Supervalu plans to prune its retail portfolio again, announcing April 24 that it is pursuing the sale of Shop ‘n Save stores in the Midwest and in the East.
It is the second such move for the company in the span of two months following the decision to exit the Farm Fresh banner.
Supervalu also announced sale-leaseback agreements for eight of its distribution centers.
President and CEO Mark Gross touted both moves as positive steps for the organization, which has been under pressure lately by activist investor Blackwells Capital.
“Already in the first two months of fiscal 2019, we’ve capitalized on our business momentum by taking several decisive, strategic actions that further our transformation,” Gross said in a news release.
“These include exiting our Farm Fresh banner, the announcement that we’re pursuing the sale of our Shop ‘n Save and Shop ‘n Save East retail operations, and the monetization of approximately $483 million in owned real estate.
“With a growing wholesale business and more stable group of retail stores, we believe Supervalu is well positioned for success,” Gross said. “While we still have more work to do, we remain optimistic about our ability to grow our core wholesale business and create long-term shareholder value.”
Gross added in an earnings call April 24 that the company looks to add customers and do more business with existing customers. He described fresh as a big opportunity, particularly produce. Gross did not provide further details, and a company spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for more detail.
Gross did not rule out more exits on the retail side or more acquisitions on the wholesale side.
“It’s our goal, it’s our picture, it’s our vision, to be the supplier of choice, and I’d like us to focus on integrating the Unified deal and the AG Florida deal, and there’s a lot of promise there and a lot of work to be done,” Gross said on the call. “That said, as opportunities come up, I think we have a great platform to grow.”
