supervalu Proxy Statements 2008

Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders
To Be Held Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of SUPERVALU INC. will be held on Thursday, June 26,
2008, at 10:00 a.m., local time, at the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, 2201 Cesar Chavez
Lane, Boise, Idaho 83725, for the following purposes:
1) to elect five directors;
2) to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as independent registered public accountants;
3) to consider and vote on a stockholder proposal as described in the attached proxy statement;
4) to consider and vote on a stockholder proposal as described in the attached proxy statement;
and
5) to transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting.
Record Date
The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on April 28, 2008 as the record date for the
purpose of determining stockholders who are entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting. Holders of
SUPERVALU’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on the record
date.
IMPORTANT: We hope you will be able to attend the meeting in person and you are cordially
invited to attend. If you expect to attend the meeting, please check the appropriate box on the proxy
card when you return your proxy or follow the instructions on your proxy card to vote and confirm your
attendance by telephone or Internet.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED AN ADMISSION TICKET OR PROOF
THAT YOU OWN SUPERVALU STOCK TO BE ADMITTED TO THE MEETING
Record stockholder: If your shares are registered directly in your name,
an admission ticket is printed on the enclosed proxy card.
Shares held in street name by a broker or a bank: If your shares are held for your account
in the name of a broker, bank or other nominee, please bring a current brokerage
statement, letter from your stockbroker or other proof of stock ownership to the meeting.
If you need special assistance because of a disability, please contact Burt M. Fealing, Corporate
Secretary, by mail at P.O. Box 990, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440 or by telephone at (952) 828-4000.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Burt M. Fealing
Corporate Secretary
May 16, 2008

PROXY STATEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOTING PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ATTENDING THE ANNUAL MEETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD . . . . . . . . . . 5
BOARD PRACTICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS (ITEM 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . 34
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS’ FEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANTS (ITEM 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING POULTRY SLAUGHTER (ITEM 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING DECLASSIFICATION OF BOARD (ITEM 4) . . . . . . . . 55
OTHER INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

PROXY STATEMENT
The Board of Directors of SUPERVALU INC. is soliciting proxies for use at the 2008 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders to be held on Thursday, June 26, 2008, and at any adjournment or postponement of the
meeting.
This Proxy Statement and the accompanying form of proxy will first be mailed to stockholders who hold
SUPERVALU common stock as of April 28, 2008, the record date for this meeting, on or about May 16,
2008.
VOTING PROCEDURES
Number of Shares Outstanding
SUPERVALU has one class of capital stock outstanding, common. The holders of common stock are
entitled to one vote for each share held. 212,281,366 shares of common stock were outstanding as of
the record date for the meeting and are eligible to vote at the meeting.
Vote Required and Method of Counting Votes
You may vote “FOR,” “AGAINST” or “ABSTAIN” on each of the items described below. If you submit
your proxy, but abstain from voting, your shares will be counted as present at the meeting for the
purpose of determining a quorum. If you hold your shares in street name and do not provide voting
instructions to your broker, they will be counted as present at the meeting for the purpose of
determining a quorum and may be voted on Item 1 (Election of Directors) and Item 2 (Ratification of
the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accountants) at the discretion of your broker.
The following is an explanation of the vote required for each of the items to be voted on.
Item 1. Election of Directors. Each director nominee receiving a majority of the votes cast will be
elected as a director. This means that the number of shares voted “FOR” a director nominee must
exceed the number of votes cast “AGAINST” that director nominee in order for that nominee to be
elected as a director. If, however, the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be
elected (a situation we do not anticipate), the directors shall be elected by a plurality of the shares
present in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors. A plurality
means that the five director nominees for the class expiring in 2011 that receive the highest number of
votes cast will be elected. In either event, shares not present at the meeting and shares voting
“ABSTAIN” have no effect on the election of directors.
Item 2. Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accountants. The
affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present and entitled to vote at the meeting is
required for the approval of this proposal. If you submit your proxy but abstain from voting, your shares
will be counted as present at the meeting for the purpose of calculating the vote on this proposal. Shares
voting “ABSTAIN” on this proposal have the same effect as a vote against this proposal.
Item 3. Stockholder Proposal Regarding Poultry Slaughter. The affirmative vote of a majority of
the shares of common stock, present and entitled to vote at the meeting is required for the approval of
this proposal. If you submit your proxy but abstain from voting, your shares will be counted as present
at the meeting for the purpose of calculating the vote on this proposal. Shares voting “ABSTAIN” on
this proposal have the same effect as a vote against this proposal.
Item 4. Stockholder Proposal Regarding Declassification of Board. The affirmative vote of a
majority of the shares of common stock, present and entitled to vote at the meeting is required for the
approval of this proposal. If you submit your proxy but abstain from voting, your shares will be counted
as present at the meeting for the purpose of calculating the vote on this proposal. Shares voting
“ABSTAIN” on this proposal have the same effect as a vote against this proposal.
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YOUR VOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT. Whether or not you expect to attend the meeting, please
submit your proxy vote in one of the following ways:
• Voting by Mail. If you wish to vote by mail, please sign, date and return the enclosed proxy card
promptly in the postage-paid envelope provided.
• Voting by Telephone and the Internet. If you wish to vote by telephone or Internet, please follow
the instructions on the enclosed proxy card. If you vote by telephone or Internet, you do not need to
return the proxy card.
• Shares held in Street Name. If your shares are held in the name of a bank, broker or other holder
of record, follow the voting instructions you receive from the holder of record to vote your shares.
Telephone and Internet voting are also available to stockholders owning stock through most major
banks and brokers.
• Voting by Participants in Employee Benefit Plans. If you own shares of SUPERVALU common
stock as a participant in one or more of our employee benefit plans, you will receive a single proxy
card that covers both the shares credited to your plan account(s) and the shares you own that are
registered in the same name. If any of your plan accounts are not in the same name as your shares
of record, you may receive separate proxy cards for the shares held in each named account. Proxies
submitted by plan participants will serve as voting instructions to the trustee for that plan whether
provided by mail, telephone or Internet. If you do not make an affirmative election as to how you
want your shares to be voted, the trustee will vote those shares in the same proportion as other
participants in that plan affirmatively elected to vote their shares.
• Revoking Your Proxy. With the exception of shares held in employee benefit plan accounts, you
may revoke your proxy at any time before your shares are voted by sending a written statement to
the Corporate Secretary, or by submitting another proxy with a later date. You may also revoke your
proxy by voting in person at the meeting. With respect to shares held in employee benefit plan
accounts, you may revoke your proxy for those shares up until noon on June 24, 2008.
