Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
Periods of difficult economic conditions, a public health crisis, other macroeconomic or geopolitical events and heightened uncertainty in the financial markets may affect consumer spending and confidence, which can adversely affect our business.
The foodservice industry is sensitive to national, regional and international economic conditions. Our business could be negatively impacted by reduced demand for our products related to unfavorable macroeconomic conditions triggered by developments beyond our control, including geopolitical events, trade policies (including tariff increases), health crises (including pandemics and epidemics), and other events that trigger economic volatility. In particular, deteriorating economic conditions and heightened uncertainty in the financial markets, inflationary pressure, an uncertain political environment, tariff increases, and supply chain disruptions have in the past and may in the future negatively affect consumer confidence and discretionary spending. In fiscal 2025, product cost inflation contributed to an increase in selling price per case and an increase in net sales. However, sustained inflationary pressure and macroeconomic
challenges could negatively affect consumer discretionary spending decisions within our customers’ establishments, which could negatively impact our sales. Such conditions and high levels of uncertainty make it difficult to predict when, or if, a recession may occur.
We rely on third-party suppliers, and our business may be affected by interruption of supplies or increases in product costs.
We obtain substantially all of our foodservice and related products from third-party suppliers. We typically do not have long-term contracts with our suppliers. Although our purchasing volume can sometimes provide an advantage when dealing with suppliers, suppliers may not provide the foodservice products and supplies needed by us in the quantities and timeframe and at the prices requested. Our suppliers may also be affected by higher costs to source or produce and transport food products, as well as by other related expenses that they pass through to their customers, which could result in higher costs for the products they supply to us. Because we do not control the actual production of most of the products we sell, we are also subject to supply chain interruptions, delays caused by interruption in production, and increases in product costs, including those resulting from product recalls or a need to find alternate materials or suppliers, based on conditions outside our control. These conditions include labor shortages, work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes or other job actions by employees of suppliers, government , weather conditions, crop conditions, product or raw material scarcity, water , transportation , of fuel or increases in fuel costs, competitive demands, contamination with mold, bacteria or other contaminants, pandemics, natural or other events, including the outbreak of e. coli or similar food borne illnesses or acts of terrorism, international hostilities, civil , and social . Our to obtain adequate supplies of foodservice and related products as a result of any of the foregoing factors or otherwise could mean that we may not be to fulfill our obligations to our customers and, as a result, our customers may turn to other distributors. Our to anticipate and react to changing food costs through our sourcing and purchasing practices in the future could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Competition in our industry is intense, and we may not be able to compete successfully.
The foodservice distribution industry is highly competitive, with numerous regional, local, and specialty distributors. Certain of our competitors may have greater scale, financial and other resources than we do in certain markets. Smaller distributors often align themselves with other smaller distributors through purchasing cooperatives and marketing groups to enhance their geographic reach, private label offerings, overall purchasing power, and cost efficiencies and to assemble delivery networks for national or multi-regional distribution. We often do not have exclusive service agreements with our customers, and our customers may switch to other distributors if those distributors can offer lower prices, differentiated products, or customer service that is perceived to be superior. Such changes may occur particularly during periods of economic uncertainty, including uncertainty due to significant inflation. We believe that most purchasing decisions in the foodservice business are based on the quality and price of the product and a distributor’s ability to fill orders completely and accurately and provide timely deliveries. Our current or potential future competitors may be able to provide products or services that are comparable or superior to those provided by us or adapt more quickly than we do to evolving trends or changing market requirements. Further, although we have strategies to remain competitive in the marketplace by reducing our cost structure, if one or more of our competitors in the foodservice distribution industry adopted a lower cost structure, we would potentially be pressured to lower prices to our customers and would need to cost savings to offset these reductions. Accordingly, we may be to compete effectively current and potential future competitors, and increased competition may result in price reductions or other concessions, reduced gross margins, and of market share, any of which could materially affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
We operate in a low margin industry, which could increase the volatility of our results of operations.
Similar to other resale-based industries, the distribution industry is characterized by relatively low profit margins. These low profit margins tend to increase the volatility of our reported net income since any decline in our net sales or increase in our costs that is small relative to our total net sales or costs could have a material impact on our net income.
Volatile food costs may have a direct impact upon our profitability.
We make a significant portion of our sales at prices that are based on the cost of products we sell plus a percentage markup. As a result, volatile food costs may have a direct impact upon our profitability. Our sales and profit levels may be negatively affected during periods of product cost deflation, even though our gross profit percentage may remain relatively constant or even increase. Prolonged periods of product cost inflation also may have a negative impact on our profit margins and earnings to the extent such product cost increases are not passed on to customers because of their resistance to higher prices. For example, we experienced inflation of 4.7% for fiscal 2025, which increased our product costs. Furthermore, our business model requires us to maintain an inventory of products, and changes in price levels between the time that we acquire inventory from our suppliers and the time we sell the inventory to our customers could lead to unexpected shifts in demand for our products or could require us to sell inventory at lesser profit or a loss. In addition, product cost inflation may negatively affect consumer discretionary spending decisions within our customers’ establishments, which could impact our sales. Our to quickly respond to inflationary and deflationary cost pressures could have a material impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Many of our customers are not obligated to continue purchasing products from us.
Many of our customers buy from us pursuant to individual purchase orders, and we often do not enter into long-term agreements with these customers. Because such customers are not obligated to continue purchasing products from us, the volume or number of our customers’ purchase orders may not remain constant or increase, and we may be unable to maintain our existing customer base. Significant decreases in the volume or number of our customers’ purchase orders or our inability to retain or grow our current customer base could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Group purchasing organizations may become more active in our industry and increase their efforts to add our customers as members of these organizations.
