Albertsons 2007 Annual Report Download - page 3

D
ear SUPERVALU Shareholder
,
T
h
is year’s
l
etter wi
ll
reac
h
a
l
arger s
h
are
h
o
ld
er au
d
ience t
h
an ever
b
e
f
ore in SUPERVALU’s 137-year
h
istory. Wit
h
t
he com
p
letion of our ac
q
uisition of the
p
remier retail
p
ro
p
erties of Albertson’s, Inc. last June, SUPERVALU
create
d
a strong new
b
usiness p
l
at
f
orm – securing a
f
uture wit
h
exce
ll
ent growt
h
opportunities. We remain ever
s
teadfast in our commitment to be res
p
onsible stewards of your investment in our com
p
any.
Our new business model now represents a national food and dru
g
retail and supply chain powerhouse with
a
f
ootprint t
h
at spans t
h
e Unite
d
States. Wit
h
t
h
e a
dd
ition o
f
t
h
e Acme, A
lb
ertsons Sout
h
ern Ca
l
i
f
ornia an
d
Intermountain West, Bristol Farms, Luck
y
, Sav-on, Shaw’s, Star and Jewel-Osco brands to our multi-format retai
l
p
ort
f
o
l
io, we are now positione
d
as a nationa
l
p
l
ayer an
d
can ta
k
e a
d
vantage o
f
our retai
l
sca
l
e. Wit
h
near
l
y 80
p
ercent of SUPERVALU’s total sales now comin
g
from our retail store network of approximately 2,500 stores, w
e
h
ave signi
f
icant
l
y res
h
ape
d
SUPERVALU. An
d
, we are one o
f
t
h
e
l
argest grocery supp
l
y c
h
ain operations in t
h
e
c
ountry, serving near
l
y 5,000 retai
l
en
d
points across t
h
e country. A strong supp
l
y c
h
ain
b
ac
kb
one
h
e
l
ps to ensure our success
-
an
d
t
h
at o
f
o
ur inde
p
endent retail customers - in the markets where we do business
.
In the midst of directin
g
SUPERVALU’s transformational chan
g
es, we are focused on creatin
g
a company that is the best
p
lace to work, the
b
est p
l
ace to s
h
op an
d
t
h
e
b
est p
l
ace to invest
i
n our in
d
ustry. To
h
e
l
p measure our progress, we are using
f
our mi
l
estones t
h
at gui
d
e our
d
ecisions, strate
g
ies and initiatives, and our culture of service. In this letter, I will share these milestones with you, tell
y
ou wh
y
the
y
are
i
mportant to our sustained success, and provide insi
g
ht into how we are supportin
g
them.
M
i
l
estone #1 – De
l
ivering t
h
e Economics
In Fiscal 2007 SUPERVALU re
p
orted
$
37.4 billion in sales com
p
ared to
$
19.9 billion in fiscal 2006, and we re
p
orted
$
2.32 dilut
e
d earnin
g
s
p
er share compared to $1.46 last year. This strong performance included
:
•
immediate double-di
g
it earnin
g
s accretion from the acquisition
,
•
recor
d
resu
l
ts in
b
ot
h
retai
l
an
d
supp
l
y c
h
ain, an
d
•
im
p
roved retail sales trends, as measured by identical store sales.
T
he momentum of the
p
ast year
p
aves the way for future success.
We cou
ld
not
h
ave
d
e
l
ivere
d
t
h
ese resu
l
ts wit
h
out t
h
e
h
ar
d
wor
k
o
f
our committe
d
management team an
d
t
h
e near
l
y 200,000 associ
a
t
es
in
o
ur stores
,
warehouses and offices
.
Deliverin
g
the economic benefits of the new SUPERVALU is key to creatin
g
the best place to invest in our industry
.
1
Net
S
a
l
es
(
in Bi
ll
ions
)
$
19.9
$
37.4
$
10.6
$
28.
0
$
9.2
$
9.4
Fi
sca
l 2
006
F
iscal 200
7
S
upp
l
y C
h
ain Service
s
Reta
i
l
Reporte
d
Di
l
ute
d
Earnin
g
s Per S
h
ar
e
$
1.4
6
$
2.32
F
isca
l
2006 Fiscal 200
7
*
Does not add due to rounding
*
J
eff Noddl
e
Chairman
&
Chief Exec
u
tive Officer