There are signs of life for traditional supermarkets yet.
Struggling grocer SuperValu returned to the black in the first quarter, reporting a profit of $26 million on sales of $3.95 billion. That compared to a loss of $1.41 billion a year ago, at the height of SuperValu's problems.
In 2013, the supermarket tried to limit costs by cutting over 1,000 positions and selling its Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market stores to Cerberus. (The private equity giant later combined them with Safeway in a $9 billion deal.) Selling and administrative expenses dropped to $471 million from $760 million.
"Fiscal 2014 was an important transition year for SUPERVALU as we stabilized the organization and set the foundation for our future,” CEO Sam Duncan said in a statement. “I am pleased with the direction of our business segments and look forward to the new fiscal year where we can focus our attention on driving sales growth across the organization.”
SuperValu, like other old-school grocers, has faced a difficult business climate in recent years as specialty stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's grab market share at the luxury end and Wal-Mart gobbles up the rest.
In Wednesday morning trading, SuperValu shares were initially up over 15%, reaching its highest price since last October. As of 10:50am EDT, shares fell back to a 5% bump.
