Save-A-Lot

Undaunted by today's intense competition, a number of creative independent operators are thriving on their innovation and their imagination.

Today's intense business climate raises the profiles of both strong and weak competitors. Here's a look at how some food retailers fared last year.

To avoid being drowned by Wal-Mart's ever-rising tide, independents should heed the advice of industry expert Paul Adams.

ST. LOUIS -- Save-A-Lot's director of government and community relations, Wendy Ardagna, today joins Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.; Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn.; and other panelists for a discussion about the critical role parents play in helping their children make good decisions in adolescence about love, sex, and relationships.

Wal-Mart came to dominate the market's grocery business in just a few years. Some local retailers were overrun, but consumers have yet to be overwhelmed.

MINNEAPOLIS - Citing progress in difficult times, Supervalu Inc. on Thursday reported that its fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled.

MINNEAPOLIS - Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu has announced that its Save-A-Lot extreme-value concept could someday have 2,500 locations, according to a report in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

ATLANTA - Two years after closing its Atlanta area Cub Foods, national wholesaler Supervalu is pushing into the metro Atlanta market again with discount formats, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.