Supervalu’s Save-A-Lot Sets Sights On Underserved Areas

Supervalu Inc.’s Save-A-Lot unit, a discount grocer specializing in store-brand products, plans to expand in urban areas to fill in gaps left after larger chains moved to the suburbs.

About half of Save-A-Lot’s stores will ultimately be located in metropolitan areas, said Bill Shaner, president and chief executive officer of Save-A-Lot. The expansion is still in the planning phase, he said in a telephone interview.

Supervalu, the third-largest grocery-store chain by revenue, said in January it would double the number of Save-A- Lot locations in the next five years. Save-A-Lot will tap into underserved demand in what Shaner called “urban food desert” centers.

“Some of the urban markets have a dearth of supermarkets that are quality grocers delivering good, nourishing food at good prices,” Shaner said on May 20. “We offer a good solution for that opportunity and we are very focused on that.”

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