SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Jul. 28, 2012

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

Inventories and Cost of Sales

Inventories consist primarily of finished goods and are stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost being determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. Allowances received from suppliers are recorded as reductions in cost of sales upon the sale of the related products.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Equipment under capital leases is stated at the lower of the present value of minimum lease payments at the inception of the lease or the fair value of the asset. Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment is computed on a straight-line basis, over the estimated useful lives of the assets or, when applicable, the life of the lease, whichever is shorter. Applicable interest charges incurred during the construction of new facilities may be capitalized as one of the elements of cost and amortized over the assets' estimated useful lives. There was no interest capitalized during the year ended July 28, 2012 and July 30, 2011.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company includes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

Long-Lived Assets

Management reviews long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, for indicators of impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Cash flows expected to be generated by the related assets are estimated over the assets' useful lives based on updated projections. If the evaluation indicates that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable, the potential impairment is measured based on a projected discounted cash flow model.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired in a business combination. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized. Intangible assets with definite lives are amortized on a straight-line basis over the following lives:

Customer relationships	7-10 years
Trademarks and tradenames	4-10 years

        Goodwill is assigned to the reporting units that are expected to benefit from the synergies of the business combination. The Company is required to test goodwill for impairment at least annually, and between annual tests if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. During the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year, the Company performed a test for goodwill impairment as a result of the expected change in future cash flows for certain of its branded product lines, and determined that no impairment existed. The Company has elected to perform its annual tests for indications of goodwill impairment during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year.

        In accordance with ASU 2011-08, the Company is allowed to perform a qualitative assessment unless it believes it is more likely than not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than the carrying value. The thresholds used by the Company for this determination in fiscal 2012 were for any reporting units that (1) have passed their previous two-step test with a margin of calculated fair value versus carrying value of at least 10%, (2) have had no significant changes to their working capital structure, and (3) have current year income streams which are at least 85% of prior year amounts. The Company's wholesale distribution reporting unit and its Earth Origins Market reporting unit met this threshold. As each reporting unit's net income has not decreased more than 15% and their working capital intensity has not increased significantly, no quantitative testing is required. For the remaining reporting units, the Company tests for goodwill impairment at the reporting unit level based on future expected cash flows. The Company's reporting units are at or one level below the operating segment level. Approximately 91% of the Company's goodwill is within its wholesale reporting unit. For those reporting units that did not meet the threshold above, or that had significant changes to their cash flow profiles, the Company has performed a two-step goodwill impairment analysis. The first step, used to identify potential impairment, involves comparing each reporting unit's estimated fair value to its carrying value, including goodwill. Each reporting unit regularly prepares discrete operating forecasts and uses these forecasts as the basis for the assumptions used in the discounted cash flow analysis. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is considered not to be impaired. If the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value, there is an indication of potential impairment and the second step is performed to measure the amount of impairment. If required, the second step involves calculating an implied fair value of goodwill for each reporting unit for which the first step indicated potential impairment. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in a manner similar to the amount of goodwill calculated in a business combination, by measuring the excess of the estimated fair value of the reporting unit, as determined in the first step, over the aggregate estimated fair values of the individual assets, liabilities and identifiable. If the implied fair value of goodwill exceeds the carrying value of goodwill assigned to the reporting unit, there is no impairment. If the carrying value of goodwill assigned to a reporting unit exceeds the implied fair value of the goodwill, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess.

        Intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment at least annually and between annual tests if events occur or circumstances change that would indicate that the value of the asset may be impaired. Impairment is measured as the difference between the fair value of the asset and its carrying value. As of July 28, 2012, the Company's annual assessment of goodwill for each of its reporting units and its indefinite lived intangible assets indicated that no impairment existed.

Revenue Recognition and Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company records revenue upon delivery of products. Revenues are recorded net of applicable sales discounts and estimated sales returns. Sales incentives provided to customers are accounted for as reductions in revenue as the related revenue is recorded. The Company's sales are primarily to customers located throughout the United States and Canada.

        Whole Foods Market was the Company's largest customer in each fiscal year presented. Whole Foods Market accounted for approximately 36%, 36%, and 35% of the Company's net sales for the years ended July 28, 2012, July 30, 2011 and July 31, 2010. There were no other customers that individually generated 10% or more of the Company's net sales.

        The Company analyzes customer creditworthiness, accounts receivable balances, payment history, payment terms and historical bad debt levels when evaluating the adequacy of its allowance for doubtful accounts. In instances where a reserve has been recorded for a particular customer, future sales to the customer are conducted using either cash-on-delivery terms, or the account is closely monitored so that as agreed upon payments are received, orders are released; a failure to pay results in held or cancelled orders.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amounts of the Company's financial instruments including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and certain accrued expenses approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

        The following estimated fair value amounts have been determined by the Company using available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. Refer to footnote (8), Fair Value Measurements, for additional information regarding the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of notes payable and long-term debt are based on the instruments' interest rate, terms, maturity date and collateral, if any, in comparison to the Company's incremental borrowing rate for similar financial instruments. However, considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the estimates presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company could realize in a current market exchange.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported therein. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in future periods may be based on amounts that differ from those estimates.