It is important that all stockholders vote. If you submit a proxy by mail, telephone or Internet without
indicating how you want to vote, your shares will be voted as recommended by the Board of
Directors.
ATTENDING THE ANNUAL MEETING
If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, you will not be admitted without an admission ticket
or proof that you own SUPERVALU stock.
• Record Stockholders. If you are a record stockholder (i.e., a person who owns shares registered
directly in his or her name with SUPERVALU’s transfer agent) and plan to attend the meeting,
please indicate this when voting, either by marking the attendance box on the proxy card or
responding affirmatively when prompted during telephone or Internet voting. An admission ticket for
record stockholders is printed on the proxy card together with directions to the meeting. The
admission ticket must be brought to the meeting.
• Owners of Shares Held in Street Name. Beneficial owners of SUPERVALU common stock held
in street name by a broker, bank or other nominee will need proof of ownership to be admitted to the
meeting. A recent brokerage statement or letters from the broker, bank or other nominee are
examples of proof of ownership. If your shares are held in street name and you want to vote in
person at the meeting, you must obtain a written proxy from the broker, bank or other nominee
holding your shares.
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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
The following table sets forth information with respect to the only persons or groups known to us as of
April 18, 2008, to be the beneficial owners of more than five percent of SUPERVALU common stock.
Name and Address
of Beneficial Owner
Amount and Nature of
Beneficial Ownership
Percent of
Class
AXA Financial, Inc. and related entities (1)
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
22,851,543 10.8%
FMR LLC (2)
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
12,267,946 5.8%
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (3)
32 Old Slip
New York, NY 10005
11,948,184 5.7%
Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC (4)
90 Hudson Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302
17,232,851 8.15%
State Street Bank and Trust Company (5)
State Street Financial Center
One Lincoln Street
Boston, MA 02111
10,588,225 5.0%
Wellington Management Company, LLP (6)
75 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
17,588,185 8.32%
(1) Share ownership is as of January 31, 2008, as set forth in a Schedule 13G/A filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2008 by AXA Financial, Inc. (“AXA”) on
behalf of AXA, AXA Assurances I.A.R.D. Mutuelle, AXA Assurances Vie Mutuelle and AXA
Courtage Assurance Mutuelle (the “Mutuelles AXA”), as a group, and its subsidiaries
AllianceBernstein L.P. and AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company. The Mutuelles AXA, as a
group, beneficially own 117,351 shares of SUPERVALU’s common stock for investment purposes
only, with sole voting power and sole dispositive power as to all 117,351 shares. AllianceBernstein
L.P. beneficially owns 22,729,857 shares of SUPERVALU common stock for investment purposes
only, with sole voting power as to 13,543,773 of such shares, shared voting power as to 3,244,219
of such shares, sole dispositive power as to 22,729,857 of such shares and shared dispositive
power as to 40 of such shares. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company is deemed to beneficially
own 3,495 shares of SUPERVALU common stock, with sole voting power as to 3,386 of such
shares and sole dispositive power as to 3,495 of such shares. The Mutuelles AXA, as a group,
disclaim beneficial ownership of 22,851,543 shares.
(2) Share ownership is as of February 13, 2008, as set forth in a Schedule 13G filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2008. According to that filing, FMR LLC is
deemed to beneficially own 12,267,946 shares of SUPERVALU common stock, with sole voting
power as to 730,828 of such shares and sole dispositive power as to 12,267,946 of such shares.
(3) Share ownership is as of December 31, 2007, as set forth in a Schedule 13G filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 1, 2008. According to that filing, Goldman
Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is deemed to beneficially own 11,948,184 shares of SUPERVALU
common stock, with sole voting power as to 11,297,413 of such shares, shared voting power as to
136,791 of such shares, sole dispositive power as to 11,642,193 of such shares and shared
dispositive power as to 305,991 of such shares.
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Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2008. According to that filing, Lord,
Abbett & Co. LLC is deemed to beneficially own 17,232,851 shares of SUPERVALU common
stock, with sole voting power as to 16,370,897 of such shares and sole dispositive power as to
17,138,295 of such shares.
(5) Share ownership is as of January 2, 2008, as set forth in a Schedule 13G filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on January 9, 2008. According to that filing, State Street Bank & Trust
Company is deemed to beneficially own 10,588,225 shares of SUPERVALU common stock, with
sole voting power as to 6,417,201 of such shares, shared voting power as to 4,171,024 of such
shares and shared dispositive power as to 10,588,225 of such shares.
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2008. According to that filing, Wellington
Management Company, LLP is deemed to beneficially own 17,588,185 shares of SUPERVALU
common stock, with shared voting power as to 14,251,815 of such shares and shared dispositive
power as to 17,542,585 of such shares.
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF MANAGEMENT
The following table sets forth information as of April 18, 2008 concerning beneficial ownership of
SUPERVALU’s common stock by each director and director nominee, each of the executive officers
named in the Summary Compensation Table (the “Named Executive Officers”) and all of our directors
and executive officers as a group. The definition of beneficial ownership for proxy statement purposes
includes shares over which a person has sole or shared voting power or dispositive power, whether or
not a person has any economic interest in the shares. The definition also includes shares that a person
has a right to acquire currently or within 60 days.
Name of
Beneficial Owner
Amount and Nature of
Beneficial Ownership (1)(2)
Percent of
Class
A. Gary Ames 19,308 *
Irwin Cohen 35,161 *
Ronald E. Daly 31,092 *
Lawrence A. Del Santo 87,877 *
Susan E. Engel 82,107 *
Philip L. Francis 30,305 *
Edwin C. Gage 93,367 *
Garnett L. Keith, Jr. 115,889 *
Charles M. Lillis 94,478 *
Marissa T. Peterson 39,470 *
Steven S. Rogers 66,241 *
Wayne C. Sales 18,015 *
Kathi P. Seifert 22,073 *
Jeffrey Noddle 2,178,783 1.0%
Michael L. Jackson 538,508 *
Pamela K. Knous 603,153 *
Duncan C. Mac Naughton 102,226 *
Kevin H. Tripp 138,448 *
All directors and executive officers as a group (25 persons) 5,546,785 2.6
* Less than 1 percent
(1) All persons listed have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of the shares listed
except: (i) the following non-employee director who has shared voting and investment power, as
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follows: Mr. Gage, 8,000 shares and (ii) the following non-employee directors who have sole
voting power, but no investment power, over shares held in the Non-Employee Directors Deferred
Stock Plan Trust as follows: Mr. Ames, 2,643 shares; Mr. Cohen, 5,161 shares; Mr. Daly, 7,092
shares; Mr. Del Santo, 25,877 shares; Ms. Engel, 30,108 shares; Mr. Francis, 6,305 shares;
Mr. Gage, 12,609 shares; Mr. Keith, 43,441 shares; Mr. Lillis, 42,478 shares; Ms. Peterson, 6,320
shares; Mr. Rogers, 10,241 shares; Mr. Sales, 5,447 shares and Ms. Seifert, 4,069 shares.
