SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 ---------------------- FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) June 24, 2002 UNIFIRST CORPORATION -------------------------------------------------- (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) Massachusetts 1-8504 04-2103460 - ---------------------------- ------------------------ ------------------- (State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer of Incorporation) Identification No.) 68 Jonspin Road, Wilmington, Massachusetts 01887 -------------------------------------------------- (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (978) 658-8888 --------------
ITEM 4. CHANGES IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT. On June 24, 2002, the Board of Directors of UniFirst Corporation (the "Company") decided to no longer engage Arthur Andersen LLP ("Arthur Andersen") as its independent auditors and instead engage Ernst & Young LLP ("Ernst & Young") to serve as the Company's independent auditors for the year ending August 31, 2002. The decision by the Board of Directors to replace Arthur Andersen with Ernst & Young was based on the recommendation of the Company's Audit Committee. Arthur Andersen's audit reports on the Company's consolidated financial statements for each of the years ended August 25, 2001 and August 26, 2000 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. During the years ended August 25, 2001 and August 26, 2000 and through the filing date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, there were no disagreements with Arthur Andersen on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure which, if not resolved to Arthur Andersen's satisfaction, would have caused them to make reference to the subject matter in connection with their report on the Company's consolidated financial statements for such years, and there were no reportable events as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K. The Company provided Arthur Andersen with a copy of the foregoing disclosures. Attached as Exhibit 16 is a copy of Arthur Andersen's letter, dated June 26, 2002, stating its agreement with such statements. During the years ended August 25, 2001 and August 26, 2000 and through the filing date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the Company did not consult Ernst & Young with respect to the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Company's consolidated financial statements, or any other matters or reportable events as set forth in Items 304(a)(2)(i) and (ii) of Regulation S-K. ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS. (c) Exhibits EXHIBIT NO. DESCRIPTION ----------- ----------- 16 Letter from Arthur Andersen LLP to the Securities and Exchange Commission dated June 26, 2002. 99.1 Press release of the Company dated June 26, 2002
SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. UNIFIRST CORPORATION Date: June 26, 2002 By: /s/ Ronald D. Croatti -------------------------------------- Name: Ronald D. Croatti Title: President and Chief Executive Officer By: /s/ John B. Bartlett -------------------------------------- Name: John B. Bartlett Title: Senior Vice President
EXHIBIT INDEX EXHIBIT NO. DESCRIPTION ----------- ----------- 16 Letter from Arthur Andersen LLP to the Securities and Exchange Commission dated June 26, 2002. 99.1 Press release of the Company dated June 26, 2002.
Exhibit 16 June 26, 2002 Office of the Chief Accountant Securities and Exchange Commission 450 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20549 Dear Sir or Madam: The representations made in this letter are based solely on discussions with and representations from the engagement partner and manager on the audits of the financial statements of this registrant for the two most recent fiscal years. Those individuals are no longer with Arthur Andersen LLP. We have read the first four paragraphs of Item 4 included in the Form 8-K dated June 24, 2002 of UniFirst Corporation to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and have found no basis for disagreement with the statements contained therein. Very truly yours, Arthur Andersen LLP cc: Mr. John B. Bartlett, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, UniFirst Corporation
Exhibit 99.1 [LOGO] NEWS RELEASE UNIFIRST CORPORATION 978-658-8888 Contact: John Bartlett Senior Vice President UNIFIRST CORPORATION APPOINTS ERNST & YOUNG LLP AS INDEPENDENT AUDITOR WILMINGTON, MASS, JUNE 26, 2002 - UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Ernst & Young LLP as its independent auditor for the year ending August 31, 2002. The appointment of Ernst & Young was made after careful consideration by the Board of Directors and its Audit Committee. Ernst & Young LLP replaces Arthur Andersen LLP as the Company's independent auditors. The decision to change auditors was not the result of any disagreement between the Company and Arthur Andersen on any matter of accounting principles or practice, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure. Arthur Andersen has provided excellent service with a high degree of professionalism, and UniFirst has valued its relationship with Arthur Andersen for over 30 years. UniFirst will release its financial results for its third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2002, originally scheduled for July 2, 2002, on July 11, 2002. A webcast will be held at 4:00 p.m. on July 11, 2002. A simultaneous live webcast of the call will be available over the Internet at http://www.streetevents.com. Replays of the webcast will be available until August 1, 2002. To access the webcast re-play, please visit http://www.unifirst.com. UniFirst Corporation is one of the largest providers of workplace uniforms and protective clothing in North America. The Company employs over 7,500 team partners who serve more than 150,000 customer locations in 45 states, Canada and Europe from 150 manufacturing, distribution and customer service facilities.