Notes Receivable, Trade

The Company issues trade notes receivable to certain customers under two basic circumstances; inventory purchases for initial store openings and overdue accounts receivable. Notes issued in connection with store openings are generally receivable over a period not to exceed twelve months. Notes issued in connection with overdue accounts receivable may extend for periods greater than one year. All notes are issued at a market interest rate and contain certain guarantees and collateral assignments in favor of the Company.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company adopted ASC 718, Stock Compensation ("ASC 718") effective August 1, 2005. ASC 718 requires the recognition of the fair value of share-based compensation in net income. The Company has three share-based employee compensation plans, which are described more fully in Note 3. Share-based compensation consists of stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, performance shares and performance units. Stock options are granted to employees and directors at exercise prices equal to the fair market value of the Company's stock at the dates of grant. Generally, stock options, restricted stock awards and restricted stock units granted to employees vest ratably over four years from the grant date and grants to its Board of Directors vest ratably over two years with one third vesting immediately. Beginning in fiscal 2008, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer has been granted performance shares and performance units which have vested in accordance with the terms of the related Performance Share and Performance Unit agreements. During fiscal 2012, the Company granted performance-based stock units to its executive officers that will vest if the Company achieves certain performance metrics as of and for the year ended August 3, 2013. The Company recognizes share-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the individual grants, which generally equals the vesting period.

        ASC 718 also requires that compensation expense be recognized for only the portion of share-based awards that are expected to vest. Therefore, we apply estimated forfeiture rates that are derived from historical employee and director termination activity to reduce the amount of compensation expense recognized. If the actual forfeitures differ from the estimate, additional adjustments to compensation expense may be required in future periods.

        The Company receives an income tax deduction for restricted stock awards and restricted stock units when they vest and for non-qualified stock options exercised by employees equal to the excess of the fair market value of its common stock on the vesting or exercise date over the exercised price. Excess tax benefits (tax benefits resulting from tax deductions in excess of compensation cost recognized) are presented as a cash inflow provided by financing activities in the accompanying consolidated statement of cash flows.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adding the dilutive potential common shares to the weighted average number of common shares that were outstanding during the period. For purposes of the diluted earnings per share calculation, outstanding stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and performance-based awards, if applicable, are considered common stock equivalents, using the treasury stock method.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) is reported in accordance with ASC 200, Comprehensive Income, and includes net income and the change in other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of the net change in fair value of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges, as well as foreign currency translation related to the translation of UNFI Canada from the functional currency of Canadian dollars to U.S. dollar reporting currency. For all periods presented, the Company displays comprehensive income (loss) and its components as part of the consolidated statements of stockholders' equity.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company is exposed to market risks arising from changes in interest rates, fuel costs, and with the creation and operation of UNFI Canada, foreign currency exchange rates. The Company uses derivatives principally in the management of interest rate and fuel price exposure. However, during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2010, the Company entered into a forward contract to exchange United States dollars for Canadian dollars in anticipation of the Canadian dollars needed to fund the acquisition of the Canadian food distribution assets of SunOpta, Inc. The Company does not utilize derivatives that contain leverage features. For derivative transactions accounted for as hedges, on the date the Company enters into the derivative transaction, the exposure is identified. The Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking the hedge transaction. In this documentation, the Company specifically identifies the asset, liability, firm commitment, forecasted transaction, or net investment that has been designated as the hedged item and states how the hedging instrument is expected to reduce the risks related to the hedged item. The Company measures effectiveness of its hedging relationships both at hedge inception and on an ongoing basis as needed. As of July 28, 2012, the Company was not a party to any derivative financial instruments.

Shipping and Handling Fees and Costs

The Company includes shipping and handling fees billed to customers in net sales. Shipping and handling costs associated with inbound freight are generally recorded in cost of sales, whereas shipping and handling costs for selecting, quality assurance, and outbound transportation are recorded in operating expenses.

Reserves for Self Insurance

The Company is primarily self-insured for workers' compensation, and general and automobile liability insurance. It is the Company's policy to record the self-insured portion of workers' compensation and automobile liabilities based upon actuarial methods to estimate the future cost of claims and related expenses that have been reported but not settled, and that have been incurred but not yet reported. Any projection of losses concerning workers' compensation and automobile liability is subject to a considerable degree of variability. Among the causes of this variability are unpredictable external factors affecting litigation trends, benefit level changes and claim settlement patterns.

Operating Lease Expenses

The Company records lease expense via the straight-line method. For leases with step rent provisions whereby the rental payments increase over the life of the lease, and for leases where the Company receives rent-free periods, the Company recognizes expense based on a straight-line basis based on the total minimum lease payments to be made over the expected lease term.