Shaw’s Supermarkets, a subsidiary of the nationwide SUPERVALU INC.(SVU) family of grocery stores, announced that it will offer fresh case products certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the world’s leading certification and eco-labeling program for sustainable seafood. Shaw’s is the first New England-based retailer with fresh product certified by the MSC.
In addition, Shaw’s will also provide fresh products verified by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), a nonprofit marine science center.
Sea food lovers will be assured of freshness and quality of the food by sourcing the fish from sustainable fisheries. The company is offering customers seafood that can be traced from the Shaw’s fresh case directly back to an MSC certified fishery, thereby supporting sustainable fisheries and the communities and livelihoods that are tied directly to the sea.
MSC certified product offerings will include wild sockeye salmon, wild king salmon, wild Coho salmon, wild Alaskan halibut, pacific frozen at sea cod, Canadian frozen at sea flounder, Icelandic fresh haddock and Canadian fresh haddock. Additional fresh seafood items will be added as the program expands over time.
The initiative is a step towards the public commitment made earlier this year by SUPERVALU, the parent company of Shaw’s, to source 100 percent of its top-twenty wild-caught seafood products from MSC certified sustainable fisheries or those on a clear pathway to sustainability by 2015 through a World Wild Life (WWF) Fishery Improvement Project.
The company delivered higher-than-expected first quarter 2012 earnings on July 26, 2011. The quarterly earnings of 35 cents a share dipped 18.6% compared with 43 cents posted in the year-ago period. The quarterly earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents.
SUPERVALU operates in a highly competitive market, and faces stiff competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), The Kroger Co. (KR) and Safeway Inc. (SWY). Moreover, labor-related issues remain a concern.
Currently, we prefer to rate the stock as Neutral. Further, SUPERVALU holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating.
