Business Wire, October 12, 2006, Thursday

Copyright 2006 Business Wire, Inc.
Business Wire

October 12, 2006 Thursday 11:00 AM GMT

DISTRIBUTION: Business Editors


HEADLINE: The Pantry Names Melissa Anderson Senior Vice President - Human Resources

DATELINE: SANFORD, N.C.

BODY:
The Pantry, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., today announced that it has named Melissa Anderson, to the newly created position of Senior Vice President Human Resources. Ms. Anderson joins The Pantry from International Business Machines Corp., where she progressed through a variety of increasingly challenging human resources positions during her remarkable 17-year career. For the last three years, she was the vice president of Human Resources for IBM Global Financing.
While there, she lead an international team of HR professionals responsible for creating and executing a worldwide workforce management strategy for an organization of approximately 3,500 employees. Ms. Anderson previously led IBMs human resource functions for several other U.S. locations including IBMs Silicon Valley Software Development Laboratory and IBM Austin, former headquarters to IBMs RS6000 Server Division, now branded as Series P. The Austin site was home to approximately 4,500 employees with over 30 distinct lines of business. Subsequently, Ms. Anderson became the worldwide HR director for Tivoli Software. Earlier in her career, she managed IBMs pioneering effort to create a human resources center, centralizing HR services for over 200,000 employees and retirees. Ms. Anderson earned her B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds a Master of Industrial and Labor Relations degree from Cornell University. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter J. Sodini said, We are delighted to welcome Melissa to The Pantrys senior management team. As we have in several other areas over the last 18 months, we felt we needed to upgrade our human resources capabilities by adding an executive whose talents are commensurate with the scope and importance of the function particularly in light of the growth we expect over the next few years. Melissas track record of superb performance and innovation at IBM made her an ideal candidate for this position. Headquartered in Sanford, North Carolina, The Pantry, Inc. is the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country, with net sales for fiscal 2005 of approximately $4.4 billion. As of June 29, 2006, the Company operated 1,499 stores in eleven states under select banners including Kangaroo Express(SM), our primary operating banner. The Pantrys stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well as gasoline and other ancillary services designed to appeal to the convenience needs of its customers. Statements made by the Company in this press release relating to future plans, events, or financial performance are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on the Companys current plans and expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to vary materially from the results and events anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any number of factors could affect actual results and events, including, without limitation: the ability of the Company to take advantage of expected synergies in connection with acquisitions; the actual operating results of stores acquired; the ability of the Company to integrate acquisitions into its operations; fluctuations in domestic and global petroleum and gasoline markets; changes in the competitive landscape of the convenience store industry, including gasoline stations and other non-traditional retailers located in the Companys markets; the effect of national and regional economic conditions on the convenience store industry and the markets we serve; the effect of regional weather conditions on customer traffic; financial difficulties of suppliers, including the Companys principal suppliers of gas and merchandise, and their ability to continue to supply stores; environmental risks associated with selling petroleum products; governmental regulations, including those regulating the environment; and acts of war or terrorist activity. These and other risk factors are discussed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on the Companys estimates and plans as of August 14, 2006. While the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.


CONTACT: The Pantry, Inc.CONTACT: The Pantry, Inc. Dan Kelly, 919-774-6700

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