Albertsons 2016 Annual Report Download - page 2

Dear SUPERVALU Stockholders,
Having spent many years in this industry, I have known of SUPERVALU’s
strengths – its people, assets and tremendous customer base. When I was
offered the position of President and Chief Executive Ofcer earlier this year,
I was excited by the opportunity and prospects for this Company. During my
rst 100 days on the job, a good portion of my time has been spent visiting
our operations, meeting with customers and getting to know our employees.
Throughout this time, I have developed an even deeper appreciation for this
organization and the many opportunities that I believe are available to us.
Wholesale – My background has primarily been on the wholesale side of the
business. Here I see SUPERVALU having several key points of differentiation.
First is our distribution network that I believe can be aggressively leveraged to take advantage of new
business opportunities. Second, one of our key selling points will be our robust private brands portfolio,
many of which are highlighted on the back of this year’s annual report. Lastly, SUPERVALU has an
established infrastructure that can provide crucial back-ofce services in an efcient and cost effective
manner to independent retail businesses. We offer a great value proposition that can assist companies in
lowering their operating costs and reducing their future capital expenditure needs, while giving them access
to more sophisticated operating tools.
Retail – This year we intend to make higher levels of investments in our retail banners as well as make
changes to our merchandising approach. We plan to upgrade our fresh departments with an emphasis on
bakery and deli, as well as rene our assortments based on the specic needs of the neighborhoods in
which we operate. The learnings we garner from our ve retail banners should benet our Wholesale
customers as well.
Save-A-Lot – Save-A-Lot is our hard discount format under which we operate or license approximately 1,350
stores. We intend to strengthen this brand through merchandising and marketing changes that are being
rolled out. We have begun introducing a limited number of national brands to broaden Save-A-Lot’s overall
customer appeal. We’re also revamping our private brands portfolio to bring a new brand to Save-A-Lot,
America’s Choicesm, which will span most categories. Our weekly ads have been redesigned to give them a
stronger price message and attract customers to our stores. We’ll also be changing certain aspects of the
store layout to better position our fresh departments to further set Save-A-Lot apart from other discount
retailers. Finally, we continue to explore a separation of Save-A-Lot, including preparations to allow for a
possible spin-off of Save-A-Lot into a stand-alone, publicly traded company.
Leadership – We have added several new executives to our top notch management team whom I believe
will help drive SUPERVALU forward. Eric Claus is now the CEO at Save-A-Lot and has been working on
improving its operating model. Mike Stigers is leading our Wholesale business and is acutely focused
on a selling culture based on addressing our customers’ needs. Also new to the executive team is Jim
Weidenheimer, our Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Innovation Ofcer. I have
worked with Jim in the past and believe he will help us execute on the market opportunities available to us
and also bring new ideas to our business operations.
With that as a backdrop, I am excited for SUPERVALU to be the leading distributor of consumable products
and provider of services to retailers in this country, including our own retail banners. We clearly have a great
deal of work in front of us to accomplish that, and I am optimistic that we can, and will, grow this business.
I look forward to updating you on our progress next year and thank you for your continued support.
Mark Gross
President and Chief Executive Ofcer