EXHIBIT 99.1

ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL INC. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER NET INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS OF $1.78 PER DILUTED SHARE, INCLUDING $0.25 PER DILUTED SHARE FOR A NET TAX BENEFIT, ON SALES OF $1.61 BILLION

GLENVIEW, IL, October 25, 2011 – Anixter International Inc. (NYSE: AXE), a leading global distributor of communication and security products, electrical and electronic wire & cable, fasteners and other small parts, today reported results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

The previously announced strategic divestiture of the Anixter Aerospace Hardware Division closed on August 26, 2011. The sales price of $155.0 million resulted in net proceeds of $137.6 million after adjusting for amounts placed in escrow, working capital adjustments and legal and advisory fees. As a result of the sale, the company reported a net loss from discontinued operations in the third quarter of $18.1 million, which included a net loss on the sale of $21.0 million primarily due to the write-off of goodwill of $19.0 million. The results for the Aerospace Hardware business have been reported as discontinued operations for both current and prior periods. The company will post the revised historical performance by quarter on the Investor Page of its website. All commentary in this release reflects continuing operations only unless otherwise noted.

Financial Results From Continuing Operations

(In millions, except per share amounts)

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Third Quarter Highlights

Exclusive of the above items, sales increased by 13 percent organically.

Third Quarter Sales Trends

Commenting on third quarter sales trends, Robert Eck, President and CEO, stated, “We were pleased that all of our business segments and end markets delivered strong year-on-year growth resulting in our sixth consecutive quarter of growth. In addition to the 20 percent year-on-year sales increase, we also achieved a 3 percent sequential increase in sales compared to the second quarter.”

“Our strategic initiatives continue to fuel our sales growth in each of our end markets around the world. These efforts have once again delivered well-balanced sales performance across our geographic reporting segments with North America, Europe and Emerging Markets all delivering

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excellent year-on-year sales increases of approximately 20 percent,” continued Eck. “Sales growth by end market was also robust, with both our Electrical Wire & Cable and OEM Supply end markets delivering approximately 25 percent improvement year-on-year. In addition, the Enterprise Cabling and Security end market grew by 16 percent during the quarter, with approximately one-fourth of that growth coming from the Clark acquisition.”

Third Quarter Operating Results

“The sales momentum that we have continued to build on throughout the past several quarters is reflected in our strong operating profit performance,” commented Eck. “Specifically, we are encouraged by the strong third quarter operating margin of 6.3 percent given the current uncertain economic environment. In addition, third quarter operating expenses of $260.3 million were 16.2 percent of sales compared to 17.7 percent in the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of the Clark acquisition of $8.5 million and exchange rates of $8.5 million, year-on-year operating expenses increased by only $5.0 million or 2 percent, on a 13 percent organic increase in sales, demonstrating the leverage in our operating structure. Expense increases were primarily the result of higher volumes.”

Company-wide operating margin improved to 6.3 percent from 5.3 percent in the year ago quarter. Sequentially, operating margin improved by 40 basis points. This performance resulted in an incremental operating profit leverage of 12 percent on the increased year-on-year sales. The strong operating margin improvement was driven by better operating leverage on higher sales, more than offsetting a mix-driven lower gross margin.

North America operating margin improved from 6.6 percent in the year ago quarter to 7.5 percent in the current quarter. The 90 basis point improvement was driven primarily by strong operating expense leverage on higher sales volumes. This resulted in a 12 percent incremental operating profit on the increased year-on-year sales. Sequentially, operating margin improved by 30 basis points driven by operating expense leverage on the higher sales.

Europe operating margin of 2.0 percent in the current quarter reflected a 260 basis point improvement over the prior year quarter. The strong year-on-year improvement was driven by a 20 basis point improvement in gross margin combined with a 240 basis point improvement in operating expense as a percent of sales. This resulted in a 15 percent incremental operating profit on the increased year-on-year sales. Sequentially, operating margin improved by 40 basis points.

Emerging Markets operating margin of 5.7 percent in the current quarter declined by 70 basis points from the prior year quarter primarily driven by lower gross margin due to product and customer mix. In addition, operating expenses were impacted by investments made to pursue organic growth initiatives. Sequentially, operating margin improved by 110 basis points.