(2) Includes shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days of April 18, 2008, as follows:
Mr. Ames, 12,000; Mr. Cohen, 30,000; Mr. Daly, 24,000; Mr. Del Santo, 56,000; Ms. Engel,
52,000; Mr. Francis, 18,000; Mr. Gage, 55,254; Mr. Keith, 49,074; Mr. Lillis, 50,000; Ms. Peterson,
30,000; Mr. Rogers, 50,195; Mr. Sales, 12,000; Ms. Seifert, 12,000; Mr. Noddle, 1,597,821;
Mr. Jackson, 388,479; Ms. Knous, 379,312; Mr. Mac Naughton, 35,220; Mr. Tripp, 53,983 and all
directors and executive officers as a group, 3,715,309.
MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
The Board of Directors held six regular meetings and no special meetings during the last fiscal year.
Each director attended at least 75 percent of the meetings of the Board and its committees on which
the director served.
The Board maintains four standing committees: Audit, Director Affairs, Executive Personnel and
Compensation, and Finance each of which has a separate written charter that is available on
SUPERVALU’s website at http://www.supervalu.com. Click on the tab “Site Map” and then the caption
“Corporate Governance” under the heading “About Us.” Copies of the committee charters are also
available to any stockholder who submits a request to the Corporate Secretary, SUPERVALU INC.,
P.O. Box 990, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440. The Board also has an Executive Committee of the
Board, which does not have scheduled meetings and did not meet during the last fiscal year.
Membership on the Audit, Director Affairs and Executive Personnel and Compensation Committees is
limited to non-employee directors. The Board of Directors has determined that all of its non-employee
directors, and therefore each member of the Audit, Director Affairs and Executive Personnel and
Compensation Committees, are independent directors under the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”)
listing standards.
Audit Committee
The following directors serve on the Audit Committee: Garnett L. Keith, Jr. (Chairperson), A. Gary
Ames, Irwin Cohen, Marissa T. Peterson, Steven S. Rogers and Kathi P. Seifert. The Board has
determined that all members of the Audit Committee are financially literate under the NYSE listing
standards and that Irwin Cohen qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” under the NYSE
listing standards and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Audit
Committee met seven times during the last fiscal year.
The primary responsibilities of the Audit Committee are to assist the Board of Directors in:
• its oversight of our accounting and financial reporting principles and policies, and our internal
controls and procedures;
• its oversight of our financial statements and the independent registered public accountants;
• selecting, evaluating and, where deemed appropriate, replacing the independent registered public
accountants; and
• evaluating the independence of the independent registered public accountants.
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Director Affairs Committee
The following directors serve on the Director Affairs Committee: Lawrence A. Del Santo (Chairperson),
Philip L. Francis, Edwin C. Gage, Marissa T. Peterson and Steven S. Rogers. The Director Affairs
Committee met four times during the last fiscal year.
The mission of the Director Affairs Committee is to recommend a framework to assist the Board in
fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities. In carrying out its mission, the Director Affairs
Committee establishes and regularly reviews the Board’s policies and procedures, which provide:
• criteria for the size and composition of the Board;
• procedures for the conduct of Board meetings, including executive sessions of the Board;
• policies on director retirement and resignation; and
• criteria regarding personal qualifications needed for Board membership.
In addition, the Director Affairs Committee has the responsibility to:
• consider and recommend nominations for Board membership and the composition of Board
Committees;
• evaluate our Board practices and those of other well-managed companies and recommend
appropriate changes to the Board (see “Board Practices” below);
• consider governance issues raised by stockholders and recommend appropriate responses to the
Board; and
• consider appropriate compensation for directors.
For a description of the Director Affairs Committee’s processes and procedures for the consideration
and determination of director compensation, see “Director Compensation.”
Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee
The following directors serve on the Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee: Susan E.
Engel (Chairperson), Ronald E. Daly, Lawrence A. Del Santo, Edwin C. Gage, Charles M. Lillis, Wayne
C. Sales and Kathi P. Seifert. The Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee met seven
times during the last fiscal year.
The primary responsibilities of the Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee are to:
• determine the process to evaluate the performance of the Chief Executive Officer;
• review and recommend to the Board the compensation of the Chief Executive Officer;
• review and recommend to the Board major changes in executive compensation programs,
executive stock options and retirement plans for officers;
• consider and make recommendations to the Board concerning the annual election of corporate
officers and the succession plan for the Chief Executive Officer;
• approve annual salaries and bonuses of corporate officers and other executives at specified levels;
• review and approve participants and performance targets under our annual and long-term
incentive compensation plans;
• approve stock option grants and awards under our stock option plans, bonus and other incentive
plans; and
• review with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis.
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For a description of the Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee’s processes and
procedures for the consideration and determination of executive compensation, see “Compensation
Discussion and Analysis.”
Finance Committee
The following directors serve on the Finance Committee: Charles M. Lillis (Chairperson), A. Gary
Ames, Irwin Cohen, Ronald E. Daly, Garnett L. Keith, Jr., Jeffrey Noddle and Wayne C. Sales. The
Finance Committee met three times during the last fiscal year.
The primary responsibilities of the Finance Committee are to review our financial structure, policies and
future financial plans and to make recommendations concerning them to the Board. In carrying out
these responsibilities, the Finance Committee periodically reviews:
• our annual operating and capital budgets as proposed by management, and our performance as
compared to the approved budgets;
• our dividend policy and rates;
• investment performance of our employee benefit plans;
• our financing arrangements;
• our capital structure, including key financial ratios such as debt to equity ratios and coverage of
fixed charges; and
• proposals for changes in our capitalization, including purchases of treasury stock.
