sptn-s8.htm

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

All information required by Part I to be contained in the prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with the explanatory note to Part I of Form S-8 and Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). This Registration Statement on Form S-8 is filed by SpartanNash Company (the “Registrant”) regarding the SpartanNash Company Associate Stock Purchase Plan of 2022 (the “Plan”). Documents containing the information required by Part I of the Registration Statement will be sent or given to Plan participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.

The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference in this Registration Statement the following documents and information previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”):

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the respective dates of filing of such documents (such documents, and the documents enumerated above, being hereinafter referred to as “Incorporated Documents”).

Any statement contained in an Incorporated Document shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed Incorporated Document modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless specifically stated to the contrary, none of the information disclosed by the Registrant under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits under Item 9.01, that the Registrant may from time to time furnish to the Commission will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this Registration Statement.

Michigan law permits, and Article VI of the Registrant’s Restated Articles of Incorporation require, indemnification of the Registrant’s directors and executive officers in a variety of circumstances, which may include liabilities under the Securities Act. The Registrant’s Restated Articles of Incorporation provide that directors and executive officers shall be indemnified as of right, and shall be entitled to the advancement of expenses, to the fullest extent now or hereafter permitted by law in connection with any threatened, pending, or completed civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit, or proceeding arising out of their service to the Registrant or one of its subsidiaries, or to another organization at the request of the Registrant or one of its subsidiaries. Persons who are not directors or executive officers of the Registrant may be similarly indemnified in respect of such service to the extent authorized at any time by the Registrant’s board of directors. Furthermore, the Registrant’s Restated Articles of Incorporation provide that the Registrant may purchase and maintain insurance to protect itself and any such director, officer, or other person against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in respect of such service, whether or not the Registrant would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability by law or under its Restated Articles of Incorporation. Pursuant to this authority, the Registrant maintains such insurance on behalf of its officers and directors.

The Registrant’s Bylaws contain extensive provisions concerning indemnification. Among other things, the Registrant’s Bylaws provide that the Registrant shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant), whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative and whether formal or informal, by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Registrant or is or was serving at the request of the Registrant as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, or agent of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other entity, if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant or its shareholders and, with respect to a criminal action or proceeding, the person had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. With respect to actions by or in the right of the Registrant, the Registrant’s Bylaws provide that the Registrant shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any such proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant or its shareholders; however, indemnification is not allowed with respect to a claim, issue, or matter in which the person shall have been found liable to the Registrant, except to the extent authorized by statute. The Registrant’s Bylaws also contain provisions concerning the manner in which the board determines whether a person is entitled to indemnification, the advancement of expenses, other indemnification agreements, insurance and certain definitions and interpretive provisions.

In addition, the Registrant’s ability to indemnify its directors and officers or other persons is determined, to an extent, by the Michigan Business Corporations Act, as amended (“MBCA”). The following is a summary of the applicable provisions of the MBCA:

Sections 561 through 571 of the MBCA contain provisions governing the indemnification of directors and officers by Michigan corporations. That statute provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to a threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative and whether formal or informal (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee or agent of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, whether for profit or not, against expenses (including attorney fees), judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with the action, suit or proceeding, if the person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation or its shareholders, and with respect to a criminal action or proceeding, if the person had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

The termination of an action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, does not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation or its shareholders, and, with respect to a criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.

Indemnification of expenses (including attorneys’ fees) and amounts paid in settlement is permitted in derivative actions, except that indemnification is not allowed for any claim, issue or matter in which such person has been found liable to the corporation unless and to the extent that a court decides indemnification is proper. To the extent that a director or officer has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of an action, suit or proceeding, or in defense of a claim, issue or matter in the action, suit or proceeding, he or she shall be indemnified against actual and reasonable expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by him or her in connection with the action, suit or proceeding, and any action, suit or proceeding brought to enforce the mandatory indemnification provided under the MBCA. The MBCA permits partial indemnification for a portion of expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement to the extent the person is entitled to indemnification for less than the total amount.

Under the MBCA, a corporation may pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses incurred by a director, officer, employee or agent who is a party or threatened to be made a party to an action, suit or proceeding in advance of final disposition of the proceeding if (i) the person furnishes the corporation a written affirmation of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct, and (ii) the person furnishes the corporation a written undertaking to repay the advance if it is ultimately determined that he or she did not meet the standard of conduct, which undertaking need not be secured.

The indemnification provisions of the MBCA are not exclusive of the rights to indemnification under a corporation’s articles of incorporation or bylaws or by agreement. The indemnification provided for under the MBCA continues as to a person who ceases to be a director, officer, employee or agent.

Exhibit No.		Description

4.1		Restated Articles of Incorporation of SpartanNash Company, as amended. Previously filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 15, 2017. Incorporated herein by reference.

4.2		Bylaws of SpartanNash Company, as amended. Previously filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. Incorporated herein by reference.

5.1*		Legal Opinion of Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

23.1*		Consent of Warner Norcross + Judd LLP (included in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1)

23.2*		Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

24.1*		Power of Attorney (contained in signature page to this Registration Statement)

99.1*		SpartanNash Company Associate Stock Purchase Plan of 2022.

107*		Filing Fee Table.

*	Filed herewith.

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Grand Rapids, State of Michigan, on the 30th day of June, 2022.

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Tony B. Sarsam and Jason Monaco and each of them his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution in each of them for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, and in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any applicable securities exchange or securities self-regulatory body, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their or his or her substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

Signature	Title	Date


/s/ Tony B. Sarsam	President, Chief Executive Officer and Director	June 30, 2022
Tony B. Sarsam	(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Jason Monaco	Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer	June 30, 2022
Jason Monaco	(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ M. Shân Atkins	Director	June 30, 2022
M. Shân Atkins

/s/ Douglas A. Hacker	Chairman of the Board	June 30, 2022
Douglas A. Hacker

/s/ Matthew M. Mannelly	Director	June 30, 2022
Matthew M. Mannelly

/s/ Julien R. Mininberg	Director	June 30, 2022
Julien R. Mininberg

/s/ Jaymin B. Patel	Director	June 30, 2022
Jaymin B. Patel

/s/ Hawthorne L. Proctor	Director	June 30, 2022
Hawthorne L. Proctor

/s/ Pamela S. Puryear	Director	June 30, 2022
Pamela S. Puryear

/s/ William R. Voss	Director	June 30, 2022
William R. Voss

Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐

Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☐

		Emerging growth company	☐

SpartanNash Company

By:		/s/ Tony B. Sarsam
Name		Tony B. Sarsam
Title		President and Chief Executive Officer