Supervalu announced that it will close 60 underperforming or non-strategic stores this fiscal year, including 38 retail food stores and 22 Save-A-Lot locations. The majority of the stores will close before December 1, 2012, at the end of the retailer's fiscal 2013 third quarter.

 

"These decisions are never easy because of the impact a store closure has on our team members, our customers, and our communities," said Wayne Sales, CEO for Supervalu in a statement. "Today's announcement reflects our commitment to move with a greater sense of urgency to reduce costs and improve shareholder value."

 

Over the next three years, the retailer estimates that closing these locations will generate between $80-$90 million in cash from monetizing owned real estate, eliminating cash operating losses, and selling departmental assets. The closures will also be accretive to net earnings.

 

Closures in the retail food segment include 27 Albertsons stores, four ACME stores and one previously announced Jewel-Osco location. Eight additional stores are included in this announcement, but due to contractual discussion the specific details of each store are being disclosed. These eight are expected to close by the end of Supervalu's fiscal year, which is February 23, 2013.

 

In the last month, there have been reports of Supervalu seeking possible buyers to bid for the company or individual parts of the company. For the quarter ended June 16, 2012, the retailer reported net sales of $10.6 billion, down from $11.1 billion for the same quarter last year.

 

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