BOARD PRACTICES
In order to help our stockholders better understand our Board practices, we are including the following
description of current practices. The Director Affairs Committee periodically reviews these practices.
Evaluation of Board Performance
In order to continue to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the Board, under the guidance of the
Director Affairs Committee, our Board annually evaluates the Board’s performance as a whole. The
evaluation process includes a survey of the individual views of all directors, a summary of which is then
shared with the Board. Each active Board Committee also evaluates its own performance on a yearly
basis.
Size of the Board
Although the size of the Board may vary from time to time, the Board believes the size should
preferably be not less than ten nor more than 14 members. The Board believes that the size of the
Board should accommodate the objectives of effective discussion and decision-making and adequate
staffing of Board committees. The Board is currently comprised of 14 members.
Director Independence
The Board believes that a substantial majority of its members should be independent, non-employee
directors. It is the Board’s policy that no more than three members of the Board will be employees of
SUPERVALU. These management members will include the Chief Executive Officer and up to two
additional persons whose duties and responsibilities identify them as key managers of SUPERVALU.
Only one of our 14 current Board members is an employee of SUPERVALU, our Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Mr. Noddle. The Board has determined that all non-employee directors meet the
requirements for independence under the NYSE listing standards.
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Director Retirement
It is Board policy that non-employee directors retire at the annual meeting following the date they attain the
age of 74 and that non-employee directors elected after February 27, 1994 may serve a maximum term of
15 years. Directors who change the occupation they held when initially elected to the Board are expected
to offer to resign from the Board. At that time, the Director Affairs Committee will review the continuation of
Board membership under these new circumstances and make a recommendation to the full Board. During
fiscal 2008, the Board amended the Governance Principles, discussed below, to allow the current Lead
Director, Mr. Del Santo, to serve beyond the retirement age of 74 at the discretion of the Board.
The Board also has adopted a policy that requires employee directors, other than the Chief Executive
Officer, to retire from the Board at the time of a change in their status as an officer of SUPERVALU. A
former Chief Executive Officer may continue to serve on the Board until the third anniversary after his
or her separation from SUPERVALU. However, if a former Chief Executive Officer leaves
SUPERVALU to accept another position, the Chief Executive Officer is expected to retire as a director
effective simultaneously with his or her separation from SUPERVALU.
Selection of Directors
The Director Affairs Committee is the standing committee responsible for determining the slate
of director nominees for election by stockholders. The Director Affairs Committee considers and
evaluates potential Board candidates based on the criteria set forth below and makes its
recommendation to the full Board. The criteria applied to director candidates stress independence,
integrity, experience and sound judgment in areas relevant to our business, financial acumen,
interpersonal skills, a proven record of accomplishment, a willingness to commit sufficient time to the
Board and the ability to challenge and stimulate management. The Director Affairs Committee will use
the same process and criteria for evaluating all nominees, regardless of whether the nominee is
submitted by a stockholder or by some other source.
The Director Affairs Committee does not currently utilize the services of an executive recruiting firm to
assist in the identification or evaluation of director candidates. However, the Director Affairs Committee
has used such firms in the past and may engage a firm to provide such services in the future, as it
deems necessary or appropriate.
Directors and management are encouraged to submit the name of any candidate they believe to be
qualified to serve on the Board, together with background information on the candidate, to the
Chairperson of the Director Affairs Committee. In accordance with procedures set forth in our bylaws,
stockholders may propose, and the Director Affairs Committee will consider, nominees for election to
the Board of Directors by giving timely written notice to the Corporate Secretary, which must be
received at our principal executive offices no later than the close of business on February 27, 2009 and
no earlier than January 28, 2009. Any such notice must include the name of the nominee, a
biographical sketch and resume, contact information and such other background materials on such
nominee as the Director Affairs Committee may request.
Board Meetings
The full Board meets at least six times each year. Board meetings normally do not exceed one day in
length. Additionally, in alternating years, the Board holds either a multi-day off-site strategic planning
meeting or a one-day strategic planning update meeting.
Executive Sessions of Outside Directors
Non-employee directors generally meet together as a group, without the Chief Executive Officer or any
other employees in attendance, during each board meeting. The Lead Director presides over each
executive session of the Board.
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Lead Director
In August 2006, our Board established the position of Lead Director and elected Mr. Del Santo to serve
as our Lead Director. The primary responsibilities of our Lead Director include:
• chairing meetings of the independent directors, including presiding over executive sessions;
• helping to develop agendas and meeting schedules with the Chairman;
• advising the Chairman on the quality, quantity and timeliness of information provided by
management;
• interviewing candidates for the Board;
• overseeing evaluations of the Board;
• acting as a direct conduit to the Board for stockholders, employees, the public and others
regarding matters not readily addressable directly to the Chairman;
• taking the lead in assuring that the Board carries out its responsibilities in circumstances where
the Chairman is incapacitated or otherwise unable to act;
• serving as a point of contact for the directors to raise issues not readily addressable directly to the
Chairman;
• working with the Chairman to monitor significant issues and risks between meetings of the Board
and assuring that the entire Board becomes involved when appropriate;
• having the authority to call meetings of the independent directors; and
• having the lead role in conducting the evaluation process for our Chief Executive Officer.
Attendance at Stockholder Meetings
The Board does not have a formal policy regarding director attendance at the Annual Meeting of
Stockholders. However, all directors are strongly encouraged to attend the meeting. 13 of the
incumbent directors attended the 2007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Stock Ownership Guidelines
Non-employee directors are required to acquire and own SUPERVALU common stock with a fair
market value of five times a director’s annual retainer within five years after the director is first elected.
Governance Principles
The Board maintains a formal statement of Governance Principles that sets forth the corporate
governance practices for SUPERVALU. The Governance Principles are available on our website at
http://www.supervalu.com. Click on the tab “Site Map” and then the caption “Corporate Governance”
under the heading “About Us.” Copies of the Governance Principles are also available to any
stockholder who submits a request to the Corporate Secretary, SUPERVALU INC., P.O. Box 990,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440.
