Supervalu loses $1.4B in last quarter

Supervalu is reporting a quarterly loss of $1.4 billion due to a combination of weak sales at its grocery stores and a major financial hit from the sale of several chains in January.

For the quarter that ended in late February, the Eden Prairie-based grocer booked a loss of $1.2 billion on operations that were sold. The company also lost $179 million on continuing operations, more than quadruple the loss on the same operations a year ago. Sales fell about 2 percent to $3.9 billion.

Supervalu sold about 900 stores earlier this year, as it embarked on an effort to turn around its fortunes. New CEO Sam Duncan vows the company's remaining stores will be price competitive.

"We need to make sure that we are priced right on the top 50 items in each of our markets and that our overall pricing is aligned with our broader go-to-market strategy," he said.

Supervalu now has 191 traditional grocery stores, including 44 company-owned Cub Foods stores in Minnesota. In addition, Supervalu has about 1,300 smaller stores focused on private-label brands.