Some of our customers, particularly our larger customers, purchase their products from us through group purchasing organizations (“GPOs”) in an effort to lower the prices paid by these customers on their foodservice orders, and we have in the past experienced some pricing pressure from these purchasers. These GPOs have also made efforts to include smaller, independent restaurants. If these GPOs are able to add a significant number of our customers as members, we may be forced to lower the prices we charge these customers in order to retain their business, which would negatively affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Additionally, if we are unable or unwilling to lower the prices we charge for our products to a level that is satisfactory to the GPOs, we may lose the business of those customers that are members of these organizations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Changes in consumer eating habits could reduce the demand for our products and adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Changes in consumer eating habits (such as a decline in consuming food away from home, a decline in portion sizes, or a shift in preferences toward restaurants that are not our customers) could reduce demand for our products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Consumer eating habits can be affected by a number of factors, including changes in attitudes regarding diet and health, new information regarding the health effects of consuming certain foods or ingredients, or the impact of weight loss drugs. If consumer eating habits change significantly, we may be required to modify or discontinue sales of certain items in our product portfolio, and we may experience higher costs associated with the implementation of those changes. Changing consumer eating habits may also reduce the frequency with which consumers purchase meals outside of the home.
Additionally, changes in consumer eating habits may result in the enactment of laws and regulations that affect the ingredients and nutritional content of our food products, or laws and regulations requiring us to make additional disclosures regarding the ingredients and nutritional content of our food products. Moreover, compliance with these laws and regulations, as well as others, may be costly and time-consuming. Our inability to effectively respond to changes in food away from home consumer trends, consumer health perceptions or resulting new laws or regulations, or to adapt our menu offerings to trends in eating habits could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters may interrupt our business or our customers’ or suppliers’ businesses.
Many of our facilities and our customers’ or suppliers’ facilities are located in areas that may be subject to extreme and occasionally prolonged weather conditions, including hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes, and extreme heat or cold. Such extreme weather conditions could interrupt our operations. Furthermore, such extreme weather conditions may disrupt critical infrastructure and interrupt or impede access to our facilities or our customers’ or vendors’ facilities, reduce the number of consumers who visit our customers’ facilities in such areas, interrupt our suppliers’ production or shipments or increase our suppliers’ product costs, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Fluctuations in fuel prices and other transportation costs could harm our business.
The high cost of fuel can negatively affect consumer confidence and discretionary spending and, as a result, reduce the frequency and amount spent by consumers within our customers’ establishments for food away from home. The high price of fuel and other transportation related costs, such as tolls, fuel taxes, and license and registration fees, can also increase the price we pay for products as well as the costs incurred by us to deliver products to our customers. Furthermore, both the price and supply of fuel are unpredictable and fluctuate based on events outside our control, including geopolitical developments (such as the war in the Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East), supply and demand for oil and gas, actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil and gas producers, war and unrest in oil producing countries and regions, regional production patterns, and environmental concerns. These factors, if occurring over an extended period of time, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
From time to time, we may enter into arrangements to manage our exposure to fuel costs. Such arrangements, however, may not be effective and may result in us paying higher than market costs for a portion of our fuel. In addition, the use of such arrangements may expose us to the risk that our counterparties fail to perform their obligations, which could result in financial losses. Furthermore,
while we have been successful in the past in implementing fuel surcharges to offset fuel cost increases, we may not be able to do so in the future.
In addition, compliance with current and future environmental laws and regulations relating to carbon emissions and the effects of global climate change can be expected to have a significant impact on our transportation costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If we fail to increase our sales in the highest margin portions of our business, our profitability may suffer.
Distribution is a relatively low margin industry. The most profitable customers within the distribution industry are generally independent customers. In addition, our most profitable products are our Performance Brands. We typically provide a higher level of services to our independent customers and are able to earn a higher operating margin on sales to independent customers. Independent customers are also more likely to purchase our Performance Brands. Our ability to continue to penetrate this key customer type is critical to achieving increased operating profits. Changes in the buying practices of independent customers or decreases in our sales to independent customers or a decrease in the sales of our Performance Brands could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Changes in pricing practices of our suppliers could negatively affect our profitability.
Distributors have traditionally generated a significant percentage of their gross margins from promotional allowances paid by their suppliers. Promotional allowances are payments from suppliers based upon the efficiencies that the distributor provides to its suppliers through purchasing scale and through marketing and merchandising expertise. Promotional allowances are a standard practice among suppliers to distributors and represent a significant source of profitability for us and our competitors. Any change in such practices that results in the reduction or elimination of promotional allowances could be disruptive to us and the industry as a whole and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our growth and innovation strategies may not achieve the anticipated results.
Our success depends on our ability to grow our business, including through increasing our independent and organic sales, expanding our Performance Brands, making strategic acquisitions, and achieving improved operating efficiencies as we continue to expand and diversify our customer base. Our growth and innovation strategies require significant commitments of management resources and capital investments and may not grow our net sales at the rate we expect or at all. As a result, we may not be able to recover the costs incurred in developing our new projects and initiatives or to realize their intended or projected benefits, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Additionally, the market for acquisition targets in the foodservice distribution industry is highly competitive, which could make it more difficult to find appropriate strategic acquisition opportunities and impact our ability to grow our business.
We may not be able to realize benefits of acquisitions or successfully integrate the businesses we acquire [and we may incur significant costs related to the integration of acquired businesses].
Our growth strategy includes growth through strategic acquisitions. If we are unable to integrate acquired businesses successfully or to realize anticipated economic, operational, and other benefits and synergies in a timely manner, our profitability could be adversely affected. Integration of an acquired business may be more difficult when we acquire a business in a market in which we have limited expertise or with a company culture different from ours. A significant expansion of our business and operations, in terms of geography or magnitude, could strain our administrative and operational resources. Additionally, we may be unable to retain qualified management and other key personnel employed by acquired companies and may fail to build a network of acquired companies in new markets. We could also face significantly greater competition from broadline foodservice distributors in these markets than we face in our existing markets.
We regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire other companies. To the extent our future growth includes acquisitions, we may not be able to obtain the necessary financing for such acquisitions, consummate such potential acquisitions effectively, effectively and efficiently integrate any acquired entities, or successfully expand into new markets.