Policy and Procedures Regarding Transactions with Related Persons
The Board of Directors of the Company has adopted a Policy and Procedures Regarding Transactions
with Related Persons. This policy delegates to the Audit Committee responsibility for reviewing,
approving or ratifying transactions with “related persons” that are required to be disclosed under the
rules of the SEC. Under the policy, a “related person” includes any of the directors or executive officers
of the Company, certain stockholders and their immediate families. The policy applies to transactions
where the Company is a participant, a related person will have a direct or indirect material interest and
the amount involved exceeds $120,000. Under the policy, management of the Company is responsible
for disclosing to the Audit Committee all material information related to any covered transaction in
order to give the Audit Committee an opportunity to authorize, approve or ratify the covered transaction
based upon its determination that the covered transaction is fair and reasonable and on terms no less
favorable to the Company than could be obtained in a comparable arm’s length transaction with an
unrelated third party. A copy of the Policy and Procedures Regarding Transactions with Related
Persons is available on SUPERVALU’s website at http://www.supervalu.com. Click on the tab “Site
Map” and then the caption “Corporate Governance” under the heading “About Us.”
9

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS (ITEM 1)
The Board is divided into three classes, with the number of directors to be divided as equally as
possible among the three classes. Directors are elected for staggered terms of three years. If a
vacancy exists or occurs during the year, the vacant directorship may be filled by the vote of the
remaining directors until the next annual meeting, at which time the stockholders elect a director to fill
the balance of the unexpired term or the term established by the Board. There are currently 14
members of the Board.
Our bylaws require directors to be elected by the majority of the votes cast with respect to such director
in uncontested elections. A majority of the votes cast means that the number of shares voted “FOR” a
director must exceed the number of votes cast “AGAINST” that director. In a contested election, a
situation in which the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the standard
for election of directors will be a plurality of the shares represented in person or by proxy at any such
meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors. A plurality means that the nominees receiving
the highest number of votes cast will be elected.
If a nominee who is serving as a director is not elected at the Annual Meeting, under Delaware law the
director would continue to serve on the Board as a “holdover director.” However, under our bylaws, any
director who fails to be elected must offer to tender his or her resignation to the Board of Directors. The
Director Affairs Committee will then make a recommendation to the Board whether to accept or reject
the resignation, or whether other action should be taken. The Board of Directors will act on the Director
Affairs Committee’s recommendation and publicly disclose its decision and the rationale behind it
within 90 days from the date the election results are certified. The director who tenders his or her
resignation will not participate in the Board of Director’s decision. If a nominee who was not already
serving as a director is not elected at the Annual Meeting, under Delaware law that nominee would not
become a director and would not continue to serve on the Board of Directors as a “holdover director.”
All nominees for the election of directors at the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are currently
serving on the Board of Directors.
A. Gary Ames, Phillip L. Francis, Edwin C. Gage, Garnett L. Keith, Jr. and Marissa T. Peterson are
nominated for three-year terms expiring in 2011. The Board of Directors is informed that each nominee
is willing to serve as a director. However, if any nominee is unable to serve or for good cause will not
serve, the proxy may be voted for another person as the persons named on the proxies decide. If all of
the nominees are elected, following the Annual Meeting there will be 14 members of the Board with
five directors with terms expiring in 2009, four directors with terms expiring in 2010 and five directors
with terms expiring in 2011.
10

The following sets forth information, as of April 18, 2008, concerning the five nominees and the nine
directors whose terms of office will continue after the Annual Meeting, based on the current
composition of the Board.
NOMINEES FOR ELECTION AS DIRECTORS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING
FOR A THREE-YEAR TERM EXPIRING IN 2011
A. GARY AMES, age 63
• Retired President and Chief Executive Officer of MediaOne International
(formerly U. S. West International), a telecommunications company, a position he
held from 1995 to 2000
• Elected a director of SUPERVALU in 2006
• Also a director of F5 Networks, Inc.; iPass Inc. and Seattle Pacific University
PHILIP L. FRANCIS, age 61
• Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of PETsMART, Inc., a
specialty retailer of services and solutions for pets, since 1999
• Also a director of Cardinal Health, Inc.
EDWIN C. GAGE, age 67
• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GAGE Marketing Group, L.L.C., an
integrated marketing services company, since 1991
GARNETT L. KEITH, JR., age 72
• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SeaBridge Investment Advisors, LLC,
a registered investment advisor, since 1996
• Also a director of Acosta Sales and Marketing Company and Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
MARISSA T. PETERSON, age 46
• Former Executive Vice President for Sun Microsystems, Inc., a provider of
hardware, software and services, from 2005 to 2006
• Executive Vice President, Sun Services and Worldwide Operations and Chief
Customer Advocate for Sun Microsystems, Inc. from 2004 to 2005
• Executive Vice President, Worldwide Operations and Chief Customer Advocate
for Sun Microsystems, Inc. from 2002 to 2004
• Also a director of Ansell Limited and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital
11

DIRECTORS WHOSE TERMS EXPIRE AT THE ANNUAL MEETING IN 2009
IRWIN COHEN, age 67
• Retired Partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP, a professional services firm, providing
audit, tax, financial advisory and consulting services, a position he held from
1972 to 2003
• Global Managing Partner of the Consumer Products, Retail and Services Practice
of Deloitte & Touche LLP from 1997 to 2003
• Also a director of Beall’s, Inc; Equinox Fitness Group, Inc.; Stein Mart, Inc. and
Humanity in Action, Inc.
RONALD E. DALY, age 61
• Former Chief Executive Officer and President of Oc´e USA Holding, Inc., a
subsidiary of Oc´e N.V., a supplier of digital document management technology
and services, from 2002 to 2004
• Also a director of United States Cellular Corporation
LAWRENCE A. DEL SANTO, age 74
• Retired Chief Executive Officer of The Vons Companies, a retail grocery
company, a position he held from 1994 to 1997
• Elected a director of SUPERVALU in 1997. Elected to the position of Lead
Director in 2006
• Also a director of Ameriscape, Inc. and PETsMART, Inc.
SUSAN E. ENGEL, age 61
• Retired Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Lenox Group
Inc., the successor to Department 56, Inc., a designer and marketer of tabletop,
giftware and collectible products, a position she held from 2005 to 2007
• Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Department 56, Inc., a
designer, importer and distributor of fine quality collectibles and other giftware
products, from 1997 to 2005
• Also a director of Wells Fargo & Company
KATHI P. SEIFERT, age 59
• Chairperson of Pinnacle Perspectives, LLC, a personal business consulting
company, since July 2004
• Retired Executive Vice President of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a global health
and hygiene product manufacturing company, a position she held from 1999 to
2004
• Also a director of Appleton Papers Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; Lexmark
International, Inc.; Revlon, Inc.; the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and the Fox Cities
Performing Arts Center
12

DIRECTORS WHOSE TERMS EXPIRE AT THE ANNUAL MEETING IN 2010
CHARLES M. LILLIS, age 66
• Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Castle Pines Capital, LLC, a channel
finance company, since 2004
• General Partner, LoneTree Capital Management, a private equity company, since
2000
• Also a director of Medco Health Solutions; Soma Logic Inc; Washington Mutual
Inc. and Williams Companies, Inc.
