Mark Gross
Mark Gross
​Supervalu plans to focus on being a wholesaler, but it also intends to unlock the value it sees in its business in other ways “because we can do more than ship cases of bananas,” Mark Gross, president and CEO, told an investor audience Thursday in Boston.
Gross joined Minneapolis-based Supervalu approximately three months ago. While noting he was already familiar with the company from his 20 years working for C&S Wholesale Grocers, “getting to look behind the scenes has given me a better appreciation of how strong the company is and how to do a better job deploying assets the company hadn’t be using.”
One path Supervalu intends to pursue is offering its Wild Harvest natural and organic line to non-customers, Gross said.
“Our customers have been enjoying the benefits of the brand, but we believe there’s a broader audience of customers to be had, once they see what Wild Harvest is and what it can do,” he noted.
Supervalu offers 300 SKUs of Wild Harvest items, he said.
Another way the wholesaler intends to unlock value, Gross said, is to offer back office and technology services, based on “the amazing depth and sophistication” the company developed providing those services for Albertsons.

“We offer a bewildering choice of ala carte opportunities to help a small operator address these issues,” he pointed out, “and he doesn’t have to be a customer. We have a number of here-and-now opportunities, and going forward, we are looking for strategic relationships where we can function as a service provider.”
Gross made his remarks during the annual Consumer and Retail Conference sponsored by RBC Capital Markets, New York.
Asked about merchandising changes at Save-A-Lot, Gross said the discount chain will begin offering more national brands it hasn’t carried before, like Coca-Cola, to give customers a choice. 
“A lot of people want to save money and are happy to buy a private brand, but some customers want a particular brand of cereal or soda,” he explained.  “So we will still offer six facings of soda, for example, but one will be Coke and one will be Pepsi and the customer can choose.
“If a national brand adjacent to a private brand sells, then it will keep its spot, and if it doesn’t, we will change the assortment.  We’ll use that feedback loop to test some national brands and see how it works out.”