SuperValu, Inc. was an American wholesaler and retailer of grocery products. The company, formerly

headquarter Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

ed in the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

suburb of

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...

, had been in business since 1926. It is a wholly owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of United Natural Foods (UNFI). On July 26, 2018, SuperValu announced that it had agreed to be purchased by Providence, RI-based

United Natural Foods United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) is a Providence, Rhode Island–based natural and organic food company. The largest publicly traded wholesale distributor of health and specialty food in the United States and Canada, it is Whole Foods Market ...

Inc., the largest distributor to Whole Foods Market and other natural foods stores. UNFI would pay $1.3 billion in cash and assume another $1.6 billion in SuperValu debt and liabilities. UNFI said it expects the deal to result in roughly $175 million in savings over three years and that it would divest itself of SuperValu's grocery stores. As of June 8, 2022, the SuperValu brand seems to be discontinued for everything besides some small-scale grocery stores. The distribution facility in

Hopkins, Minnesota Hopkins is a small suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, located west of Minneapolis. Hopkins was the headquarters of Minneapolis-Moline, which was a large manufacturer of tractors and agricultural equipment in the United ...

, has been rebranded to UNFI.

History

In 1870,

Hugh G. Harrison Hugh Galbraith Harrison (April 23, 1822 – August 12, 1891) was a real estate investor and banker who served as the second List of mayors of Minneapolis, mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Life and career Harrison was born in 1822 in Bellevil ...

provided the money for B.S. Bull and Company, a

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In g ...

serving Minneapolis. Though B.S. Bull and Company was short lived, its

founders Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

went on to create a similar company. In 1926, SuperValu's direct ancestor, Winston and Newell Company, was founded from the merger of Winston, Harper and Fisher and the Newell Company, two companies founded by B. S. Bull's backers. Winston and Newell was a

charter member A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

of the Independent Grocers Alliance in 1928, but left IGA in 1942 in favor of forming a "virtual chain" of independently owned stores that operated under the SuperValu and U-Save banners. However, it still serves as a supplier to many IGA stores. This concept proved to be such a success that in 1952, the company changed its name to SuperValu Inc. The name was modified to SuperValu in 1992. The company was first listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

in 1967.

Acquisitions

In 1963, the company acquired the Food Marketing Corporation of Fort Wayne, Indiana, which traced its roots to the early 1800s, as Bursley & Company. The acquisition of Food Marketing brought SuperValu into the institutional

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

. George W. McKay, The

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Food Marketing, joined SuperValu as an Executive Vice President and later as president and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of SuperValu in 1970. In 1971, the

discount store A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down cost ...

chain ShopKo was acquired by SuperValu, Inc., and was spun off in 1991 to form a separate,

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

company. SuperValu retained a 46% interest in the new company, which Shopko later purchased in 1997. SuperValu founded the clothing store

County Seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

in 1973 and sold it to

Carson Pirie Scott Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still ope ...

in 1983. In 1975, SuperValu acquired

Hornbacher's Hornbacher's is a supermarket chain that operates eight stores in Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota. Hornbacher's is a wholly owned subsidiary of St. Cloud based Coborns Inc. History In 1951, Ted Hornbacher and his ...

. In 1980, the company acquired Minnesota-based Cub Foods, which operated five stores in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

area. As of 2011, Cub is operating more than 73 stores in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In the early 1990s, SuperValu started acquiring several chains such as ''

Scott's Food & Pharmacy Scott's Food & Pharmacy was a supermarket chain in the Fort Wayne, Indiana market. The company was once a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu, but was acquired by The Kroger Co. in 2007. At the time of its purchase by Kroger, the chain had 18 ...

'' in 1991, Wetterau, Inc. and its holdings ''

Shop 'n Save Shop ’n Save was a grocery store chain in the Greater St. Louis market with 36 stores at its peak. The company, headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, was a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. SuperValu a ...

'' and ''

Save-A-Lot Save A Lot Food Stores Ltd. is an American discount supermarket chain store headquartered in St. Ann, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. It is a subsidiary of Onex Corporation with about 900 independently owned and operated stores across 32 sta ...

'' in 1992, and ''

bigg's Remke Markets is a chain of American supermarkets in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Remke Markets was founded in 1897 as a meat market in Covington, Kentucky, by William Remke, the supermarket has grown and now has 6 locations. Th ...

