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MINNEAPOLIS — Eric Hymas is stepping down as president of Cub Foods, the largest supermarket chain operated by Supervalu Inc.
Chad Ferguson, vice president of marketing and consumer insights at Supervalu, will take the helm of Cub Foods on an interim basis, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Ferguson is familiar with interim posts — after joining Supervalu in 2013 after 20 years at Kroger Co. he temporarily led the Shop ’n Save and Farm Fresh chains.
“Chad is a dynamic leader with a wealth of experience, and I’m very pleased he will be stepping in to lead Cub,” Anne Dament, senior vice president of retail, merchandising and marketing at Supervalu, said in a statement. “We appreciate Eric’s many contributions to Cub and Supervalu over the years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Hymas had led Cub Foods since January 2016. Before that, he led the Shop ’n Save chain for nearly three years. Prior to that, he was senior vice president for merchandising for all Supervalu units.
Supervalu’s four retailers, including Cub, have faced fierce competition across the country, Bruce Besanko, the company’s chief financial officer, said this year. “We are unhappy with our retail performance,” he said during an earnings call.
Supervalu reported third quarter consolidated net sales of $3 billion and a net loss from continuing operations of $11 million. Adjusted for one-time items, the company had net earnings of $14 million.
After the quarter’s end, on December 5, the company completed the sale of its Save-A-Lot business. The sale provides Supervalu with “additional flexibility to operate and grow our business,” said president and chief executive officer Mark Gross.
“Unfortunately, in our retail segment we have not been able to overcome persistent deflation, competitive impacts and other factors,” Gross added. “It takes time to change customers’ shopping habits, but our team is dedicated to improving our results.”