Cash Flow and Leverage

“Due to the incremental working capital requirements to support 20 percent sales growth in the current quarter, net cash generated from operations was $18.7 million,” commented Ted Dosch, Executive Vice President-Finance. “In the prior year quarter, cash flow generated from operations was $54.2 million, but that was in the context of a slower revenue growth period with lower working capital requirements. We expect to continue generating positive cash flow but at a rate lower than last year as we continue to fund the working capital requirements of a growing business.”

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“During the most recent quarter the remaining $11.6 million in accreted value of the 3.25% zero coupon convertible notes were converted,” said Dosch. “In addition, $108 million of the proceeds from the sale of our Aerospace Hardware business was used to complete both of our previously announced share repurchase plans totaling 2 million shares. After these transactions, our financial leverage of 45.7 percent at the end of the current quarter is comfortably in our longstanding target range of 45 to 50 percent. Our strong balance sheet, along with expected positive cash flows, allows us the flexibility to support continued strong growth in the business while enabling us to pursue strategic acquisition opportunities when they arise.”

Key capital structure and credit-related statistics for the third quarter include:

Business Outlook

Eck concluded, “Continued strong sales should position us very well to further leverage our global supply chain platform through the balance of the year and as we look into 2012. While growing global markets will positively impact our business, market pressures on sovereign debt, government fiscal policies and unclear U.S. tax policies create uncertainty for future levels of corporate spending. Nevertheless, we believe that our strategic growth initiatives position us well to achieve continued strong year-on-year sales growth and operating leverage through the balance of the year. Overall, we believe that these strategic growth initiatives have driven improved market share. We expect our future growth to be fueled by adding new products to our portfolio where appropriate; developing an end market presence in either Electrical Wire & Cable or OEM Supply in countries where our current presence is large but limited primarily to the Enterprise Cabling and Security Solutions end market; and selectively expanding our geographic presence.”

Third Quarter Earnings Call

Anixter will broadcast a conference call discussing these results at 9:30 am central time on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. The call will be Webcast by CCBN and can be accessed at the investor relations portion of Anixter’s Website at www.anixter.com. The Webcast also will be available over CCBN’s Investor Distribution Network to both institutional and individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call through CCBN’s individual investor center at

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www.companyboardroom.com, or by visiting any of the investor sites in CCBN’s Individual Investor Network (such as America Online’s Personal Finance Channel and Fidelity.com). Institutional investors can access the call via CCBN’s password-protected event management site, StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com). The Webcast will be archived on all of these sites for 30 days.

About Anixter

Anixter International is a leading global distributor of communication and security products, electrical and electronic wire & cable, fasteners and other small parts. The company adds value to the distribution process by providing its customers access to 1) innovative inventory management programs, 2) more than 400,000 products and over $1 billion in inventory, 3) 225 warehouses with approximately 7 million square feet of space, and 4) locations in over 260 cities in more than 50 countries. Founded in 1957 and headquartered near Chicago, Anixter trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AXE.

Safe Harbor Statement

The statements in this news release that use such words as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “should,” “may,” “will,” or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. They are subject to a number of factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from what is indicated here. These factors include general economic conditions, the level of customer demand particularly for capital projects in the markets we serve, changes in supplier sales strategies or financial viability, political, economic or currency risks related to foreign operations, inventory obsolescence, copper price fluctuations, customer viability, risks associated with accounts receivable, the impact of regulation and regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks, potential impairment of goodwill and risks associated with integration of acquired companies. These uncertainties may cause our actual results to be materially different than those expressed in any forward looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward looking statements. Please see the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings for more information.

Additional information about Anixter is available on the Internet at

www.anixter.com

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ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

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ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

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Financial Measures That Supplement GAAP

This report includes certain financial measures computed using non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“non-GAAP”) components as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Company believes this information is useful to investors in order to provide a better understanding of the organic growth trends of the Company on a comparable basis. Management does not use these non-GAAP financial measures for any purpose other than the reason stated above.

Organic revenue growth measures revenue excluding the effects of foreign exchange, copper pricing and acquisitions for comparison of current period results with the corresponding period of the prior year. The Company believes that this measure provides management and investors with a more complete understanding of underlying operating results and trends of established, ongoing operations by excluding the effect of foreign exchange, copper pricing and acquisitions, which activities are subject to volatility and can obscure underlying trends. Management recognizes that the term “organic revenue growth” may be interpreted differently by other companies and under different circumstances. Although this may have an effect on comparability of absolute percentage growth from company to company, the Company believes that these measures are useful in assessing trends of the Company and may therefore be a useful tool in assessing period-to-period performance trends.

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