Save-A-Lot
Grocery Retail | |
Founded | 1977Cahokia, Illinois | ,
---|---|
Founder | Bill Moran |
Headquarters | St. Ann, Missouri |
Number of locations | 900 |
Key people | Leon Berman (CEO) Mark Hutchens (Chief Finance & Transformation Officer) Karen Procell (Chief Legal & Administrative Officer) Tim Schroder (Chief Sales & Marketing Officer John Hird (Chief Supply Chain Officer) Jennifer Hopper (Chief Information & Digital Officer) Mark Lacey (SVP of Human Resources) |
Products | Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, produce, snacks, seafood, liquor |
Owner | Supervalu (1994–2016) Onex Corporation (2016–2020) |
Website | savealot |
Save A Lot Food Stores Ltd. is an American discount supermarket chain store headquartered in St. Ann, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis.[1] It has about 900 independently owned and operated stores across 32 states in the United States with over $4 billion in annual sales.
Stores carry most grocery products, with an assortment of fresh, canned and frozen produce, meat, meal products, household items and everyday groceries. Save A Lot grocery stores sell national brands and private label brands at a discounted price. A typical Save A Lot grocery store is 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) with items displayed in their cardboard shipping boxes.
History
Save A Lot was founded in 1977 by Bill Moran as an alternative to larger supermarkets. He opened the first Save A Lot store in Cahokia, Illinois, and remained with the company until his retirement in 2006.
In 1978, General Grocer Company expanded the company's presence in the greater St. Louis area. Eventually, the store network grew to 30 stores by the end of the decade. At the root of company's growth strategy is its licensee relationship, in which Save A Lot acts as a
In 1984, Save A Lot purchased 75 similar format Jewel T stores and two
Acquisition by SuperValu, 1994-2016
In 1994, both the Save A Lot and Shop 'n Save banners became wholly owned subsidiaries of
Save A Lot expanded into Southern California with the purchase of 21 discount-grocery Sav U Foods stores, and a distribution center from the Fleming Companies in late 1996.
In 2002, Save A Lot acquired discount
In 2009, Save A Lot expanded its presence internationally. In the Caribbean, Save A Lot opened the first three international licensee grocery stores in
In late 2009, newly hired Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert announced the goal to double the Save A Lot grocery store network to 2,400 locations within five years.[3] The company opened nearly 100 stores in 2010 with a major focus on the Southeastern United States.
Save A Lot entered into a licensing affiliation with Hispanic grocer Rafael Ortega to rebrand six former Save A Lots in
In late 2010, Rite Aid became a licensed Save A Lot operator when it converted 10 of its existing pharmacies in the Greenville, South Carolina, area to co-branded "Save A Lot/Rite Aid" units.[5]
In September 2012, Supervalu announced it would close 22 Save A Lot stores in seven states.[6][7] Several executive changes were made by Supervalu on March 4, 2013, including replacing Save-A-Lot CEO Roces with Ritchie Casteel. This came in the midst of plans by Supervalu to sell a number of its other grocery chains to Cerberus Capital Management.[8]
Sale to Onex Corporation, 2016-2020
In October 2016, SuperValu sold Save A Lot to Onex Corporation.[9] In April 2020, Save A Lot completed a recapitalization of the business with the company's lenders that canceled approximately $500 million in debt and provided a $350 million capital infusion to the company.[10] Save A Lot is now privately held by institutional investors.
Transition to wholesale model, 2020-2023
In early 2020, Save-a-Lot began a financial restructuring towards a wholesale model in order to reduce its debt load. It's sought to no longer operate its locations and instead license them off to independent retailers.[11]
operator | date | stores |
---|---|---|
Fresh Encounter | Dec 2020 | 51 stores in the Tampa, FL area[11] |
Yellow Banana (127 Wall Holdings) | Sep 2021 | 32 stores in Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin[11] |
Ascend Grocery | Dec 2021 | 33 stores in the greater Orlando, FL area[11] |
Ascend Grocery | Oct 2023 | 4 stores in Jacksonville |
Leevers Supermarket | Dec 2023 | 18 stores in the St. Louis area |
In August 2023, Save-a-Lot revealed that the remaining 18 stores that it operated directly were to be acquired by Leevers Supermarkets. Leevers is an employee-owned company that also operate Leevers Locavore, El Mercado De Colorado, and had already been operating 29 Save-a-Lots.[12][13] As of February 2024, Leevers Supermarkets operated a total of 52 Save-a-Lots (14 in Colorado, 20 in the mid-Atlantic, and 18 in the greater St Louis area).[14]
References
- ^ Barker, Jacob. "Save-A-Lot wrapping up grocery chain's headquarters move to former Northwest Plaza mall". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
- ^ "Dollar Tree to buy Deal$ for $30.5M". American City Business Journals. February 22, 2006.