JEFFREY NODDLE, age 61
• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SUPERVALU since 2005
• Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of SUPERVALU from 2002 to
2005
• Also a director of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Donaldson Company, Inc.
STEVEN S. ROGERS, age 50
• Clinical Professor of Finance and Management at Kellogg School of Management
at Northwestern University since 1995
• Also a director of Amcore Financial, Inc. and S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
WAYNE C. SALES, age 58
• Retired Vice-Chairman, of Canadian Tire Corporation Limited, a retail, financial
services and petroleum company. Vice-Chairman of Canadian Tire until June 30,
2007, following his tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer, a position
that he held from 2000 to 2006
• Also a director of Tim Hortons Inc. and Georgia Gulf Corp.
13

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
The Director Affairs Committee reviews the compensation of our directors on a periodic basis. Based
upon its review, the Director Affairs Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Fiscal 2008
For fiscal 2008, annual compensation for non-employee directors is comprised of the following
components: cash compensation, consisting of an annual retainer and meeting fees, and equity
compensation, consisting of stock options and an annual deferred retainer payable in SUPERVALU
common stock. Each of these components is described in more detail below.
Annual Board/Committee Chairperson Retainer
Non-employee directors receive an annual cash retainer of $50,000 per year. The Lead Director
receives an additional annual cash retainer of $25,000. In addition, the Chairperson of each Board
committee receives the following annual retainer: Audit Committee Chairperson, $25,000; Executive
Personnel and Compensation Committee Chairperson, $9,000; and the Finance and Director Affairs
Committee Chairpersons, $8,000.
Meeting Fees
Non-employee directors receive a fee of $1,800 for attending each Board meeting and the Annual
Meeting of Stockholders (if held on a day other than a Board meeting). Non-employee directors who
serve on one or more Board committees (other than the Executive Committee) receive an additional
fee of $1,000 per committee meeting attended.
Stock Options
Non-employee directors are granted a stock option for 6,000 shares on the date of each Annual
Meeting of Stockholders, provided the non-employee director continues to serve as a director following
the meeting. In addition, each non-employee director is granted a stock option for 6,000 shares when
they join the Board. Options are granted with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the
Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Options are fully exercisable upon grant.
Annual Deferred Stock Retainer
Each non-employee director is paid $50,000 on each July 1 in the form of SUPERVALU common stock
that is credited to the Non-Employee Directors Deferred Stock Plan described below. The number of
shares credited to each director’s account is based upon the price of the Company’s common stock on
each July 1.
Retirement Program
Effective June 27, 1996, our Directors Retirement Program was discontinued and benefits previously
earned by directors were frozen. A non-employee director first elected to our Board prior to June 27,
1996, will receive an annual payment of $20,000 per year for the number of years of the director’s
service on the Board prior to June 27, 1996, but for not more than ten years of such service, after such
director ceases to be a member of the Board. Directors first elected to the Board after June 27, 1996,
do not participate in the Directors Retirement Program. As a result of this benefit, Mr. Gage, Mr. Keith
and Mr. Lillis are each entitled to an aggregate of $200,000 (payable in annual installments of $20,000)
following their resignation from the Board.
14

Deferred Compensation Program
Directors may elect to defer payment of their retainer and meeting fees under one or more of the
following arrangements:
• Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors. Fees and quarterly interest are
credited to an account for the director, until payment is made from the plan following retirement
from the Board. Interest is payable on the amount of deferred cash compensation at an annual
rate equal to the prime rate as reported in The Wall Street Journal as of the beginning of the fiscal
year.
• Non-Employee Directors Deferred Stock Plan. This plan is designed to encourage increased
stock ownership among directors. Under the plan, a non-employee director may elect to have
payment of all or a portion of the director’s fees deferred and credited to a deferred stock account.
SUPERVALU then credits the director’s account with an additional amount equal to 10 percent of
the amount of fees the director has elected to defer and contributes the total amount in the
director’s account to an irrevocable trust that uses the amount to purchase shares of SUPERVALU
common stock, which are then allocated to an account for the director under the trust. Each
director is entitled to direct the trustee to vote all shares allocated to the director’s account in the
trust. The common stock in each director’s deferred stock account will be distributed to the director
after the director leaves the Board. Until that time, the trust assets remain subject to the claims of
our creditors. Dividends paid on the shares of common stock held in each of the directors’
accounts are used to purchase additional shares for these accounts each quarter.
Reimbursements and Expenses
Non-employee directors are reimbursed for expenses (including costs of travel, food and lodging)
incurred in attending Board, committee and stockholder meetings. While travel to such meetings may
include the use of the Company aircraft, if available or appropriate under the circumstances, the
directors generally use commercial air service. Directors are also reimbursed for participation in
director education programs in the amount of $7,500 for each director, plus expenses, to be used
every two years. Reimbursements for any non-employee director did not exceed the $10,000 threshold
in fiscal 2008 and thus are not included in “Director Compensation for Fiscal 2008” below.
From time to time, spouses may also join non-employee directors on the Company aircraft when a
non-employee director is traveling to or from a Board, committee or stockholder meeting or any other
meeting of the Company where such non-employee director is invited to do so by the Company’s Chief
Executive Officer. This travel may result in the non-employee director recognizing income for tax
purposes. The Company does not reimburse the non-employee director for the taxes incurred in
connection with such income.
Non-employee directors are eligible to use the Company aircraft for personal purposes to the extent
that the Company aircraft is already traveling on Company business or at the direction of the
Company’s Chief Executive Officer and there is available space for such non-employee director. Any
such personal use of the Company aircraft may result in the non-employee director recognizing income
for tax purposes, and the Company does not reimburse the non-employee directors for any taxes
incurred in connection with such personal use.