'' in 1994. Scotts & Biggs have been divested. Biggs was sold to Remke Markets and

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...

bought Scotts. SuperValu acquired Richfood Holdings for $1.5 billion, adding a Mid-Atlantic distribution presence and stores including ''

Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy is a supermarket chain with four independently owned stores, all of which are in Virginia. At its peak, Farm Fresh called itself "Virginia's Grocery Store" because it had stores spanning the state. Its headquarters were ...

'', ''

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, also known as Shoppers Food Warehouse, is a chain of 22 supermarkets located in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas. Shoppers has fresh produce, Swift Angus beef, Smithfield natural pork, all-natural ...

'', and ''Metro''. In 2003, SuperValu acquired the former Midwest operations of

Fleming Companies Fleming Companies was founded as Lux Mercantile in Topeka, Kansas, in 1915 by O. A. Fleming, Gene Wilson and Samuel Lux. In 1921 the company's name was changed to Fleming-Wilson, and in 1941, the company name was changed to The Fleming Company, ...

from

C&S Wholesale Grocers C&S Wholesale Grocers is a national wholesale grocery supply company in the United States, based in Keene, New Hampshire. In 2021 it was the eighth-largest privately held company in the United States, as listed by Forbes. C&S owns the Piggly Wi ...

, including the Sentry Foods and Festival Foods brands. On January 23, 2006, SuperValu announced that it, along with

CVS Corporation CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance provi ...

and a collection of investors led by Cerberus Group, agreed to acquire

Albertsons, Inc. Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...

for $9.7 billion. The acquisition was completed on June 2, 2006. SuperValu acquired over 2150 stores in the deal including: *''

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...

'' (134 locations) (sold to Cerberus) *''Acme Express'', ''Jewel Express'', and ''Albertsons Express'' (107 fuel centers) (units were divested to various operators) *''

Albertsons Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...

'' (564 locations) (sold to Cerberus) *''

Bristol Farms Bristol Farms Inc. is an upscale grocery store chain in California, United States. Founded in Los Angeles County, Bristol Farms operates 19 stores: 14 as Bristol Farm locations and 5 branded as Lazy Acres Markets throughout Southern California ...

'' (15 locations) (later sold off) *'' Jewel'' and ''Jewel-Osco'' (198 locations sold to Cerberus) *'' Lazy Acres Market'' (1 location) (later sold off) *''Max Foods'' (3 locations) (later rebranded '' Lucky'') *'' Osco Pharmacy'' and ''Sav-on Pharmacy'' (906 pharmacies) (Stand-alones sold to CVS) *''

'' (2 locations franchised by Shaw's) *''

Shaw's Shaw's and Star Market are two American supermarket chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 150 total stores; 129 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massac ...

'' (188 locations) (sold to Cerberus) *''Star Market'' (20 locations) (7 re-branded Shaw's) (sold to Cerberus) In 2009, former

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

Craig Herkert took over for Jeff Noddle as CEO of SuperValu. On January 6, 2011, SuperValu announced it would close 20 underperforming stores. On January 11, 2011, SuperValu reported a

loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

of $202 million for the

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

;

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

also fell 6% to $8.67 billion.

Stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...

s fell 12

percent In mathematics, a percentage (from la, per centum, "by a hundred") is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", although the abbreviations "pct.", "pct" and sometimes "pc" are also use ...

to $7.52 per share. In September 2011, SuperValu announced the sale of all but 27 of its fuel centers to several

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

chains, including

Tesoro Tesoro or El Tesoro may refer to: People * Ashley Tesoro (born 1983), American actress, model, and singer ** Tesoro Ministry Foundation, a charity *Donya Tesoro (born 1991), a Filipina politician *Giuliana Tesoro (1921–2002), Italian-born Ame ...

Holiday Stationstores Holiday Stationstores is a chain of gasoline and convenience stores in the United States. It is part of the second largest (a subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard) convenience store chain in the world, with over 500 locations in 10 states (Alim ...

Couche-Tard Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., or simply Couche-Tard, is a Canadian multinational operator of convenience stores. The company has 15,000 stores across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuani ...

(which operates

Circle K Circle K Stores, Inc. is a Canadian chain of convenience stores headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It is owned by the multinational company Couche-Tard. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1 ...

Stores), and Stinker Stores. The company announced that it was seeking buyers for the remaining fuel centers as well. In 2012, SuperValu operated 2,505 food and food/

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

combination stores, 878 in-store

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

, and 117

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

centers and served as primary

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

to an additional 2,200 stores. SuperValu also supplied a network of independent retailers (often found in smaller

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

) that sometimes use the SuperValu name. However, these stores were not owned by the company. SuperValu also franchised the Cub Foods and Save-A-Lot brands to independent retailers. The company operated on a

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

effective Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression. Etymology The ori ...

and efficient food distribution, conducting its retail food operations through a total of 2,349 retail food stores that were supplied by 32 distribution centers. On July 11, 2012, after the close of

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...

, SuperValu reported

net sales In bookkeeping, accounting, and financial accounting, net sales are operating revenues earned by a company for selling its products or rendering its services. Also referred to as revenue, they are reported directly on the income statement as ''Sal ...

of $10.6 billion and

net earnings In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization ...

of $41 million for the first quarter of

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

2013, compared to net sales of $11.1 billion and net earnings for $74 million for the year-earlier period. Those results sent SuperValu shares down some 45% after the start of trading on July 12, 2012, and hurt performance of other outstanding SuperValu debt, including its

high yield In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...

bonds and CDS (

credit default swap A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial swap agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of a debt default (by the debtor) or other credit event. That is, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer against som ...

). On July 30, 2012, Craig Herkert was let go as CEO of SuperValu, replaced with Wayne Sales. Sales was CEO of

Canadian Tire Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...

from 2000 to 2006. In January 2013, the company announced it was selling the

Acme Markets Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in t ...

, and

Jewel-Osco Jewel-Osco is a regional supermarket chain in the Chicago metropolitan area, headquartered in Itasca, a western suburb. In 2007, the company had 188 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest ...

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

and their remaining Albertsons stores to

Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...

for $100 million in

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

with Cerberus assuming $3.2 billion in existing

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

. SuperValu would keep its Cub, Farm Fresh,

and Shop ‘n Save

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

s as well as its

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

supply operation while the Acme, Shaw's,

Star Market Star Market is a New England chain of supermarkets based in Greater Boston. It was owned by the Mugar family and started in 1915. The company was sold to The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1964 and later to Investcorp, which in turn sold the chain to ...

, and Jewel-Osco stores were reunited with Albertsons. The deal closed March 21, 2013. On March 14, 2018 Supervalu announced it would be closing 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh locations, selling 18 to Kroger and 3 to Food Lion. On January 13, 2013, Sam Duncan, who had retired as CEO of

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...

in 2011, was named CEO of SuperValu. Duncan announced his retirement in October 2015. In July 2016, it was announced that SuperValu had entered into a purchase agreement with

Ahold Koninklijke Ahold N.V. was a Dutch multinational retail company based in Zaandam, Netherlands. It merged with Belgium-based Delhaize Group in 2016 to form Ahold Delhaize. History Growth in the Netherlands The company started in 1887, when Al ...

and

Delhaize Group Delhaize Group SA (, ) was a Belgian multinational retail company headquartered in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Brussels, Belgium, and operated in seven countries and on three continents. The principal activity of Delhaize Group was the operation of f ...

for 22

Food Lion Food Lion is an American regional grocery store chain headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina, that operates over 1100 supermarkets in 10 states of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States (Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North ...

locations in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

as part of the

divestiture In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...

of stores to gain clearance from the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

for the Ahold/Delhaize merger. The 22 stores were rebranded under the Shop ‘n Save retail banner. On February 3, 2016, Mark Gross was named CEO of SuperValu, replacing Sam Duncan. In October 2016, SuperValu announced they were selling

Onex Corporation Onex Corporation is an investment manager founded in 1984. The firm manages capital on behalf of Onex shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients around the world. As of September 30, 2022, Onex had approximately US$47.2 ...

. In April 2017, the company announced that it had entered into a $375 million

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

agreement with Unified Grocers, based in

Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the ...