- ^ "Supervalu Inc. sees local growth potential for Jewel-Osco's discount sibling, Save-A-Lot". Crain Communications. January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Save-A-Lot Unveils Partnership for Hispanic Stores". Supermarket News. July 21, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ "Save-A-Lot, Rite Aid to Test Co-Branded Stores". Supermarket News. Supermarket News. September 13, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ "Supervalu announces additional store closures". Drug Store News. September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Supervalu closing 22 Save-A-Lot stores". September 6, 2012.
- ^ "Supervalu shakes up leadership of Save-A-Lot, Shop 'N Save". bizjournals. March 4, 2013.
- ^ "Supervalu to Sell Save-A-Lot Chain to Onex for $1.37 Billion". Bloomberg News. October 17, 2016.
- ^ "Save A Lot Nets $350M in Recapitalization". April 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Sam Silverstein (2022-01-22). "Save A Lot sells 33 locations as it continues shift to local ownership". Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Save A Lot Acquired by Leevers Supermarkets". Specialty Food Association. 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Save A Lot Sells Remaining Corporate Stores, Completes Transition to 100% Licensed Wholesaler". Business Wire. 2023-08-07. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ "Leevers Supermarkets". Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ↑ Barker, Jacob. "Save-A-Lot wrapping up grocery chain's headquarters move to former Northwest Plaza mall". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
- "Dollar Tree to buy Deal$ for $30.5M" (https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/02/20/daily28.html). American City Business Journals. February 22, 2006.
- Sterrett, David (January 30, 2010). "Supervalu Inc. sees local growth potential for Jewel-Osco's discount sibling, Save-A-Lot" (https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20100130/ISSUE01/100032970/supervalu-inc-sees-local-growth-potential-for-jewel-osco-s-discount-sibling-save-a-lot). Crain Communications.
- "Save-A-Lot Unveils Partnership for Hispanic Stores" (https://www.supermarketnews.com/latest-news/save-lot-unveils-partnership-hispanic-stores). Supermarket News. July 21, 2010.
- Zwiebach, Elliot (September 13, 2010). "Save-A-Lot, Rite Aid to Test Co-Branded Stores" (https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-amp-financial/save-lot-rite-aid-test-co-branded-stores). Supermarket News.
- "Supervalu announces additional store closures" (http://drugstorenews.com/article/supervalu-announces-additional-store-closures Archived 2012-09-08 at the Wayback Machine). Drug Store News. September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- "Supervalu closing 22 Save-A-Lot stores" (https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/supervalu-closing-save-a-lot-stores/article_344740da-f824-11e1-b9ad-001a4bcf6878.html). St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 6, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- Solomont, E.B. (March 4, 2013). "Supervalu shakes up leadership of Save-A-Lot, Shop 'N Save" (https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2013/03/supervalu-shakes-up-leadership-of.html). American City Business Journals.
- "Supervalu to Sell Save-A-Lot Chain to Onex for $1.37 Billion" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-17/supervalu-to-sell-save-a-lot-to-onex-for-1-37-billion-in-cash). Bloomberg News. October 17, 2016.
- Save A Lot Nets $350M in Recapitalization" (https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/retailers/save-lot-nets-350m-recapitalization). Winsight Grocery Business. April 3, 2020.
- "Save A Lot shifts to wholesale model" (https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/save-lot-shifts-wholesale-model). Supermarket News. December 28, 2020.
- Obtaining a Grocery Store License | Save a Lot