Fiscal 2009
As part of their review with respect to fiscal 2009 compensation, the Director Affairs Committee
retained Towers Perrin, an independent compensation consultant, and authorized the independent
compensation consultant to prepare a study of the director compensation for the companies in the
same competitive compensation peer group used in connection with the compensation review of our
executive officers, which is described further in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”
15

Effective as of February 2008, the Director Affairs Committee recommended and the Board of
Directors approved changes to the director compensation structure. As part of the review of director
compensation, the Director Affairs Committee reviewed recent trends in director compensation, which
include:
• the desire for director compensation to remain competitive relative to the compensation paid to
other directors who serve at peer companies;
• the trend away from per meeting fees to a fixed cash retainer for Board meetings and committee
meetings;
• the movement toward higher chair fees for the chairs of various committees because of more
frequent meetings, additional time allocated to each meeting and SEC obligations; and
• an increasing trend toward directors receiving a combination of stock options and deferred stock
rather than only stock options.
As a result, fiscal 2009 director compensation is as follows:
Compensation Item Fiscal Year 2009 Compensation
Cash Retainer $80,000
Lead Director Fee $25,000
Board Meeting Fee $0
Lead Director retainer $25,000
Committee Fee (non-Audit Committee) $10,000 per committee
Committee Meeting Fee $0
Audit Committee Fee $15,000
Committee Chair Fee (non-Audit Committee) $20,000
Audit Committee Chair Fee $25,000
Deferred Stock Payment $60,000
Stock Options $55,000 as of the date of grant using a Black-
Scholes calculation to determine fair value
Directors are still able to defer payment of their fees under the plans described above.
16

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION FOR FISCAL 2008
Name (1)
Fees
Earned or
Paid In
Cash (2)
Stock
Awards (3)
Option
Awards (4)
Change in
Pension Value
And
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings (5) Total
A. Gary Ames $ 68,800 $50,000 $73,613 $ — $192,413
Irwin Cohen 72,600 50,000 73,613 — 196,213
Ronald E. Daly 73,600 51,500 73,613 — 198,713
Lawrence A. Del Santo 107,600 55,760 73,613 10,452 247,425
Susan E. Engel 79,600 57,960 73,613 — 211,173
Philip L. Francis 67,600 56,760 73,613 — 197,973
Edwin C. Gage 71,800 50,000 73,613 — 195,413
Garnett L. Keith, Jr. 97,600 59,760 73,613 98,338 329,311
Charles M. Lillis 75,000 57,500 73,613 — 206,113
Marissa T. Peterson 74,600 57,460 73,613 — 205,673
Steven S. Rogers 70,800 50,000 73,613 — 194,413
Wayne C. Sales 74,600 57,460 73,613 — 205,673
Kathi P. Seifert 38,800 53,880 73,613 — 166,293
(1) Jeffrey Noddle, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is not included in this table because he
is an employee of SUPERVALU and received no compensation for service as a director.
Mr. Noddle’s compensation is shown in the Summary Compensation Table under “Executive
Compensation.”
(2) Reflects the amount of cash compensation earned in fiscal 2008 for Board and committee service.
Amounts shown include any amounts deferred by the director under the Deferred Compensation
Plan for Non-employee Directors described above.
(3) Includes: (a) the annual deferred stock retainer for each director as described above and (b) any
additional shares of common stock awarded to a director as a result of the director’s deferral of
fees earned under the Non-Employee Directors Deferred Stock Plan described above. Stock
awards are calculated in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 123
(revised 2004), “Share-Based Payments,” (“SFAS 123R”), on the same basis as used for financial
reporting purposes for the fiscal year. Refer to Notes 1 and 11 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 23, 2008 for our
policy and assumptions made in the valuation of share-based payments. The amounts shown
above also reflect the full grant date fair value of stock awards made during fiscal 2008. As of
February 23, 2008, the last day of our fiscal year, each of the non-employee directors had shares
credited to their account under the Non-Employee Directors Deferred Stock Plan Trust as follows:
Mr. Ames, 1,518 shares; Mr. Cohen, 3,979 shares; Mr. Daly, 5,445 shares; Mr. Del Santo, 22,580
shares; Ms. Engel, 26,110 shares; Mr. Francis, 3,173 shares; Mr. Gage, 11,259 shares; Mr. Keith,
38,627 shares; Mr. Lillis, 38,319 shares; Ms. Peterson, 2,987 shares; Mr. Rogers, 8,945 shares;
Mr. Sales, 2,136 shares and Ms. Seifert, 1,811 shares.
(4) Option awards are calculated in accordance with SFAS 123R on the same basis as used for
financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year. Refer to Notes 1 and 11 of our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 23, 2008 for our policy and assumptions made in the
valuation of share-based payments. The amounts shown reflect the full grant date fair value of
option awards made during fiscal 2008. As of February 23, 2008, the last day of our fiscal year,
each of the non-employee directors had the following stock options outstanding: Mr. Ames, 12,000
shares; Mr. Cohen, 30,000 shares; Mr. Daly, 24,000 shares; Mr. Del Santo, 56,000 shares;
Ms. Engel, 52,000 shares; Mr. Francis, 18,000 shares; Mr. Gage, 55,254 shares; Mr. Keith,
49,074 shares; Mr. Lillis, 50,000 shares; Ms. Peterson, 30,000 shares; Mr. Rogers, 50,195 shares;
Mr. Sales, 12,000 shares and Ms. Seifert, 12,000 shares.
(5) Reflects above-market interest on deferred compensation. Mr. Keith participated in two deferred
compensation plans that were discontinued in July 1996. Mr. Keith is not eligible to take
distributions from these plans until he retires from the Board.
17

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Overview
This Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes the material elements of compensation
awarded to each of our executive officers that served as Named Executive Officers during fiscal 2008.
It should be read in connection with the Summary Compensation Table and related tables and
narrative disclosure under “Executive Compensation” in this Proxy Statement. The Executive
Personnel and Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors oversees the
design and administration of our executive compensation program. For more information on the
Committee, its members and its processes, see “Meetings of the Board of Directors and Committees of
the Board” in this Proxy Statement.
In June 2006, SUPERVALU completed a transaction to acquire the core supermarket business
formerly owned by Albertson’s, Inc., which doubled our revenues and greatly increased the number of
our employees and retail stores in our network. We refer to this transaction as the Albertson’s
acquisition. The Albertson’s acquisition also resulted in SUPERVALU becoming the nation’s third-
largest supermarket chain, as measured by revenue.
