Albertsons 2016 Annual Report Download - page 14

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worked with various private equity firms analyzing potential transactions. Mr. Claus served as Chief Executive Officer and President of
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (“A&P”) from 2005-2009. He joined A&P in 2002, serving as Chief Executive Officer
and President of A&P Canada of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc., Canada from 2002-2005. In December 2010, A&P
filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of New York. A&P’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court in February 2012. Prior
to joining A&P, Mr. Claus served as Chief Executive Officer of Co-Op Atlantic from 1997-2002.
(5) Susan S. Grafton was appointed Senior Vice President, Finance, and Chief Accounting Officer in April 2016. Prior to that, Ms. Grafton
served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer from October 2015 to April 2016, and as Senior Vice President, Finance, and
Chief Accounting Officer for the Company from February 2014 to October 2015. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Grafton served as
Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from 2011-2014 and as Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting
Officer from 2006-2011 at Best Buy Co., Inc., a retailer of consumer electronics and related products.
(6) Michele A. Murphy has notified the Company of her intention to retire as Executive Vice President, Human Resources and
Communications of the Company effective May 20, 2016.
(7) Prior to joining the Company in 2011, Michael Stigers served as President of PW Supermarkets, Inc., an operator of retail grocery
supermarkets, from 2006-2010 and as Chief Executive Officer in 2010. In April 2011, creditors filed a petition for involuntary
bankruptcy against PW Supermarkets in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California to force PW Supermarkets into a
Chapter 7 liquidation. The bankruptcy case was transferred to the Oakland Division in October 2014 and continues to be an active case
in that court.
(8) Mark Van Buskirk was appointed Executive Vice President, Merchandising, Marketing, Retail & Pharmacy in March 2013. Prior to
joining the Company, Mr. Van Buskirk served as Vice President of Meat and Seafood Merchandising and Procurement at the Kroger Co.,
a retail grocery company, from 2006-2013.
(9) James Weidenheimer was appointed Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Innovation Officer in April 2016. Prior
to joining the Company, Mr. Weidenheimer served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for C&S Wholesale Grocers
from 2008 to January 2016, where Mr. Weidenheimer oversaw significant M&A activity and led the development of procurement and
distribution outsourcing plans.
(10) Rob Woseth was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer effective March 2013. Prior to joining the Company,
Mr. Woseth served as Vice President Business Development and Strategy at Albertson’s LLC from 2006-2013.
The term of office of each executive officer is from one annual meeting of the Board of Directors until the next annual meeting
of Board of Directors or until a successor is elected. There are no family relationships between or among any of the executive
officers of the Company.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Various risks and uncertainties may affect the Company’s business. Any of the risks described below or elsewhere in this
Annual Report on Form 10-K or the Company’s other SEC filings may have a material impact on the Company’s business,
financial condition or results of operations.
The Company’s Wholesale, Save-A-Lot and Retail segments face intense competition, and the Company’s failure to
compete successfully may adversely affect its sales, financial condition and operating results.
The grocery business is intensely competitive, and the recent and ongoing consolidation within the grocery industry is expected
to result in increased competition, including from some competitors that have greater financial, marketing and other resources
than the Company. The grocery industry is characterized by relatively small operating margins, and as competition in certain
areas intensifies and as the industry continues to consolidate, the Company’s results of operations may be negatively impacted
through a loss of sales and reductions in gross margins. Where necessary, in order to compete effectively with competitors, the
Company may need to lower its prices on goods for sale and services. The Company may also need to extend additional credit
to its Wholesale customers, including through loans, market support or guarantees, and while the Company seeks to obtain
security interests and other credit support in connection with the financial accommodations the Company extends, such
collateral may not be sufficient to cover its exposure. The nature and extent to which the Company’s competitors implement
various pricing, credit support and promotional activities in response to increasing competition and the Company’s response, or
failure to respond effectively, to these competitive actions can adversely affect profitability and the Company’s operating
results.
The Company’s Wholesale segment is primarily wholesale distribution and services, which competes with traditional grocery
wholesalers as well as specialty wholesalers on the basis of price, quality, assortment, schedule and reliability of deliveries and
services, service fees and distribution facility locations. The profitability of the Wholesale segment is dependent upon sufficient
volume to support the Company’s operating infrastructure, which is dependent on the ability of the Company to attract new
customers and retain existing customers, as well as the ability of the Company and its independent retail customers to