Content about Supervalu

DES MOINES, Iowa — Walgreens has won recognition from a company that designs medication therapy management programs.

Walgreens, which has invested heavily in their MTM programs, was named the top national chain by Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care’s MTM network.

Other honorees included Kerr Drug, Kroger and Supervalu, which were saluted for MTM services provided at one of their respective stores.

CHICAGO — The real question behind the introductions of a store-brand beer from both Walgreens and Supervalu is whether or not the new brews will be hits by year’s end. In other words, can Big Flats 1901 and Buck Range Light be to beer what Trader Joe’s Two-Buck-Chuck was to wine?


ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Customer satisfaction as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index has not improved since the middle of 2009, and on Tuesday it registered its biggest drop in two years; for fourth quarter 2010, the index fell 0.5% to 75.3.

NEW YORK — This year’s upcoming $29 billion wave of margin-friendly generic pharmaceuticals will be as big a growth catalyst for supermarket pharmacies as it will be for their pureplay drug store cousins, Credit Suisse research analyst Ed Kelly stated in a note published Thursday.

Conservative projection models place the generic impact at 3% to 5% accretive to 2012 earnings, he reported, given that the channel fills between 10% and 15% of all retail prescriptions.

ITASCA, Ill. — Jewel-Osco is commemorating Black History Month by kicking off its annual “A Taste of Black History” celebration to honor its African-American vendors.

To kick off the month-long program, which now is in its 12th year, the retailer said it would host in-store celebrations at three Chicago stores and one store in Homewood, Ill., and tastings of African-American vendor products each Sunday in February.

ITASCA, Ill. — Jewel-Osco announced that it is partnering with the American Heart Association to raise awareness and funds for the AHA's Go Red For Women campaign against heart disease, the leading cause of death among American women.

LAUREL, Md. — There’s no mistaking the emphasis of this Pepsi display here at a Shoppers (a Supervalu banner) located between Baltimore and Washington in the week leading up to the National Football League’s main event. 

The eye-catching soda wall is conveniently located opposite the salty snacks display, making chips, dip and soda all an easy grab for the Super Bowl partygoer.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The news that Larry Merlo is taking the helm at CVS Caremark was expected, but that doesn't take away from its significance.

(THE NEWS: Merlo to assume CEO role at CVS Caremark. For the full story, click here)

Since beginning his career in chain pharmacy in 1978 with People's Drug (which CVS acquired in 1990), Merlo has become an operations guru who wrote the book on successfully integrating acquisitions.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Save-A-Lot announced that it will break ground for a new 325,000-sq.-ft. food distribution center in Lexington, N.C.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — If only it were as easy as a voice in our heads screaming “Recalculating!” when we've taken that turn down the candy or chip aisle in the grocery store, then maybe diabetes and obesity wouldn’t quite be the epidemics that they are. Supervalu’s nutrition iQ comes about as close to an actual dietary GPS as you can get without affixing a Garmin to the shopping cart handle, and it’s a program that elevates the overall shopping experience to boot.

MINNEAPOLIS — There were three takeaways to come out of Supervalu’s third-quarter analyst call Tuesday morning: The deep discount banner Save-A-Lot will be the most significant catalyst for growth going forward; Supervalu aggressively is addressing pricing issues that have had consumers who are more accustomed to the “hi” in the grocer’s "hi-lo" pricing strategy shopping elsewhere; and while traditional Supervalu banners Acme, Shaw’s and even Jewel-Osco do not have a “For Sale” sign on their respective front lawns, at least