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Pet Valu urges shareholders to re-elect current board(Canada Newswire English Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Attention Business Editors MARKHAM, ON, May 6 /CNW/ - Following remarks made during the May 5, 2008 conference call to discuss first quarter financial results and other developments, Pet Valu wants to communicate the following key points to all shareholders ahead of the May 7, 2008 deadline for submission of WHITE direction/proxies and voting instruction forms to vote to re-elect the current board at Pet Valu's annual meeting to be held on May 8, 2008: << THE CURRENT BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM HAVE PROVEN THAT THEY CAN TOGETHER DELIVER EXCELLENT RESULTS, AND THEY HAVE THE SUPPORT OF EMPLOYEES, FRANCHISEES AND SUPPLIERS. - The current board and management have proven that they can work productively together. This is evidenced by Pet Valu's very strong financial performance. - Management, franchisees and former employees who hold shares have voted to re-elect the current board, and a key supplier has also indicated that the current board has industry support. - The current management team has successfully initiated several key strategic initiatives, most notably the shifting of Pet Valu's product offerings and the strengthening of Pet Valu's private label program. These initiatives have proven very successful with growth in same store sales and earnings per share, and a share price appreciation of more than 35% since the beginning of 2007. Furthermore, despite current economic conditions, Pet Valu has exhibited top quartile specialty retail financial performance with a 4-year EBITDA compounded annual growth rate of more than 25%. Pet Valu is expecting to grow by 25-30 stores this year in Canada primarily by acquisition. - As a policy matter, driven by legal concerns regarding selective disclosure, the management team had previously been instructed to remain cautious regarding extensive participation in one-on-one meetings with individual shareholders. On the conference call this morning, the management team heard the concerns of certain shareholders in this regard and we are committed to achieving a solution that will address this deficiency immediately. With respect to the specific issue raised during the conference call regarding analyst coverage, Pet Valu would welcome the opportunity to have coverage of the business and the current management team would be delighted to engage in appropriate discussions in this regard. - The current board and management team has heard the concerns about the Whitby warehouse initiative. This initiative has been deferred under the circumstances; in any event, prior to making any final decision in relation to a warehouse, the current board and management team will fully analyze the benefits and costs of such an initiative in order to determine the most appropriate way to proceed in the Company's best interests. ELECTING THE DISSIDENT SLATE NOMINATED BY GOODWOOD, INC. IS A HIGH-RISK GAMBLE WITH NO CLEAR PATH TO SUCCESS. - Goodwood has suggested that the current board, under whose direction Pet Valu continues to perform exceptionally well, should be entirely replaced with a slate of nominees having no experience with Pet Valu's business or the pet food industry and no financial stake in its success. - Goodwood has articulated various blue-sky objectives but no plan as to how they will be achieved. Goodwood's proposed growth strategy is a vague promise at best, and proposed methods of achieving such growth show a complete lack of understanding of Pet Valu's business. - Several employees and franchisees have raised concerns about a change in the board which could disrupt Pet Valu's business and established relationships. It is a high-risk gamble to replace the current board and, in so doing, risk alienating employees, franchisees, suppliers and a significant shareholder. - The current board and management team understand the strategies necessary to steer Pet Valu through uncertain economic times particularly with respect to issues such as soft commodity inflation, and turn these situations into competitive advantages for Pet Valu. By contrast, there is a risk that Pet Valu's business will falter under the control of Goodwood's dissident slate of nominees who have no experience with Pet Valu's business. DON'T TURN YOUR LOW-RISK HIGH-RETURN INVESTMENT INTO A HIGH-RISK GAMBLE - VOTE TO RE-ELECT THE CURRENT BOARD. - Vote to re-elect the current board by executing your WHITE form of direction/proxy or WHITE voting instruction form and submitting it using one of the described methods. Due to the limited time available, we recommend voting by internet, telephone or facsimile. - IT IS THE LATER-DATED DIRECTION/PROXY OR VOTING INSTRUCTION FORM THAT WILL BE COUNTED. EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY VOTED USING THE DISSIDENT PROXY, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR VOTE BY EXECUTING AND SUBMITTING YOUR WHITE FORM OF DIRECTION/PROXY OR WHITE VOTING INSTRUCTION FORM BY 5:00PM ON MAY 7, 2008. - If you have any questions about this process, you can contact Michael Fitzgerald at Pet Valu or you can call Pet Valu's proxy solicitation firm, Georgeson, toll-free at 1-866-374-9187. >> To hear the conference call in full, the playback can be accessed at (647) 436-0148 within the GTA or 1-888-203-1112 if outside the GTA, passcode number sign followed by 9441336. CORPORATE PROFILE Pet Valu is a specialty retailer and wholesaler of pet food and pet-related supplies and a franchisor of pet food and pet-related supply outlets. The TSX stock symbol for Pet Valu Canada Inc., the Corporation's publicly traded Canadian operating subsidiary, is PVC. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain information in this news release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes information concerning the Company's future financial performance, business strategy, plans, goals, objectives, business prospects and opportunities. The forward-looking information reflects predictions and does not in any way reflect a guarantee. Factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and whether such strategic initiatives will yield the expected benefits; competitive conditions in the businesses in which the Company participates; changes in consumer spending; the outcome of legal proceedings as they arise; general economic conditions and normal business uncertainty; the availability of suitable store locations; customer preferences towards product offerings; adverse climate changes; the occurrence of a pandemic or other catastrophic event which could create shortages of labour, products or services required to operate the business profitably; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; changes in the Company's relationship with its merchandise and service suppliers; interest rate fluctuations and other changes in borrowing costs; and changes in laws, rules and regulations applicable to the Company or the markets in which the Company operates. The Company cautions that this is not an exhaustive list of factors that may affect the forward-looking information in this news release. Potential investors and readers are urged to give careful consideration to all of these factors in evaluating any forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. While the Company believes that its forecasts and assumptions are reasonable, results or events predicted in this forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. Michael Fitzgerald, Secretary, (905) 946-1200, extension 3503 Copyright ? 2008 Canada Newswire Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |