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 list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

suburb of

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the List of cities in Minnesota, 16th-largest city in the U.S. state, State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a ...

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

United Natural Foods (UNFI) 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's m ...

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

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 ...

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 r ...

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 ...

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. 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 f ...

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 especial ...

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 cos ...

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 ( l ...

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 ...

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 op ...

in 1983. In 1975, SuperValu acquired Hornbacher's. 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 stat ...

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 List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

and

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

. 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'' 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 st ...

'' 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 Cinci ...

bought Scotts. SuperValu acquired Richfood Holdings for $1.5 billion, adding a Mid-Atlantic distribution presence and stores including '' Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy'', '' Shoppers Food & Pharmacy'', and ''Metro''. In 2003, SuperValu acquired the former Midwest operations of Fleming Companies from C&S Wholesale Grocers, including the Sentry Foods and Festival Foods brands. On January 23, 2006, SuperValu announced that it, along with CVS Corporation and a collection of investors led by Cerberus Group, agreed to acquire Albertsons, Inc. 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'' (15 locations) (later sold off) *'' Jewel'' and ''Jewel-Osco'' (198 locations sold to Cerberus) *''

Lazy Acres Market Lazy is the adjective for laziness, a lack of desire to expend effort. It may also refer to: Music Groups and musicians * Lazy (band), a Japanese rock band * Lazy Lester, American blues harmonica player Leslie Johnson (1933–2018) * Lazy Bil ...

'' (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, Massach ...

'' (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 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 of $202 million for the quarter;

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 rev ...

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 t ...

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 us ...

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

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 (Al ...

, Couche-Tard (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 i ...

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 inhal ...

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 healt ...

, 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 bu ...

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 p ...

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 " a ...

of effective 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 exch ...

, 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 ''Sa ...

of $10.6 billion and net earnings 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 ju ...

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 event ...

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 Wayne C. Sales (born December 28, 1949) is a Canadian business executive and the former Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. He held position from August 2000 to May 2006. Prior to this, he held the position of Executive VP at Can ...

. 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 presen ...

, and Jewel-Osco

chains A chain is a wikt:series#Noun, 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 (physics), compression but line (g ...

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-immed ...

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 d ...

. SuperValu would keep its Cub, Farm Fresh, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy 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 a ...

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. I ...

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 t ...

, 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. ...

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 A ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), 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; ...

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, Ma ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

of stores to gain clearance from the Federal Trade Commission 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 Unified Grocers, originally Unified Western Grocers, was a retailer-owned wholesale grocery cooperative that supplies independent supermarkets in the Western United States. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of two West Coast cooperatives, one ba ...

, 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 subsidiary 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.

Sale of Company

On July 26, 2018, United Natural Foods 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 gro ...

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 of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

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

when dealing with the well-known national food

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

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 ori ...

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 toas ...

, 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 cer ...

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 ...

s, meat 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 ...

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 and then distributing the goods by Direct Store Delivery 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 c ...

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 Total Logistic Control is a supply chain company started around 1902 by George K. Taylor. The company began as a regional distributor of frozen products known as Taylor Cold Storage. They operated frozen warehouse operations for other regional ...

. 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 metrop ...

Chains

At the time of its acquisition by United Natural Foods in 2018, the company operated under multiple retail banners, or chains: * County Market over 100 locations independently owned (

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, 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: Wiscon ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

) * Cub Foods 77 locations of which 31 are franchised ( Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN and IL.) * Festival Foods licensed locations in

, and Michigan. * FoodLand licensed locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. *

Sentry Foods Sentry Foods is a grocery store chain with a total of 11 stores, all in Wisconsin. Sentry Foods stores got their start in the Milwaukee area in the 1960s, being operated and supplied by the Godfrey family. In the mid-1980s, Fleming Companie ...

6 licensed locations in Wisconsin * Shoppers Food & Pharmacy 56 locations ( Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD and Northern VA) *Shoppers Value Foods licensed cost-plus supermarkets *

SuperValu Pharmacies SuperValu Pharmacies, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based SuperValu. SuperValu Pharmacy operates 950 pharmacies in Shop 'n Save, Hornbacher's, Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy and Cub Foods stores. Ownership SuperVa ...

109 pharmacies (Nationwide)

Former chains

SuperValu had previously operated other chains: *

117 locations ( DE, Eastern & Northern MD, NJ, Eastern PA) Sold to Albertsons LLC *

453 locations (Southern CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NV, OR, UT, WA and WY) Sold to Albertsons LLC *Acme Express, Albertsons Express and Jewel Express (nationwide) Fuel centers and convenience stores - sold in 2011 *

(

Cincinnati, OH Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Clarksville, IN, and Florence, KY) Locations sold to Remke Markets in 2010 * Bristol Farms ( Southern CA) Spun off in 2010 * Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy (

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

) In 2018, 21 locations sold to

The Kroger Co. 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 Cinci ...

and

Ahold Delhaize Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (in Dutch literally "Royal Ahold Delhaize"), commonly known as Ahold Delhaize, is a Dutch multinational retail and wholesaling company. Its name comes from a merger between Ahold (Dutch) and Delhaize Group (Bel ...

and converted to their existing brands, 6 locations were bought by independent franchisers, and the remaining locations closed. * Hornbacher's ( Fargo-Moorhead/

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

, ND/MN) 8 locations with 7 of those locations were sold to Coborns in 2018, the remaining location was in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city of ...

and closed. ** Lazy Acres * Max Foods ( Southern CA) Locations rebranded Lucky * Jewel-Osco 182 locations in IL, eastern IA, northwestern IN and southeastern WI Sold to Albertsons LLC *

Lucky Stores Lucky Stores is an American supermarket chain founded in San Leandro, California, in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by Albertsons in Utah and Save Mart Supermarkets in Northern California. In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, ...

5 locations (

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

and Southern CA) Sold to Albertsons LLC * Osco Pharmacy and 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, IN Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

and Northeastern IN) Sold to

in 2007 * Shop 'n Save ( St. Louis, MO, Southern IL and Springfield, IL) Sold 19 locations to 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 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 ...

-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 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, Massach ...

169 locations ( MA, ME, NH, RI and VT) Sold to Albertsons LLC. * Sunflower Market ( Indianapolis) Five locations closed in 2008 *

Twin Valu Twin Valu is a defunct U.S. hypermarket and was one of the first hypermarkets in the Akron, Ohio, area. The original Twin Valu store was located on Howe Avenue in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The $10 million, store was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a wee ...

(

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

)

Hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...

concept, closed in 1996

Product labels

Many of the banners have " 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 The Corporate Equality Index is a report published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a tool to rate American businesses on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. Its primary source o ...

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 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...

) Gold NC2.2 Certification for one of its stores. The Cub store, located in the Phalen neighborhood of 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 A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

lighting. In August 2009, SuperValu was recognized by the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

for achieving their

emissions target A climate target, climate goal or climate pledge is a measurable commitment for climate policy and energy policy with the aim of limiting the climate change. Researchers within, among others, the UN climate panel have identified probable c ...

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.