Claus Named CEO Of Save-A-Lot

SuperValu has appointed Eric Claus as the chief executive officer of Save-A-Lot, the company’s hard-discount grocery segment. Claus joins the company after spending the past two-plus years as the chairman, president and CEO of Red Apple Stores Inc., a chain of value retail stores, in Canada.

He has spent more than 30 years in the retail industry and has also previously served as president and CEO at the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), first in the Canadian division and then overseeing the U.S. operations from 2005-2009.

Claus is expected to start his role with Save-A-Lot on or before January 4, 2016. At that time, Ritchie Casteel will serve as president of Save-A-Lot, reporting to Claus, and will continue 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 spin-off of Save-A-Lot.

 “I’m very pleased that Eric is joining our SuperValu team to serve as CEO of Save-A-Lot,” said SuperValu president and CEO, Sam Duncan. “He has a great background in food retailing, and is a smart and charismatic leader. His strengths in and experience with the hard discount format as well as his history leading retail companies will be important as we look to finish our fiscal year strong and as we continue to position Save-A-Lot for the future.”

SuperValu has previously announced that it was exploring a separation of its Save-A-Lot business. The Save-A-Lot chain operates 1,342 Save-A-Lot stores.