financial performance and financial condition. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Any statements contained herein (including statements to the effect that The Fresh Market or its management “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “expects,” “believes,” and other similar expressions) that are not statements of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements. The following are some of the factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements: accounting entries and adjustments at the close of a fiscal quarter; unexpected expenses and risks associated with our business; our ability to remain competitive in the areas of merchandise quality, price, breadth of selection, customer service and convenience; the effective management of our merchandise buying and inventory levels; the quality and safety of food products and other items that we may sell; our ability to anticipate and/or react to changes in customer demand; changes in economic and financial conditions, including U.S. fiscal and monetary policy, and the resulting impact on consumer confidence; other changes in consumer confidence and spending; unexpected consumer responses to promotional programs; unusual, unpredictable and/or severe weather conditions, including their effect on our supply chain and our store operations; the effectiveness of our logistics and supply chain model, including the ability of our third-party logistics providers to meet our product demands and restocking needs on a cost competitive basis; the execution and management of our store growth, including the availability and cost of acceptable real estate locations for new store openings, the capital that we utilize in connection with new store development and the anticipated time between lease execution and store opening; the mix of our new store openings as between build to suit sites and second-generation, as-is sites and as between existing markets and newer markets; the actions of third parties involved in our store growth activities, including property owners, landlords, property managers, contractors, subcontractors, government agencies, and current tenants who occupy one or more of our proposed new store locations, all of whom may be impacted by their financial condition, their lenders, their activities outside of those focused on our new store growth and other tenants, customers and business partners of theirs; impairment of recorded goodwill and other long-lived assets; global economies and credit and financial markets; our ability to maintain the security of electronic and other confidential and/or personal information; serious disruptions and catastrophic events; competition; personnel recruitment and retention; acquisitions and divestitures, including the ability to integrate successfully any such acquisitions; information systems and technology; commodity, energy, fuel, and other cost increases; compliance with laws, regulations and orders; changes in laws and regulations; outcomes of litigation and proceedings and the availability of insurance, indemnification, and other third-party coverage of any losses suffered in connection therewith; tax matters; numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, and competitive nature; the outcome of the strategic and financial review being conducted by the Company and the Board of Directors and other factors as set forth from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement, including any contained herein, speaks only as of the time of this release and we do not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available or to disclose any facts, events or circumstances after the date of this release that may affect the accuracy of any forward-looking statement, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.
This press release is also available in the Investor Relations portion of The Fresh Market, Inc. website (http://ir.thefreshmarket.com/).
CONTACT: Investor Relations
(336) 615-8065
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