Supervalu Establishes 'Centers Of Excellence' in Minneapolis, Boise

MINNEAPOLIS - As its ongoing transformation into a national retail powerhouse continues, Supervalu here has created what it is calling "centers of excellence" in its headquarters town and in Boise, Idaho--tandem nerve centers that will consolidate the function-specific brain power it currently has accumulated through its merger with Albertsons.

"As a result of our due diligence around this process, we learned that both Boise and Minneapolis have a lot to offer in terms of business climate, talent and quality of life," said Jeff Noddle, Supervalu chairman and c.e.o. "While the company will continue to be headquartered in Minneapolis and the marketing and merchandising teams will eventually be located there as well, many of our functions will have an important presence in Boise. We look forward to being a major corporate citizen in both communities for years to come."
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The realignment will affect hundreds of Supervalu employees. "Our associates are our number one asset," said Noddle. "As we move through this transition we will communicate regularly with our affected teams to keep them informed of all changes, to make them aware of new career opportunities, and help them understand how these changes may impact them."

The company said its merchandising and marketing "centers of excellence" will be based in Minneapolis. The company said it chose Minneapolis as its merchandising and marketing nexus "after thoughtful consideration of many business factors, the most important of which was creating a model that will provide all of the company's banners with 'centers of excellence' for both functions."

Supervalu said that it will move merchandising and marketing positions currently located in Boise to Minneapolis over the next six to 18 months, which will affect approximately 400 Boise-based employees.

As for its finance, information technology, human resources, legal and real estate functions, Supervalu has named key leadership teams, including a number of vice presidents and directors, who will remain at their present posts in Boise and Minneapolis. The teams will direct teams based in multiple locations.

Supervalu said it has already made executive changes at all functions, including appointment in leadership bases from both Minneapolis and Boise. Across finance, IT, human resources, legal and real estate, approximately 20 executives at posts of vice presidents and above will remain in Boise, while more than 30 will be located in Minneapolis.

As previously announced, Supervalu's Intermountain West division will continue to be headquartered in Boise. With more than 245 Albertsons stores and #1 or #2 market positions in key markets that include Boise, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle, this division continues to be a major business unit for the company and one that it said holds tremendous potential for future growth.

The Boise distribution center will also continue to be a very important component of supply chain services, Supervalu said, adding that it will continue to look for opportunities to increase volume and maximize the capacity of this major distribution center.

Supervalu is also in the early stages of establishing a Bangalore, India-based office -- Supervalu Services India (SSI) -- as part of its ongoing work to build an industry-leading team to support the strategic initiatives of the new Supervalu. The SSI office would reconfigure the existing IT contractor base, to shift work currently performed by third-party, India-based firms in-house, to help streamline processes and reduce the company's current contract resource expenses. SSI associates will live and work in India, but be considered part of the Supervalu organization.

"As the new Supervalu takes shape, we will build on our momentum to deliver the benefits of national scale to our powerful brands and independent retailers nationwide," said Noddle. "We are committed to capturing the efficiencies of our new size to be the best place to work, the best place to shop, and the best place to invest."
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