Albertsons 2012 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Craig R. Herkert
Chief Executive Officer
Dear SUPERVALU Stockholders,
In fiscal 2012, SUPERVALU embraced the vision of becoming America’s Neighborhood Grocer. We
acted as one integrated company, focused on winning for our customers, and committed to fostering
growth. During the first full year of our business transformation, we made progress on improving our
relative price position and enhanced the in-store experience for customers. Our “8 Plays to Win” strategy
added discipline to operations and helped us deliver on our financial commitments.
Our full-year results were largely in line with expectations. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.25 and
identical store sales were negative 2.8 percent – an improvement of more than 300 basis points from the
prior year.
This was a foundational year in a long-term transformation, and one in which we made great strides to
reposition SUPERVALU as a stronger, more competitive company. As we look back on the past 12
months, we are proud of the milestones achieved:
xIntroduced Hyperlocal Retailing. To better meet the needs of our customers, we empowered
store directors with greater autonomy over promotional displays and product assortment, so they
could tailor their stores to local preferences with the best combination of nationally branded and
local products. Our stores are partnering with schools, organizations and community groups to
play a more active role in the neighborhood – particularly around local events. We also continue
to invest in our stores so that they remain fresh and appealing, while reflecting the communities
they serve.
xInvested in Price. We made progress on advancing “Fair Price Plus Promotion” and did so
without adversely impacting margin. By staying true to our pledge to pre-fund price investments,
we were able to invest broadly across markets, categories and items. We ramped up the level of
these investments each quarter as additional funding was generated. Our Private Brands program
also helped deliver greater value as we launched our Essential Everyday label and added 68 new
SKUs to our Shoppers Value line.
xGrew Save-A-Lot. Our hard discount format added 52 stores this year and now operates 1,332
stores across 38 states. Forty-seven of these new locations serve food deserts and demonstrate
strong progress toward our commitment to the Partnership for a Healthier America.
xAffiliated Key Independent Retailers. Independent Business remains an important element of
our growth story, and we were pleased with the new relationships we built this fiscal year. We
affiliated C&K Markets, extending our wholesale distribution into Oregon and California with
®