Supervalu reported last week that its limited-assortment Save-A-Lot chain is gaining momentum, as their roll-out of fresh-cut meat and improved produce presentation are favorably impacting the business.
There were 215 corporate Save-A-Lot stores with a full meat-cutting program by the end of the second quarter, and all corporate stores expect to have the program by the end of the fiscal year. Supervalu reported that identical-store sales for stores with the program have outpaced corporate stores without it, and that meat department identical-store sales are up more than 1,000 basis points over the rest of the store.
Identical-store sales for corporate stores in the second quarter increased 4.6% as compared to the same period one year ago. However, identical-store sales for the the entire Save-A-Lot banner, including licensees, were down 0.3%.
Save-A-Lot’s overall sales fell 0.1% to $972 million.