SuperValu (NYSE: SVU) has cornered 4.2% of the grocery market and stands at third place. The company is over 100-years old1 and their corporate main offices are in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. They operate 2,505 food and food/drug stores and 878 in-store pharmacies. In addition, they control 117 fuel centers that serve as the main distributor to another 2,200 stores through their logistics division. The food retail division is a total of 2,349 stores, which are supplied by 23 dedicated distribution centers.

The SuperValu business runs with several different store formats. There are three basic types:

  1. Stores of extreme value with the banner Sav-A-Lot
  2. Regionally priced superstores
  3. Regional supermarkets

There are 1,180 extreme value stores and they carry approximately 1,250 basic grocery items and meat. Most products are store brands. This small number of products is in sharp contrast to a normal supermarket that carries 30,000 products or more. Fewer products to stock means lower prices.

Regionally priced superstores operate under regional banners such as Cub Foods (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN), Shop ‘n Save (St. Louis, MO), and Shoppers (Baltimore/DC, MD).

Regional supermarkets function as local markets such as Albertson’s (West Coast), Jewel-Osco (Chicago, IL), Farm Fresh (Richmond, VA), ACME (Philadelphia, PA), Shaw’s (New England) and Hornbacher’s (Fargo, ND).

Although third in rank of national grocery chains, SuperValu stores are number one in some regions of the U.S. These stores are at the top in their regions. Acme (Philadelphia, PA); Cub Foods (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN); Hornbacher’s (Fargo, ND); Jewel, Jewel-Osco (Chicago, IL); Altertsons (Billings, MT; Nampa/Boise, ID; Las Vegas, NV; Orange County, CA).

The retail portion of SuperValu contributes 78% of sales to the company as of February 2010 (the most current data available). Total sales for the company were $40.6 billion, with $31.7 billion being contributed by the retail food divisions. The company does business under 15 different names.

 

A fair portion of their products are proprietary brands supplied by SuperValu. These are just some of the brands.

Jewel – store generic                                                Arctic Shores – seafood

Essential Everyday – store generic                   Equaline – pharmacy generic

Shoppers Value – Extreme value brand          Happy Tails – pet food

Shaw’s – store generic                                             Carlita – Hispanic foods

Stockman & Dakota – premium beef               Baby Basics – baby products

SuperValu Stores by State (excluding extreme value stores)

Alabama 0 Louisiana

0

 Ohio

0
Alaska 0 Maine

22

 Oklahoma

0
Arizona 0 Maryland

0

 Oregon

48
Arkansas 0 Massachusetts

89

 Pennsylvania

51
California 242 Michigan

0

 Rhode Island

12
Colorado 0 Minnesota

44

 South Carolina

0
Connecticut 0 Mississippi

0

 South Dakota

0
Delaware 13 Missouri

27

 Tennessee

0
Florida 0 Montana

30

 Texas

0
Georgia 0 Nebraska

0

 Utah

0
Hawaii 0 Nevada

35

 Vermont

19
Idaho 33 New Hampshire

34

 Virginia

64
Illinois 192 New Jersey

54

 Washington

75
Indiana 5 New Mexico

0

 West Virginia

38
Iowa 2 New York

0

 Wisconsin

2
Kansas 0 North Carolina

1

 Wyoming

10
Kentucky 0 North Dakota

6

In addition to the 23 dedicated distribution centers, SuperValu also owns two logistics companies that provide support services such a food distribution and logistics support. This side of the business represents 22% of total sales.

Banners: Equaline, Jewel, Arctic Shores, Essential Everyday, Market Value, Happy Tails, Shaw’s, Carlita, Stockman & Dakota, Baby Basics