In connection with our acquisition of businesses in the future, if any, we may decide to consolidate the operations of any acquired business with our existing operations or make other changes with respect to the acquired business, which could result in special charges or expenses. Our results of operations also may be adversely affected by expenses we incur in making acquisitions, by amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets with definite lives and by additional depreciation attributable to acquired assets. Moreover, in connection with contemplated or completed acquisitions, we may incur related asset impairment charges that reduce our profitability.
A significant portion of our sales volume is dependent upon the distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products, sales of which are generally declining.
A significant portion of our sales volume depends upon the distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Due to restrictions on cigarette manufacturers’ marketing and promotions, decreases in social acceptance of cigarettes, increases in cigarette regulation and excise taxes, health concerns, increased pressure from anti-tobacco groups, the rise in popularity of tobacco alternatives, including legal and illicit e-vapor products, oral nicotine pouches, and other alternative nicotine products, increases in the prices of cigarettes, and other factors, cigarette consumption in the United States has been declining over the past few decades. In many instances, tobacco alternatives, such as e-vapor products, are not subject to federal, state, and local excise taxes like the sale of conventional cigarettes or other tobacco products. We expect consumption trends of legal cigarette products will continue to be negatively impacted by the factors described above. If we are unable to sell other products to make up for these declines in cigarette sales, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Adverse publicity about us, lack of confidence in our products or services, and other risks could negatively affect our reputation and our business.
Maintaining a good reputation and public confidence in the safety of the products we distribute or services we provide is critical to our business, particularly to selling our Performance Brands products. Anything that damages our reputation, or the public’s confidence in our products, services, facilities, delivery fleet, operations, or employees, whether or not justified, including adverse publicity about the quality, safety, or integrity of our products, could negatively affect our net sales and profits. Reports, whether true or not, of food-borne illnesses or harmful bacteria (such as e. coli, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, hepatitis A, trichinosis, listeria, or salmonella) and injuries caused by food tampering could also severely injure our reputation or negatively affect the public’s confidence in our products. We may need to recall our products if they become . If patrons of our restaurant customers become from food-borne illnesses, our customers could be to temporarily close restaurant locations and our sales would be correspondingly decreased. In addition, instances of food-borne illnesses, food tampering, or other health , such epidemics and pandemics, even those unrelated to the use of our products, or public regarding the safety of our products, can result in publicity about the foodservice distribution industry and cause our sales to decrease dramatically. Health and publicity could materially affect our business and results of operations and the reputation of, or result in a of acceptance of, our products or the brands that we carry or the services that we provide.
Moreover, the growing use of social and digital media by consumers has greatly increased the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Negative posts or comments about us, our brands, or our products on social or digital media could significantly damage our brands and reputation, regardless of its accuracy or the reputability of its source, including as a result of fictitious media content (such as content produced by generative AI or bad actors). Additionally, negative reaction to our marketing and advertising, including our social media content, could result in damage to our brands and reputation.
We have experienced losses because of the inability to collect accounts receivable in the past and could experience increases in such losses in the future if our customers are unable to pay their debts to us when due.
Certain of our customers have from time to time experienced bankruptcy, insolvency, or an inability to pay their debts to us as they come due. If our customers suffer significant financial difficulty, they may be unable to pay their debts to us timely or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. It is possible that customers may contest their contractual obligations to us under bankruptcy laws or otherwise. Significant customer bankruptcies could further adversely affect our net sales and increase our operating expenses by requiring larger provisions for bad debt expense. In addition, even when our contracts with these customers are not contested, if customers are unable to meet their obligations on a timely basis, it could affect our ability to collect receivables. Further, we may have to negotiate significant discounts or extended financing terms with these customers in such a situation. If we are to collect upon our accounts receivable as they come due in an and timely manner, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially affected.
Insurance and claims expenses could significantly reduce our profitability.
Our future insurance and claims expenses might exceed historic levels, which could reduce our profitability. We maintain high-deductible insurance programs covering portions of general and vehicle liability and workers’ compensation. The amount in excess of the deductibles is insured by third-party insurance carriers, subject to certain limitations and exclusions. We also maintain self-funded group medical insurance.
We reserve for anticipated losses and expenses and periodically evaluate and adjust our claims reserves to reflect our experience. However, ultimate results may differ from our estimates, which could result in losses over our reserved amounts.
Although we believe our aggregate insurance limits should be sufficient to cover reasonably expected claims costs, including claims related to incidents within our operations and vehicle and driver related claims, it is possible that the amount of one or more claims could exceed our aggregate coverage limits. Additionally, insurance carriers have raised premiums on certain lines of coverage for many businesses in our industry, including ours. For example, we experienced a $28.0 million increase in insurance expense in fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024, primarily related to vehicle liability and workers’ compensation. Our insurance and claims expense could continue to increase in the future. Our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely
affected if (1) total claims costs significantly exceed our coverage limits, (2) we experience a claim in excess of our coverage limits, (3) our insurance carriers fail to pay on our insurance claims, (4) we experience a claim for which coverage is not provided, (5) a large number of claims may cause our cost under our deductibles to differ from historic averages or (6) insurance carriers continue to significantly raise premiums in the industry and for our business.
Activist shareholders or potential bidders could cause us to incur significant expense, hinder execution of our business strategy, and impact our stock price.
Publicly traded companies are increasingly subject to campaigns by activist shareholders advocating corporate actions such as operational, governance or management changes, sales of assets or entire segments, or business combination transactions. Activist shareholders could seek to engage in proxy solicitations, advance shareholder proposals, or otherwise attempt to assert influence on our board of directors and management. Additionally, we could be the target of an unsolicited bid by an activist, strategic buyer, or competitor. An unsolicited bid could also adversely impact our ability to recruit and retain employees and our ability to enter into agreements with potential business partners. Such events could result in substantial costs and divert management's and our board's attention and resources and cause fluctuations in our stock price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals or prospects of our business. On August 7, 2025, the Chief Executive Officer of US Foods Holding Corp. issued public statements indicating interest in information sharing with us to explore regulatory considerations and potential synergies related to a potential business combination.
