MINNEAPOLIS, 2016-Jul-06 — /EPR Retail News/ — SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE: SVU) today announced it has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Indiana-based Marsh Supermarkets to serve as its primary grocery wholesaler and to provide certain professional services to the grocery chain. Founded in 1931 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Marsh operates approximately 70 Marsh Supermarkets and O’Malia Food Markets across Indiana and Ohio, and 38 pharmacy locations.
“Marsh Supermarkets is a terrific grocery chain that has served customers and communities across Indiana and Ohio for 85 years,” said Mark Gross, SUPERVALU President and CEO. “Their shoppers have come to expect quality, value and a great fresh experience and we’re pleased Marsh has entrusted us for this business going forward. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to combine both our wholesale and logistics experience with our professional service offerings to deliver a comprehensive solution for them.”
In its role as primary wholesaler, SUPERVALU will supply all Marsh Supermarkets and O’Malia Food Markets with traditional product categories including produce, meat, deli, bakery, seafood, grocery, frozen foods and dairy. Additionally, Marsh customers will benefit from SUPERVALU’s comprehensive private brand offering, including its three popular grocery brands, Wild Harvest®, Culinary Circle®, and Essential Everyday®.
Additionally, SUPERVALU will provide certain professional services and merchandising support to Marsh, including advanced merchandise planning, strategic retail pricing analysis, and shelf management programs. Marsh will also benefit from SUPERVALU’s new SV Insights business intelligence tool and mobile order entry system.
“It’s great to see this growth in our wholesale business, and I’m also excited about what this means for the growth in our broad services offering,” Gross added.
The transition of stores is expected to be completed by approximately the end of September.
About Marsh
Marsh is an Indiana company that has served customers for 85 years. Marsh has over 5,000 associates and operates approximately 70 Marsh Supermarkets and O’Malia Food Markets in Indiana and Ohio, with 38 Indiana pharmacy locations.
About SUPERVALU INC.
SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $18 billion. SUPERVALU serves customers across the United States through a network of 3,588 stores composed of 1,796 independent stores serviced primarily by the Company’s food distribution business; 1,360 Save-A-Lot stores, of which 897 are operated by licensee owners; and 200 traditional retail grocery stores (store counts as of February 27, 2016). Headquartered in Minnesota, SUPERVALU has approximately 40,000 employees.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELEVANT TO FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF “SAFE HARBOR” PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995.
Except for the historical and factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, particularly those pertaining to SUPERVALU’s expectations, guidance, or future operating results, and other statements identified by words such as “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends” and similar expressions are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including uncertainties as to the timing of the transition of the Marsh stores and the resulting business impacts of this new supply agreement. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Unless legally required, SUPERVALU undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
For Investors:
Steve Bloomquist, 952-828-4144
Steve.j.bloomquist@supervalu.com
or
For Media
Jeff Swanson, 952-903-1645
Jeffrey.s.swanson@supervalu.com
Source: SUPERVALU INC.