MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu here said the announcements this week that three of its corporate chains plan to close a total of 14 stores before the end of February were part of a deliberate effort by the distributor to eliminate negative operating costs before its starts its new fiscal year Feb. 27.
"We announced these store closings to ensure that we can eliminate these negative operating costs and better position the company for a healthier start to our new fiscal year," Mike Siemienas, national media manager, said in a prepared statement.
In addition to the five units of Shaw's Supermarkets in New England (three in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut) reported Wednesday, Supervalu also plans to close five units of Acme Markets (three in southern New Jersey, two in Pennsylvania) and four units of Albertsons in Southern California.
Siemienas did not rule out the possibility of additional store closings in the future.