Risks Relating to Technology and Information Security
A cybersecurity incident or other technology disruptions could negatively affect our business and our relationships with customers.
We rely upon information technology networks and systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information, and to manage or support substantially all of our business processes and activities. We also use mobile devices, social networking, and other online activities to connect with our employees, suppliers, business partners, and customers.
These uses give rise to cybersecurity risks, including security breaches, espionage, system disruption, theft, and inadvertent release of information. Our business involves the storage and transmission of numerous classes of sensitive or confidential information and intellectual property, including customers’ and suppliers’ personal information, private information about employees, and financial and strategic information about us and our business partners. We have implemented measures to prevent security breaches and prevent or mitigate other cybersecurity incidents. However, we and our third-party providers experience cybersecurity incidents of varying degrees from time-to-time, including ransomware and phishing attacks, as well as distributed denial of service attacks, social engineering attacks and the theft of data. To date, interruption of our information technology networks and systems and unauthorized access to or theft of data have been infrequent and have not had a material impact on our operations. However, because cyber-attacks are increasingly sophisticated and more frequent, our preventative measures and response efforts may not be entirely . In addition, cyber are increasing their attacks on individual employees with business email compromise scams designed to trick into transferring sensitive data or funds, or steal credentials that compromise information systems. Moreover, as AI continues to evolve, actors could use AI to the sophistication and coordination of their attacks, which could pose significant to our security defense. These and other operational risks may also be heightened due to a portion of our employees, and the employees of our customers, suppliers and business partners, working remotely or using personal devices due to associated with managing remote computing assets and security that are present in many non-corporate and home networks. There can be no assurance that our operations will not be materially impacted in the future, and there is a risk that we may incur significant costs in protecting or remediating or other cyber , especially if the amount of insurance coverage we maintain is not sufficient to cover or liabilities relating to an . The theft, , , , release of sensitive or confidential information or intellectual property, or with our information technology systems or the technology systems of third parties on which we rely, including our third-party service providers, suppliers, and customers, could result in business , a in our supply chain, or reduced customer orders, publicity, brand , of data and other privacy laws, of customers, potential liability, and remediation costs, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Further, as we pursue our strategy to grow through acquisitions and to pursue new initiatives that improve our operations and cost structure, we are also expanding our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk. Acquisition targets may have less mature information technology systems and/or less sophisticated measures in place to detect and prevent cybersecurity breaches or incidents, which could expose us to increased cybersecurity risk during the acquisition integration process until we improve their maturity or integrate them into our information technology standards.
Any failure to adequately assess, identify, and mitigate cybersecurity risks associated with acquisitions and new initiatives could increase our susceptibility to such risks.
We rely heavily on technology in our business, and any technology disruption or delay in implementing new technology could adversely affect our business.
The foodservice distribution industry is transaction intensive. Our ability to control costs and to maximize profits, as well as to serve customers effectively and efficiently, depends on the reliability of our information technology systems and related data entry processes. We rely on software and other technology systems, some of which are managed by third-party service providers, to manage significant aspects of our business, including making purchases, processing orders, managing our warehouses, loading trucks in the most efficient manner, and optimizing the use of storage space. Our reliance on such networks and systems has increased due to a portion of our employees, and the employees of our customers, suppliers and business partners, working remotely or using personal devices.
The failure of our information technology systems, including those managed by third-party service providers, to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and could result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, increased costs, and the loss of sales and customers, causing our business and results of operations to suffer. In addition, our information technology systems, including those managed by third-party service providers, may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failures, security breaches, cyber-attacks, viruses, theft and inadvertent release of information. While we have invested and continue to invest in technology security initiatives and recovery plans, these measures cannot fully insulate us from technology that could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Information technology systems evolve rapidly, and in order to compete effectively we are required to integrate new technologies in a timely and cost-effective manner. For example, we may incorporate AI solutions into our platform, offerings, services and features, and these applications may become important in our operations over time. Any failure to implement new technologies in a timely and cost- effective manner, or if competitors implement new technologies before we do, including AI, allowing such competitors to provide lower priced or enhanced services of superior quality compared to those we provide, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
As we integrate AI technologies into our processes, these technologies may present business, compliance, security, and reputational risks.
We have and are continuing to incorporate AI, including machine learning, into certain of our operations, such as sales, support and supply chain operations, and may in the future incorporate AI into more of our operations, with the intent to enhance their operation and effectiveness. Flaws, breaches or malfunctions in these systems could lead to operational disruptions, data loss, or erroneous decision-making, impacting our operations, financial condition and reputation. Legal challenges may arise, including or as a result of cybersecurity incidents, non-compliance with data protection regulations, and lack of transparency relating to the use of AI. The legal and regulatory landscape and industry standards surrounding AI technologies is rapidly evolving and remains uncertain, and compliance may impose significant operational costs and may limit our ability to develop, deploy or use AI technologies. Furthermore, the rapid evolution and increasing deployment of AI systems could both intensify our cybersecurity risks, such as data and access, and introduce new risks, to financial , legal liabilities, and reputational .
Risks Relating to Product Safety, Regulatory and Legal Matters
Our business is subject to significant governmental regulation, and costs or claims for non-compliance related to these requirements could adversely affect our business.