, in which Unified Grocers would become a wholly owned

of SuperValu when the merger is completed. The deal is expected to be finalized in late summer 2017, with the merger process then taking about two years to implement. Later in 2017, SuperValu acquired

Associated Grocers of Florida Associated Grocers of Florida, Inc. is a retailers' cooperative based in Pompano Beach that distributes full lines of groceries and general merchandise. Founded in 1945, it provides retail services to independent Supermarket A supermarket ...

Sale of Company

On July 26, 2018,

agreed to buy Supervalu for $2.9 billion in cash. On October 22, 2018, UNFI completed the acquisition of Supervalu. Sean Griffin was named the CEO of Supervalu, replacing Mark Gross.

Overview

As a supplier to IGA stores for over 80 years, SuperValu necessarily has formed close relationships with these family owned grocery businesses, some of which have had relationships with the corporation for over two or three

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

s. But Walmart's newly arrived grocery competition to these stores also affects SuperValu, Inc. In addition, SuperValu is selling its Shop 'n' Save stores in the

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

market as a result of being unable to compete with Walmart and fast-growing local chain

Giant Eagle Giant Eagle, Inc. (Western Pennsylvania English: ) and stylized as giant eagle) is an American supermarket chain with stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Maryland. The company was founded in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

. Most will be sold to independent owners, and continue to operate under the Shop 'n' Save banner. SuperValu will continue to supply all area FoodLand,

and the independent Shop 'n' Save locations of western

and northern

. SuperValu enjoys

economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...

when dealing with the well-known national food

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

s like

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

, the

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

suppliers,

produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...

suppliers and

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

suppliers, as well as the health and beauty product suppliers, by purchasing in

bulk Bulk can refer to: Industry * Bulk cargo * Bulk liquids * Bulk mail * Bulk material handling * Bulk pack, packaged bulk materials/products * Bulk purchasing * Baking * Bulk fermentation, the period after mixing when dough is left alone to ferm ...

and then distributing the goods by

Direct Store Delivery Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

from its

distribution center A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to con ...

s, which are located nationwide. The

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

foods market is an emerging sector and remains a challenge for this business, as well as the natural and

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

s sector, as there are no clear market leaders for the corporation to deal with in these sectors. It remains to be seen whether SuperValu's tradition of dealing with small grocery businesses can be extended to these emerging markets. SuperValu brands include: SuperValu also owns two third-party

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

firms, Advantage Logistics and Total Logistic Control. In 2005, SuperValu launched a specialty

company, W. Newell & Company which is headquartered in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

Chains

At the time of its acquisition by United Natural Foods in 2018, the company operated under multiple retail banners, or chains: *

County Market County Market is a supermarket chain primarily operating in the Midwestern United States. Presently, more than 100 independently owned County Market stores operate in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. County Market is part of the United Nat ...

over 100 locations independently owned (

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan,

, Missouri, Mississippi,

, Washington (state), Washington, and Wisconsin) *Cub Foods 77 locations of which 31 are franchised (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, MN and Illinois, IL.) *Festival Foods licensed locations in Festival Foods, Wisconsin, Festival Foods (Minnesota), Minnesota, and Michigan. * FoodLand licensed locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. *Sentry Foods 6 licensed locations in Wisconsin *

56 locations (Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Baltimore, MD and Northern Virginia, VA) *Shoppers Value Foods licensed Cost-plus pricing, cost-plus supermarkets *SuperValu Pharmacies 109 pharmacies (Nationwide)

Former chains

SuperValu had previously operated other chains: *

117 locations (Delaware, DE, Eastern & Northern Maryland, MD, New Jersey, NJ, Eastern Pennsylvania, PA) Sold to Albertsons LLC *New Albertsons, Inc., Albertsons 453 locations (Southern California, CA, Colorado, CO, Idaho, ID, Montana, MT, North Dakota, ND, Nevada, NV, Oregon, OR, Utah, UT, Washington (state), WA and Wyoming, WY) Sold to Albertsons LLC *Acme Express, Albertsons Express and Jewel Express (nationwide) Fuel centers and convenience stores - sold in 2011 *

(Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Clarksville, Indiana, Clarksville, IN, and Florence, Kentucky, Florence, KY) Locations sold to Remke Markets in 2010 *

(Southern California, Southern CA) Spun off in 2010 *

(Norfolk, Virginia) In 2018, 21 locations sold to Kroger, The Kroger Co. and Ahold Delhaize and converted to their existing brands, 6 locations were bought by independent franchisers, and the remaining locations closed. *

