Supervalu finishes fiscal 2017 ‘with momentum’ in wholesale

Minneapolis-based Supervalu yesterday reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 net sales of $2.91 billion, compared to $2.89 billion last year, an increase of $16 million or 0.6 percent.

The company’s wholesale numbers were better than its retail figures. Q4 wholesale net sales reached $1.79 billion, an increase of 3 percent over last year. The net sales increase is primarily due to sales to new customers and increased sales from new stores operated by existing customers, Supervalu reported.

But Q4 retail sales declined 3.2 percent to $1.07 billion from $1.11 billion last year. The net sales decrease reflects negative identical-store sales of 5.8 percent, partially offset by sales from acquired and new stores.

In the fourth quarter, Supervalu completed the sale of its Save-A-Lot business. “We finished fiscal 2017 with momentum in our wholesale business and an improved balance sheet resulting from the sale of Save-A-Lot,” said President and CEO Mark Gross in a statement. The company recently announced that it will acquire Commerce, Calif.-based Unified Grocers in a $375 million deal.

“I’m very excited about our agreement to acquire United Grocers as it brings together two great companies to create one of the nation’s leading grocery wholesale organizations,” Gross said. “At the same time, we are working to fundamentally improve the shopping experience in our retail stores. And with new leadership and renewed passion we are focused on changing our operating results.”