Food Safety: Our operations are subject to regulation by state and local health departments, the USDA, and the FDA, which generally impose standards for product quality and sanitation and are responsible for the administration of bioterrorism legislation affecting the foodservice industry. These government authorities regulate, among other things, the processing, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising, and labeling of our products. The FSMA imposes comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the food supply industry, further regulates food products imported into the United States, and provides the FDA with mandatory recall authority. Our seafood operations are also specifically regulated by federal and state laws, including those administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Shellfish Sanitation Program, established for the preservation of certain species of marine life, including fish and shellfish. Our distribution and certain manufacturing facilities must be registered with the FDA and are subject to periodic government agency inspections by federal and/or state authorities. The Federal Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, which specifies standards for the sale, shipment, inspection, and rejection of agricultural products, governs our relationships with our fresh produce suppliers with respect to the grading and commercial acceptance of product shipments. We are also subject to regulation by state authorities for the accuracy of our weighing and measuring devices. Additionally, the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Highway Administration regulate our trucking operations, and interstate motor carrier operations are subject to safety requirements prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and other relevant federal and state
agencies. Our suppliers are also subject to similar regulatory requirements and oversight. We have expanded the product lines of our Specialty segment to include hemp-based CBD products authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Sales of certain hemp-based CBD products are prohibited in some jurisdictions and the FDA and certain states and local governments may enact regulations that limit the marketing and use of such products. The failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in, among other things, administrative, civil, or criminal penalties or fines; mandatory or voluntary product recalls; warning or untitled letters; cease and desist orders against operations that are not in compliance; closure of facilities or operations; the loss, revocation, or modification of any existing licenses, permits, registrations, or approvals; or the failure to obtain additional licenses, permits, registrations, or approvals in new jurisdictions where we intend to do business, any of which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Labor and Workplace Safety: In addition, our operations are subject to various federal, state, provincial, regional and local laws and regulations in many areas of our business, such as, minimum wage, overtime, wage payment, wage and hour and employment discrimination, harassment, immigration, human health and safety and relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants into the air, soil, and water; the management and disposal of solid and hazardous materials and wastes; employee exposure to hazards in the workplace; and the investigation and remediation of contamination resulting from releases of petroleum products and other regulated materials. In the course of our operations, we operate, maintain, and fuel fleet vehicles; store fuel in on-site above and underground storage tanks; operate refrigeration systems; and use and dispose of hazardous substances and food wastes. We could incur substantial costs, including fines or penalties and third-party claims for property damage or personal , as a result of any of environmental or workplace safety laws and regulations or releases of regulated materials into the environment. In addition, we could incur , remediation, or other costs related to environmental conditions at our currently or formerly owned or operated properties.
Cigarette, Tobacco and Alternative Nicotine Products: Finally, we are subject to and/or impacted by legislation, regulation and other matters regarding the marketing, distribution, sale, taxation and use of cigarette, tobacco and alternative nicotine products. For example, various jurisdictions have adopted or are considering legislation and regulations restricting displays and marketing of tobacco and alternative nicotine products, requiring the disclosure of ingredients used in the manufacture of tobacco and alternative nicotine products, and imposing restrictions on public smoking and vaping. In addition, the FDA has been empowered to regulate changes to nicotine yields and the chemicals and flavors used in tobacco and alternative nicotine products (including cigars, pipe and vapor products), require ingredient listings be displayed on tobacco and alternative nicotine products, prohibit the use of certain terms that may attract youth or mislead users as to the risks involved with using tobacco and alternative nicotine products, as well as limit or otherwise impact the marketing of tobacco and alternative nicotine products by requiring additional labels or warnings that must be pre-approved by the FDA. Such legislation and related regulation are likely to continue to adversely impact the market for tobacco and alternative nicotine products and, accordingly, our sales of such products. Likewise, cigarettes and tobacco products are subject to substantial excise taxes. Significant increases in cigarette-related taxes or fees have been proposed or enacted and are likely to continue to be proposed or enacted by various taxing jurisdictions within the U.S. These tax increases impact consumption and may cause a shift in sales from premium brands to discount brands, channels, or tobacco alternatives, such as e-vapor products, as smokers seek lower priced options. Furthermore, taxing jurisdictions have the ability to change or rescind credit terms currently extended for the remittance of taxes that we collect on their behalf. If these excise taxes are substantially increased, or credit terms are substantially reduced, it could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Data Privacy: There are new and emerging data privacy laws, as well as frequent updates and changes to existing data privacy laws, in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Given the complexity of these laws and the requirements they place on businesses regarding the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer and security of personal data, it is important for us to understand their impact and respond accordingly. Failure to comply with data privacy laws can result in substantial fines or penalties, legal liability and reputational damage. Several U.S. states have enacted (and additional U.S. states are considering enacting) stringent consumer privacy laws, which may impose varying standards and requirements on our data collection, use and processing activities. Continued state by state introduction of privacy laws can be expected to lead to significantly greater complexity in our compliance requirements, which could result in complaints from data subjects or action from regulators. If we do not provide sufficient resources to be able to respond, adapt and implement the necessary requirements to respond to the various forthcoming changes, which could include federal data privacy requirements, our reputation could be impacted and we could face exposure to levied by regulators, which could have an effect on our business.
Climate change, or the legal, regulatory, or market measures being implemented to address climate change, could have an adverse impact on our business.
