The fate of Jewel-Osco grocery stores will be shaped by bids that analysts say could leave Jewel’s parent company, Supervalu, and the supermarket chain flailing.
No one expects Supervalu, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., to be sold as a whole, but one analyst believes the Jewel-Osco chain could have a bright future with the right owner. Jewel, which operates 174 stores locally, remains the No. 1 grocer in the Chicago area with a 31 percent market share, though it has been losing ground to low-price rivals.
Supervalu announced July 11 it had hired Goldman Sachs and Greenhill & Co. to help it review “strategic alternatives,” including selling all or part of the company. That announcement coincided with Supervalu reporting disappointing earnings, suspending dividends and reducing capital, administrative and operational spending.
Among the pessimistic forecasters is Michael Keara, equity analyst at Chicago-based Morningstar, who described Supervalu as “missing on all cylinders.”
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