Wild Oats Markets Rationalizes Store Portfolio, Closing 8 Stores in Under-Performing Locations
15 November 2006 - 12:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Significant Savings Realized From Closures to Be Reinvested in
Remaining Stores BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:OATS), a leading national natural
and organic foods retailer, today announced it will close all five
of its Henry's Farmers Market stores located in Arizona and three
additional Wild Oats stores in other markets, effective Dec. 16,
2006. Additionally, the Company announced it will not open a
Henry's store under development in the Phoenix market, and will
take an asset impairment charge in the fourth quarter for two
underperforming Wild Oats stores in other markets, one of which
will close when its lease expires in 2007. After an extensive
financial review of its store portfolio, Wild Oats determined these
stores are not in optimal locations for sales growth. All of the
Henry's Farmers Markets stores in and around the Phoenix area will
be closed, including two stores in Gilbert, and one each in
Glendale, Peoria and Phoenix. The two Wild Oats stores in the
Phoenix area, on Camelback Rd. and in Scottsdale, will remain open,
and the Wild Oats brand will be the Company's focus for future
growth in the Phoenix market. Wild Oats stores in the following
locations will also be closed on Dec. 16, 2006: Village Pointe
Center, Omaha, Neb.; Fort Collins, Colo.; and West Jordan, Utah.
The significant savings realized from these store closures will be
re-invested in the Company's existing store base to drive higher
sales performance through various marketing, merchandising and
operational initiatives. Wild Oats Markets expects to incur
approximately $25.5 million in restructuring charges in the fourth
quarter of 2006 related to asset impairment, severance and
lease-related liabilities. Additionally, in the fourth quarter of
2006, the Company expects to incur incremental operational costs of
approximately $1.7 million related to the closures. "With a
sophisticated real estate model in place for our Wild Oats stores
and a focus for Henry's growth in Southern California, we intend to
continue to invest to grow our brand and our business, including
reinvestment in existing stores," said Gregory Mays, Chairman and
CEO of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. "We are building on a strong
foundation, and our focus will be to grow sales in existing stores
while using our improved real estate model to select high-potential
sites for new stores, like those opened so far in 2006." "Henry's
is a very compelling chain that fills a unique niche in the
Southern California specialty foods market," said Mr. Mays. "We
believe that the Phoenix stores were not performing at Henry's
typically strong levels because of the fiercely competitive nature
of the Phoenix food retail market, and the fact that Henry's was a
new entrant to Phoenix two years ago. Therefore, we have very
little brand awareness in a crowded market." Wild Oats Markets is
focused on growth through new store development. Currently the
Company has 19 leases or letters of intent signed for new Wild Oats
and Henry's stores scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this
year, in 2007 and into 2008. Thus far in the fourth quarter, the
Company has opened two Henry's stores in Southern California and
will open two more before year's end. About Wild Oats: Wild Oats
Markets, Inc. is a nationwide chain of natural and organic foods
markets in the U.S. and Canada with annual sales of more than $1.1
billion. The Company operates 115 natural foods stores in 24 states
and British Columbia, Canada. The Company's markets include: Wild
Oats Natural Marketplace, Henry's Farmers Market, Sun Harvest and
Capers Community Markets. For more information, please visit
http://www.wildoats.com/. Risk Factors and Uncertainties This
release contains forward-looking statements, as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve
risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include:
the number of stores the Company plans to open, remodel and
relocate in the future, and the anticipated performance of such
stores; and expected future comparable store sales, revenues and
earnings per share, future financial measures and prospects for
favorable growth and performance. The statements made by the
Company are based on management's present expectations, and actual
results may differ from the results indicated or otherwise implied
by such forward-looking statements due to certain risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to: the Company's ability
to execute, the results of merchandising and marketing programs,
the impact of competition and other factors as are set forth in the
Company's SEC filings, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 and the Company's quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q. These risk factors may not be an
all-inclusive enumeration of the business risks faced by Wild Oats.
Investors should recognize that the reliability of any projected
financial data diminishes the farther in the future the data is
projected. The statements made by management of the Company and
summarized above represent their views as of the date of this press
release, and it should not be assumed that the statements made
herein remain accurate as of any future date. Wild Oats does not
intend to update these statements and undertakes no duty to any
person to effect any such update under any circumstances.
DATASOURCE: Wild Oats Markets, Inc. CONTACT: Sonja Tuitele of Wild
Oats Markets, Inc., +1-720-562-4984 Web site:
http://www.wildoats.com/
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