United Natural Foods Inc (NYSE:UNFI) Q4 2020 Earnings Conference Call - Final Transcript

as a seller and a buyer looking at your EBITDA margins, would they need to hit that with additional distributions, seeming you didn't attain a distribution?

No. So, that's a true EBITDA number. So, if we were to look to sell that business today, that would be the EBITDA that would be -- that we would sell it from. And the other comment that I would make about retail, just to remind everybody, that we do have some very valuable retail real estate. In other words, corporately-owned stores that, when the time is right, we'll also sell with the sale of the banner.

Okay. So, it doesn't -- you are burdening with distribution. And then the second question just in terms of modeling, can you give a color on what comps were for retail in 4Q of '19?

John, do you have that off hand, I don't?

Yeah. Q4 of '19 for -- Karen when you ask that question, you are talking sales?

Index. Index sales.

No. Just to get a sense of what the two-year comp is, right, because obviously 21% is a very strong comp, but I'm trying to get that in -- from a two-year basis.

Okay. So they are going to be a comp from '19 -- we don't -- for '19 with the '18 data post acquisition, we don't have the '18 data.

Okay. Okay. And then I guess switching gears to the top line. Obviously, you gave us where you were trending in August. And over -- and this is more of a chain comment, but you gave us where you were trending on the top line and that was that 11% number and you saw some deceleration. Maybe can you just talk in terms of where you reported the quarter? So, I guess, the first question is, where did you see the deceleration most prominently and then where are you trending in the quarter to date on top line?

Well, let me take the first, cut it in, and then I'll turn it over to Chris. So, again, in our chain number, we still have some of those -- couple of those bankrupt customers in there that we're not getting the revenue from. We are also seeing some retailers that are negatively impacted by COVID. In other words, those retailers that are heavily focused on ball [Phonetic] prepared foods. Those categories that are just not selling. Obviously, foodservice and military are still fairly negative even though foodservice has come back a bit. There's certainly no inflation in the numbers. There is no promo and we don't expect to see that. So, I think those are the primary drivers in that 8% number. Chris?

No, that's good, Steve. I mean, look at the general market dynamics as well. If you look at the quarter in its entirety from May through July, even if you look at retail comps that are reported out there, there's definitely been a deceleration across the entire industry. But what