Earnings Preview: Supervalu Gives Results Tuesday

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Supervalu Inc. reports earnings for its fiscal second quarter on Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Supervalu Inc., one of the nation's largest grocers, has not fared as well as its competitors during the recession and new leadership is hoping to change direction for the company.

The operator of Albertsons, Jewel-Osco and Save-A-Lot stores has seen its profit fall as food prices and consumer spending dropped. Supervalu also had to cut prices to draw shoppers in the increasingly competitive supermarket business, which hurt its profitability.

The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company said in July that these pressures are not likely to abate soon and lowered its guidance for the year.

Craig Herkert, a former Wal-Mart Stores executive who was took over this spring as Supervalu's new CEO, laid out more aggressive plans for the company in the first quarter including selling a number of stores and aggressively cutting prices further to draw shoppers.

The company reported a 30 percent drop in its profit in its most recent quarter, which Herkert said said was "clearly not acceptable" and vowed to change.