The effects of climate change may create financial and operational risks to our business, both directly and indirectly. There is an increased focus around the world by regulatory and legislative bodies at all levels towards policies relating to climate change and the impact of global warming, including the regulation of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, energy usage, and sustainability efforts. Increased compliance costs and expenses due to these policies, as well as additional legal or regulatory requirements regarding climate change, including those designed to reduce or mitigate the effects of carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions on the environment, particularly diesel engine emissions, may cause disruptions in, or an increase in the costs associated with, the running of our business,
particularly with regard to our distribution and supply chain operations. These costs include an increase in the cost of the fuel and other energy we purchase, and capital costs associated with updating or replacing our vehicles prematurely. Moreover, compliance with any such legal or regulatory requirements may require that we implement changes to our business operations and strategy, which would require us to devote substantial time and attention to these matters and cause us to incur additional costs. We may not be able to accurately predict, prepare for, and respond to new kinds of technological innovations with respect to electric vehicles and other technologies that minimize emissions. Laws related to climate change, including those enacted to try to reduce GHG emissions, could also directly or indirectly affect our suppliers, who could increase the prices of the products that we buy from them to recover the costs they incur related to such laws. The effects of climate change, and legal or regulatory initiatives to address climate change, could have a long-term material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
In addition, from time to time we establish and publicly announce goals and commitments related to corporate social responsibility matters, including those related to reducing our impact on the environment. For example, in 2024, we established goals for the reduction of GHG emissions, which include a target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2034 from a 2021 base year. Additionally, in 2025, we established a goal to engage with our suppliers representing 40% of our spend to set Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions targets by 2034 that are in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C emissions reduction goal. Our ability to meet these and other related goals depends in part on significant technological advancements with respect to the development and availability of reliable, affordable, and sustainable alternative solutions, including electric and other alternative fuel vehicles as well as alternative energy sources, which may not be developed or be available to us in the timeframe needed to achieve these goals. Our ability to meet these and other related goals also depends on the climate-related efforts and performance of our suppliers. In addition, we may determine that it is in our best interests to prioritize other business, social, governance, or sustainable investments over the achievement of our current goals based on economic, regulatory or social factors, business strategy, or other factors. If we do not meet our publicly stated goals, then we may experience a reaction from the media, stockholders, activists, and other interested stakeholders, and any perception that we have to act responsibly regarding climate change, whether or not valid, could result in publicity or legal and affect our business and reputation. While we remain committed to being responsive to climate change and reducing our GHG emissions, there can be no assurance that our goals and strategic plans to those goals will be , that the costs incurred will not be higher than expected, that the necessary technological will occur in the timeframe we expect, or at all, or that proposed regulation or deregulation related to climate change will not have a competitive impact, any one of which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If the products we distribute are alleged to cause injury or illness or fail to comply with governmental regulations, we may need to recall our products.
The products we distribute may be subject to product recalls, including voluntary recalls or withdrawals, if they are alleged to cause injury or illness (including food-borne illness such as e. coli, bovine spongiform, encephalopathy, hepatitis A, trichinosis, listeria, or salmonella) or if they are alleged to have been mislabeled, misbranded, or adulterated or to otherwise be in violation of governmental regulations. We may also voluntarily recall or withdraw products that we consider not to meet our quality standards, whether for taste, appearance, or otherwise, in order to protect our brand and reputation. If there is any future product withdrawal that results in substantial and unexpected expenditures, destruction of product inventory, damage to our reputation, or lost sales because of the of the product for a period of time, our business, financial condition, or results of operations may be materially affected.
We may be subject to or affected by product liability claims relating to products we distribute.
We may be exposed to product liability claims in the event that the use of the products we sell is alleged to cause injury or illness. While we believe we have sufficient primary and excess umbrella liability insurance with respect to product liability claims, we cannot assure you that our limits are sufficient to cover all our liabilities. For example, punitive damages may not be covered by insurance. In addition, we may not be able to continue to maintain our existing insurance or obtain replacement insurance on comparable terms, and any replacement insurance or our current insurance may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost, or, if available, may not be adequate to cover all of our liabilities. We generally seek contractual indemnification and insurance coverage from parties supplying products to us, but this indemnification or insurance coverage is limited, as a practical matter, to the creditworthiness of the indemnifying party and the insured limits of any insurance provided by suppliers. If we do not have adequate insurance or contractual indemnification available, the liability relating to products could materially affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Adverse judgments or settlements resulting from legal proceedings in which we may be involved in the normal course of our business could reduce our profits or limit our ability to operate our business.
In the normal course of our business, we are involved in various legal proceedings. The outcome of these proceedings cannot be predicted. If any of these proceedings were to be determined adversely to us or a settlement involving a payment of a material sum of money were to occur, it could materially adversely affect our profits or ability to operate our business. Additionally, we could become
the subject of future claims by third parties, including our employees; suppliers, customers, and other counterparties; our investors; or regulators. Any significant adverse judgments or settlements could reduce our profits and could limit our ability to operate our business or adversely affect our reputation. Further, we may incur costs related to claims for which we have appropriate third-party indemnity, but such third parties may fail to fulfill their contractual obligations.
Risks Relating to Human Capital Management
We face risks relating to labor relations, labor costs, and the availability of qualified labor.
As of June 28, 2025, we had approximately [43,000] employees of whom approximately [2,400] were members of local unions associated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters or other unions. Although our labor contract negotiations have in the past generally taken place with the local union representatives, we may be subject to increased efforts to engage us in multi-unit bargaining that could subject us to the risk of multi-location labor disputes or work stoppages that would place us at greater risk of being materially adversely affected by labor disputes. In addition, labor organizing activities could result in additional employees becoming unionized, which could result in higher labor costs. Although we have not experienced any significant labor disputes or work stoppages in recent history, and we believe we have satisfactory relationships with our employees, including those who are union members, increased unionization or a work stoppage because of our inability to renegotiate union contracts could have a material effect on our business. Further, potential changes in labor legislation and case law could result in current non-union portions of our workforce, including warehouse and delivery personnel, being to organized labor influence. If additional portions of our workforce became subject to collective bargaining agreements, this could result in increased costs of doing business as we would become subject to mandatory, binding arbitration or labor scheduling, elevated labor costs, and standards, which could impact our results of operations.
We are subject to a wide range of labor costs. Because our labor costs are, as a percentage of net sales, higher than in many other industries, we may be significantly harmed by labor cost increases. In addition, labor is a significant cost for many of our customers in the U.S. food-away-from-home industry. Any increase in their labor costs, including any increases in costs as a result of increases in minimum wage requirements, wage inflation or increased overtime payments as a result of labor shortages, work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes, or other job actions by employees of customers could reduce the profitability of our customers and reduce demand for our products.
We rely heavily on our employees, particularly warehouse workers and drivers, and any significant shortage of qualified labor could significantly affect our business. Our recruiting and retention efforts and efforts to increase productivity may not be successful, and we could encounter a shortage of qualified labor in future periods. Any such shortage would decrease our ability to serve our customers effectively. Such a shortage could also likely lead to higher wages for employees and a corresponding reduction in our profitability. Any prolonged labor shortage or period of high employee turnover could have an adverse impact on our productivity and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Further, we continue to assess our healthcare benefit costs. Despite our efforts to control costs while still providing competitive healthcare benefits to our associates, significant increases in healthcare costs continue to occur, and we can provide no assurance that our cost containment efforts in this area will be effective. Our suppliers also may be affected by higher minimum wage and benefit standards, wage inflation or increased overtime payments as a result of labor shortages, work slowdowns, work interruptions, strikes, or other actions by their employees, which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us. If we are unable to raise our prices or cut other costs to cover this expense, such increases in expenses could materially reduce our operating profit.
Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness
Our future financial and operating flexibility could be adversely affected by our level of indebtedness.
As of June 28, 2025, we had $6,990.6 million of indebtedness, including finance lease obligations. In addition, we had $2,473.6 million of availability under the ABL Facility (as defined below under “— Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Financing Activities ” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K) after giving effect to $171.4 million of outstanding letters of credit and $106.0 million of lenders’ reserves under the ABL Facility.
Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences for us, including:
requiring us to utilize a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to make payments on our indebtedness, reducing the availability of our cash flows to fund working capital, capital expenditures, development activity, share repurchases and other general corporate purposes;
increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic, industry, or competitive developments;
exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates to the extent our borrowings are at variable rates of interest or our interest rate hedges are ineffective;
making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness, and any failure to comply with the obligations of any of our debt instruments, including restrictive covenants and borrowing conditions, could result in an event of default under the agreements governing our indebtedness;
restricting us from making strategic acquisitions or causing us to make non-strategic divestitures;
limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, product development, debt service requirements, acquisitions, and general corporate or other purposes; and
limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business or market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who may be less leveraged and who, therefore, may be able to take advantage of opportunities that our leverage prevents us from exploiting.
A substantial portion of our indebtedness is floating rate debt. As interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on such indebtedness increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease.
We may elect to enter into interest rate swaps to reduce our exposure to floating interest rates as described below under “— We utilize derivative financial instruments to reduce our exposure to market risks from changes in interest rates on our variable rate indebtedness and we are be exposed to risks related to counterparty creditworthiness or non-performance of these instruments .” However, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to all of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk.
Our ability to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness depends on many factors, some of which are not within our control.
Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. To a certain extent, this ability is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt, we may need to restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt, sell material assets or operations, or raise additional debt or equity capital. We may not be able to affect any of these actions on a timely basis, on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, and these actions may not be sufficient to meet our debt service requirements. In addition, any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at a higher interest rate, and the terms of our existing or future debt arrangements may restrict us from effecting any of these alternatives. Our failure to make the required interest and principal payments on our indebtedness would result in an event of default under the agreement governing such indebtedness, which may result in the acceleration of some or all of our outstanding indebtedness.
Despite our level of indebtedness, we and our subsidiaries may still incur significant additional amounts of debt, which could further exacerbate the risks associated with our level of indebtedness.
We and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. Although the agreements governing our indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of significant qualifications and exceptions and, under certain circumstances, the amount of indebtedness that could be incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial.
The agreements governing our outstanding indebtedness contain restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business.
The agreements governing our outstanding indebtedness contain various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. These covenants limit the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things:
incur, assume, or permit to exist additional indebtedness or guarantees;
incur liens;
make investments and loans;
pay dividends, make payments, or redeem or repurchase capital stock;
engage in mergers, liquidations, dissolutions, asset sales, and other dispositions (including sale leaseback transactions);
amend or otherwise alter terms of certain indebtedness;
enter into agreements limiting subsidiary distributions or containing negative pledge clauses;
engage in certain transactions with affiliates;
alter the business that we conduct;
change our fiscal year; and
engage in any activities other than permitted activities.
As a result of these restrictions, we are limited as to how we conduct our business and we may be unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities. The terms of any future indebtedness we may incur could include more restrictive covenants. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain compliance with these covenants in the future and, if we fail to do so, that we will be able to obtain waivers from the lenders or amend the covenants.
A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under one or more of these agreements, including as a result of cross default provisions, and, in the case of our ABL Facility, amounts due may be accelerated and the rights and remedies of the lenders may be exercised, including rights with respect to the collateral securing the obligations.
We utilize derivative financial instruments to reduce our exposure to market risks from changes in interest rates on our variable rate indebtedness, and we are exposed to risks related to counterparty credit worthiness or non-performance of these instruments.
We enter into pay-fixed interest rate swaps to limit our exposure to changes in variable interest rates. Such instruments may result in economic losses should interest rates decline to a point lower than our fixed rate commitments. We are also exposed to credit-related losses, which could affect the results of operations in the event of fluctuations in the fair value of the interest rate swaps due to a change in the credit worthiness or non-performance by the counterparties to the interest rate swaps.
Risks Relating to the Cheney Brothers Acquisition
We may be unable to effectively and efficiently execute our integration plan, and the anticipated synergies and other benefits of the Cheney Brothers Acquisition may not be realized or may not be realized within the expected timeframe.
Achieving the anticipated benefits of the Cheney Brothers Acquisition is subject to a number of uncertainties, including whether Cheney Brothers, can be integrated with our business in an efficient and effective manner. If we are unable to achieve our integration objectives within the anticipated timeframe, or at all, the expected benefits, including synergies, cost savings and operational efficiencies, may not be realized fully, or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected and the value of our common stock may be adversely affected. Additionally, as a result of the Cheney Brothers Acquisition, rating agencies may take negative actions against our credit ratings, which may increase our financing costs, including in connection with the financing of the Cheney Brothers Acquisition.
The integration of Cheney Brothers with our existing business will be a complex, costly and time-consuming process that may involve material challenges, including, without limitation:
unanticipated issues in integrating information technology, communications and other systems;
maintaining employee morale and attracting, motivating and retaining management personnel and other key employees;
the possibility of faulty assumptions underlying expectations regarding the integration process;
consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures and eliminating duplicative operations;
coordinating geographically separate organizations;
unanticipated changes in federal or state laws or regulations; and
unforeseen expenses or delays.
