SUPERVALU Names Robert Bly as President of SHOPPERS

08/20/2012 – MINNEAPOLIS  (Business Wire) – SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE: SVU) today announced that Robert Bly, will join the company as President of SHOPPERS, a 56-store division in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C. market. Bly is expected to begin his new role on August 22 and will report to Chuck Elias, Senior Vice President of Retail Operations. Bly replaces Tim Lowe, who recently accepted a new leadership role in SUPERVALU’s merchandising organization. 

“Bob is a welcome addition to the SHOPPERS and SUPERVALU team. His knowledge of grocery operations and improving company performance through proven business acumen will lead SHOPPERS to improving the bottom line while maintaining our customer experience,” Elias said.

Bly, 49, most recently a vice president of K-Mart and Sears divisions for the Sears Holdings Co., has significant experience in his career turning around underperforming retail operations and helping companies streamline operational costs while ensuring that team members are engaged in the business. During his recent experience at K-Mart and Sears, he worked on efforts to improve sales and profits while increasing productivity and efficiency. Prior to Sears, Bly held positions with Road Ranger, a convenience store chain, and spent 22 years with Meijer Inc., a grocery and general merchandise store where he held executive and store level positions and implemented strategic plans to improve sales, inventory management and operational execution.

“Bob’s experience in transforming companies makes him an excellent addition to our leadership team. We look forward to his contributions to SHOPPERS as we pursue our sales, profitability and growth objectives,” Elias said.

SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest companies in the U.S. grocery channel with annual sales of approximately $35 billion with a staff of approximately 130,000 employees.