(Fargo-Moorhead/Grand Forks, ND/MN) 8 locations with 7 of those locations were sold to Coborns in 2018, the remaining location was in Grand Forks, North Dakota and closed. **Lazy Acres *Max Foods (Southern California, Southern CA) Locations rebranded Lucky *

182 locations in Illinois, IL, eastern Iowa, IA, northwestern Indiana, IN and southeastern Wisconsin, WI Sold to Albertsons LLC *Lucky Stores 5 locations (Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas and Southern California, CA) Sold to Albertsons LLC * Osco Pharmacy and Sav-on Drugs, Sav-on Pharmacy 722 pharmacies (Nationwide) Sold to Albertsons LLC *Rainbow Foods (

) Closed in 2018 *

1250 locations of which 860 were franchised (Nationwide) Sold to

(Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, IN and Northeastern Indiana, IN) Sold to The Kroger Co. in 2007 *

(St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, MO, Southern Illinois, IL and Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, IL) Sold 19 locations to Schnucks, Schnuck Markets, Inc. Those 19 stores were converted to Schnucks stores. SuperValu closed the remaining locations on November 19, 2018 after SuperValu couldn't find a buyer for the remaining locations. *Shop 'n Save (Pittsburgh) (Pittsburgh-based), sold off to independent owners who collectively manage the brand. Not to be confused with the former St. Louis-area Shop 'n Save stores. * ShopKo Spun off in 1991, remaining interest sold in 1997 *Shaw's and Star Market 169 locations (Massachusetts, MA, Maine, ME, New Hampshire, NH, Rhode Island, RI and Vermont, VT) Sold to Albertsons LLC. *Sunflower Market (Indianapolis) Five locations closed in 2008 *Twin Valu (Ohio) Hypermarket concept, closed in 1996

Product labels

Many of the banners have "Store brand, private labels". These are the current active private label brands for SuperValu: * Arctic Shores - Seafood products. * Baby Basics - Baby products (originally an Albertsons brand) * Carlita - Hispanic foods * Cub - Store generic brand * Culinary Circle - Restaurant quality food * Essential Everyday - Private Label National Brand Equivalent * Equaline - OTC Pharmacy and Personal Care National Brand Equivalent (originally an Albertsons brand) * Farm Fresh - Store generic brand * Farm Stand - Produce * Flavorite - introduced by store 178 in year 1997, the focus of this label is low cost soda. * Happy Tails (now Whole Care Pet) - Line of pet foods. (originally an Albertsons brand) * Heritage - Liquors * Java Delight - Supervalu's own brand of coffee, is sourced from Distant Lands Coffee * Max Velocity - Energy Drinks * NutriPlan - Pet Foods * Richfood - Store generic brand * Shoppers Value - Extreme value generic brand * Stockman & Dakota - Premium beef * Stone Ridge Creamery - Ice cream, frozen yogurt and sherbet * Wild Harvest - Organic Produce, Meat and Snack Foods (originally a Shaw’s brand) * SuperChill - Soft Drinks and New Age Beverages * SuperCrunch - Snack Foods * Village Market * Wild Harvest Organic Foods - Natural and organic products Some of the older inactive private label brands are: * Hillfarm * Economy Buy * Home Best * Essensia (originally an Albertsons brand) * Chateau * Quality Plus * Elf

Culture

Diversity

SuperValu received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2008.

Environment

Cub Foods and its parent company, SuperValu, was the first grocer in Minnesota to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold NC2.2 Certification for one of its stores. The Cub store, located in the Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul is one of just three grocery stores in the nation to successfully achieve LEED Gold Certification. Albertsons was the first major retailer to earn a LEED Certification on their remodeled La Habra store. It features water saving faucets, over 40 skylights, "Night" curtains over open cold cases and LED lighting. In August 2009, SuperValu was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for achieving their emissions target.

Accounting irregularities and practices in 2002

In June 2002, SuperValu announced it would restate previous financial reports due to accounting irregularities uncovered at its pharmacy division. As a result, shares of the company slumped 18 percent. On July 12, 2002, SuperValu lost a lawsuit over the use of improper accounting practices regarding the cost of goods sold for at least the previous four years, and paid a $4,000,000 settlement.