EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Ritchie L. Casteel, president of Save-A-Lot and formerly CEO, will leave the company effective March 11, 2016, parent company Supervalu Inc. said in a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Save-A-Lot is grocery wholesaler and retailer Supervalu's hard-discount grocery segment.
At this time, Supervalu does not intend to hire a replacement for Casteel’s position.
Supervalu in Dec. 2015, named Eric Claus as the new CEO of Save-A-Lot, effective Jan. 4, 2016. With the start of Claus’ employment, Casteel became president of Save-A-Lot, reporting to Claus, and continues to oversee day-to-day store operations while working closely with Claus on Save-A-Lot’s market development, store growth plans and preparation for the possible spinoff of Save-A-Lot.
Claus, 59, joins the company after spending more than two years as the chairman, president and CEO of Red Apple Stores Inc., a chain of value retail stores, in Canada. Claus is expected to start in his role with Save-A-Lot on or before Jan. 4, 2016.
Casteel has more than 40 years of experience in food retailing, merchandising and operations. He began his retail career as a courtesy clerk for Albertsons’ Southern California Division. He spent the next 33 years with the company in positions of increasing responsibility, primarily in the areas of merchandising and operations. He finished his tenure as vice president of operations for Albertsons’ Intermountain West Division.
Following his career at Albertsons, Casteel provided expertise and leadership to Associated Retail Stores of Salt Lake City, Utah, ShopKo Stores of Green Bay, Wis., and Grocery Outlet of Berkley, Calif. He served as director of sales and operations for Grocery Outlet from 2005 to 2009 where he worked with independent owner operators to improve sales, margin, shrink, standards, marketing, expense controls and financial balance.
In July 2015, Supervalu announced that it was exploring a separation of its Save-A-Lot business, and that as part of that process it had begun preparations to allow for a possible spinoff of Save-A-Lot into a standalone public company. In early January, Supervalu filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the possible spinoff.
Earth City, Mo.-based Save-A-Lot has 1,342 stores, of which 901 are operated by licensee owners. The business also operates 17 distribution centers across the country to support its existing stores and future store growth.
Minneapolis-based Supervalu is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the United States, with annual sales of approximately $18 billion. It serves customers across the United States through a network of 3,395 stores composed of 1,854 independent stores serviced primarily by the company’s food distribution business.
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