Many of these factors will be outside of our control and any one of them could materially affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows, as well as our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Cheney Brothers Acquisition.
Item 1B. Unresolve d Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Risk Management and Strategy
We rely upon information technology networks and systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information, and to manage or support virtually all of our business processes and activities. We also use mobile devices, social networking, and other online activities to connect with our employees, suppliers, business partners, and customers. Accordingly, we maintain a comprehensive Information Security Program, anchored in a multi-tiered, defense-in-depth strategy designed to identify and mitigate risks from cybersecurity threats. We believe that our Information Security Program aligns with industry frameworks and assesses security trends, and facilitates identification and reduction of vulnerabilities. Our cybersecurity strategy considers existing risks to our company and those that we are likely to encounter based on our industry, company profile, and business objectives. Consideration of risks from cybersecurity threats is a key component of our overall enterprise risk management strategy.
We have implemented a risk management program to identify and track information risks, including cybersecurity threats, from many different sources, including third parties, technology projects, acquisitions, risk assessments, technical assessments, and internal/external audits, and assess them based on severity. Our annual information technology general control testing, which is conducted in connection with our internal control over financial reporting review process, and periodic reviews of risks and controls related to cybersecurity threats that may impact financial reporting control objectives also serve to identify and track information risks. Additionally, we partner with independent third-party service providers to regularly perform cybersecurity assessments, such as network and application penetration testing.
To emphasize the importance of cybersecurity awareness, advise of cybersecurity threats, and provide examples of how to mitigate such threats in their use of PFG systems, we also maintain an information security training program that combines several forms of training, including routine phishing exercises, across our workforce.
We acknowledge the potential cybersecurity risks inherent in our relationships with third parties. Accordingly, PFG has implemented a third-party risk management program to identify and oversee such risks. Our third-party risk assessment framework evaluates the cybersecurity practices and controls of third parties. Activities undertaken in relation to third parties may include due diligence inquiries, reviewing security policies and program capabilities, reviewing security certifications and results of independent audits. Review and establishment of contractual requirements is performed in accordance with the level of risk presented by a third party.
We maintain a regularly revised Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan and Cybersecurity Incident Notification Policy, which provide protocols for evaluating and responding to cybersecurity incidents, including escalation of information to senior leadership, including the Board of Directors, as appropriate, and meeting external reporting obligations. We periodically perform tabletop exercises where we perform walkthroughs of cybersecurity incident situations to test our response plans. To date, we have not experienced any cybersecurity incidents that materially affected, or are likely to materially affect, our business strategy , results of operations, or financial condition, but future incidents cannot be predicted . See “ Part 1, Item 1A. Risk Factors ” for additional information regarding cybersecurity-related risks that could impact our business.
Governance
Our Board of Directors executes its cybersecurity risk oversight function as a whole and by delegating responsibility to the Technology and Cybersecurity Committee of our Board of Directors, which oversees our management of risks relating to information technology security and our cybersecurity policies, controls and procedures. The Audit and Finance Committee of our Board of Directors oversees our enterprise risk management program as a whole and risk management regarding major financial risk exposure, including the potential financial impact of cybersecurity incidents. The Technology and Cybersecurity Committee receives quarterly presentations and reports on cybersecurity and information security risks from management, including our Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer (“CIO”) and Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”). These presentations and reports address a broad range of topics, including progress of security initiatives, strategy, key performance indicators, cybersecurity risks, and notable cybersecurity incidents. In addition, the Technology and Cybersecurity Committee and the Board of Directors receive briefings from time to time from outside experts for an independent view on cybersecurity risks and emerging cybersecurity threats, including best practices and current trends in cybersecurity .
Our CIO’s experience includes over 25 years of experience in information technology leadership roles, including ProBuild Holdings, the nation’s largest supplier of building materials; Gates Corporation, a manufacturer/distributor of automotive parts; and Nupremis Inc., a start-up that provided hosting and managed services. We also have a dedicated CISO, whose team is responsible for management of PFG’s Information Security Program, policies, compliance with internal/external mandates, strategy, security incident planning and response. Our CISO reports to our CIO and has more than 20 years of cybersecurity, technology assurance and controls experience, including 18 years as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and 13 years at PFG in information security and compliance. Our CISO joined PFG following several years of experience working in information security consulting, including Big 4 Accounting and Assurance, as well as working in industries including banking and finance.
Item 2. P roperties
As of June 28, 2025, we operated 155 distribution centers across our three reportable segments. Of our 155 facilities, we owned 72 facilities and leased the remaining 83 facilities. Our Foodservice segment operated 89 distribution centers, our Convenience segment operated 39 distribution centers, and our Specialty segment operated 27 distribution centers, all of which had an average square footage of approximately 200,000 square feet per facility.
Location
Foodservice
Convenience
Specialty
Total
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maryland
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
North Carolina
Nebraska
New Jersey
New Mexico
Nevada
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
Canada
Puerto Rico
Total
Our Foodservice “broad-line” customers are generally located no more than 200 miles from one of our distribution facilities, and national chain customers are generally located no more than 450 miles from one of our distribution facilities. Of the 89 Foodservice distribution centers, 11 have meat cutting operations that provide custom-cut meat products and two have seafood processing operations that provide custom-cut and packed seafood to our customers and our other distribution centers. The Convenience segment operates two additional facilities as a third-party logistics provider dedicated solely to supporting the logistics and management requirements of one of our customers. These distribution facilities are located in Arizona and Texas.
Customer orders are typically assembled in our distribution facilities and then sorted, placed on pallets, and loaded onto trucks and trailers in delivery sequence. Deliveries are generally made in large tractor-trailers that we usually lease. We use integrated computer systems to design and track efficient route sequences for the delivery of our products.
Our properties also include a combined headquarters facility for our corporate offices and the Foodservice segment that is located in Richmond, Virginia; a combined support service center and headquarters facility for Specialty that is located in Englewood, Colorado; a headquarters facility for Convenience located in Westlake, Texas; locations to support other segment operations; and other support service centers and corporate offices located in North America.