In connection with the Albertson’s acquisition, SUPERVALU strengthened its management team with
the addition of key Albertson’s executives. In addition, during fiscal 2007, the Committee also
undertook a comprehensive review of executive compensation and determined that adjustments were
needed to remain competitive given the company’s size and operations. In particular, when reviewed
by the Committee in May 2006, salaries, short-term incentive opportunities and long-term incentive
levels for executive officers were determined, on average, to be below the median levels of
comparable companies. As part of the review process, the Committee wanted to further its overall
compensation philosophy that total compensation should be more heavily weighted with respect to
performance-based metrics. To that end, the Committee began during fiscal 2007 to adjust base pay
levels, the mix of fixed and variable compensation, as well as short-term and potential long-term
incentives to approximate more closely the levels and the relative mix found in our competitive market
for executive talent. This adjustment process continued through fiscal 2008, and is discussed below
with respect to the Committee’s fiscal 2008 compensation decisions.
Program Objectives and Reward Philosophy
In General. The Committee has adopted a comprehensive executive compensation program based
on the following principles:
• Competitive pay. The program enables SUPERVALU to attract, retain and motivate the key
executives necessary for our current and long-term success.
• Strategic design. Compensation plans are designed to support our business strategy and our
key objectives.
• Pay for performance. Executive compensation is linked to corporate, and in some cases,
corporate and business unit performance, as well as the attainment of designated strategic
objectives.
• Equity emphasis. A significant portion of executive compensation should be equity-based in
order to tie executive compensation to the long-term enhancement of stockholder value.
• Independence. The Committee exercises independent judgment and approval authority with
respect to the executive compensation program and the awards made under the program.
SUPERVALU’s executive compensation program is structured to provide a mix of fixed and variable
compensation, as well as short-term and long-term incentive potential. The variable compensation
components of the program are designed so that our executives’ total compensation will be above the
18

median of our competitive market when our results are above the target levels of performance
established by the Committee and below the median of our competitive market when our results fall
below this targeted performance. This relative fluctuation in compensation value is increased by the
significant use of equity-based components in the program, such as performance shares, restricted
stock, stock options and stock appreciation rights, so that total compensation will significantly increase
or decrease in direct correlation to our stock price.
Competitive Market. The Company seeks to offer its executives market-competitive pay. In assessing
competitiveness, the Committee reviews compensation information for similarly-situated executives at
companies in a self-constructed comparison group, as well as compensation information available from
third-party surveys. This information is used to inform the Committee of competitive pay practices,
including the relative mix among elements of compensation. This information is also used to determine,
as a point of reference for each Named Executive Officer, a midpoint (or median) within the competitive
compensation range, for base salary, annual cash incentive, long-term equity incentives and the total of
these elements. The Committee believes that evaluating each executive’s pay elements and totals
relative to a median helps it to assess the overall competitiveness in the marketplace of the Company’s
compensation. However, the Committee also recognizes that comparative pay assessments have
inherent limitations, due to the lack of precise comparability of executive positions between companies as
well as the companies themselves. As a result, the competitive medians are used only as a guide and
are not the sole determinative factor in making compensation decisions for the Named Executive
Officers. In exercising its judgment, the Committee looks beyond the competitive market data and places
significant weight on individual job responsibilities, individual performance, experience, compensation
history, internal comparisons and compensation at former employers (in the case of new hires), as well
as management’s recommendations.
The Committee defines our competitive market for our Named Executive Officers to be the median
range of publicly available compensation information from a self-constructed comparison group and
several third-party compensation surveys. The surveys provide data on similarly sized organizations
based on revenue and industry. In fiscal 2008, the Committee looked at third-party wholesale and retail
surveys conducted by Hewitt Associates, Stanton Group and Watson Wyatt and a long-term incentive
survey conducted by Frederic W. Cook & Co. Inc. The Committee assesses the reasonableness of our
total compensation levels and mix relative to the competitive benchmark data through a competitive
assessment conducted each year by our independent compensation consultants.
For fiscal 2008, our competitive comparison group consisted of the following 25 retail and distribution
companies:
Comparison Group
AmerisourceBergen Kohl’s Sears Holding
AutoNation Kroger Staples
Best Buy Lowe’s Sysco
Cardinal Health Macy’s Target
Costco Wholesale McKesson TJX
CVS Caremark Office Depot Wal-Mart
Gap Publix Super Markets Walgreen
Home Depot Rite-Aid
J.C. Penney Safeway
The 25-company competitive comparison group approved by the Committee and disclosed above was
reviewed during fiscal 2007 by our independent compensation consultant, Frederic W. Cook & Co. Inc.,
with input from the Committee. The comparison group Companies were selected based on the
following criteria:
• U.S.-based;
19

• Revenue size; and
• Industry.
With respect to the comparison group, the Committee looked at net revenue, operating income, total
assets, total equity, total employees and market capitalization to create a composite rank. SUPERVALU’s
composite ranking was in the middle of this 25-company competitive comparison group.
Generally, the Committee will maintain the continuity of the companies within the comparison group
from year to year; however, changes in the composition of the group may occur as companies enter or
exit the publicly-traded marketplace or as the relative size of the companies in the comparison group
changes. For fiscal 2008, there were no changes to this group from the prior fiscal year, other than to
reflect name changes.
Compensation Process. For the Named Executive Officers other than Mr. Noddle, the Committee
reviews and approves all compensation decisions. As part of that review, the Committee takes into
consideration competitive market analyses and the recommendations of our human resources staff, the
independent compensation consultants and Mr. Noddle. The Committee will review periodically the
relationship of target compensation levels for each Named Executive Officer relative to the compensation
target for Mr. Noddle. In addition, the Committee periodically will review comparable internal equity
relationships for comparable positions across peer companies. For Mr. Noddle, the Committee prepares
compensation recommendations for ultimate review and approval by the Board of Directors, with
Mr. Noddle abstaining from such review and approval. In making its compensation recommendations
regarding Mr. Noddle, the Committee takes into consideration the Board of Directors’ annual
performance evaluation of him, as well as competitive market analyses for other chief executive officers
based on publicly available information, information provided by our human resources staff and
independent compensation consultants and internal pay relationships. Recommendations with respect to
the compensation of Mr. Noddle are not shared with him during this process.
The Committee reviews and recommends to the full Board of Directors for approval with respect to
Mr. Noddle, and approves, for the other Named Executive Officers, base salaries, annual cash
incentive, long-term equity incentives annually, and any other agreements that we would enter into with
any Named Executive Officer. During fiscal 2007, this review was done in April for our Named
Executive Officers and other executives in the Company and in May for Mr. Noddle. For fiscal 2008, in
order to align the review process with other corporate compensation initiatives undertaken by the
Company, the review for all executives (including the Named Executive Officers and Mr. Noddle) was
conducted in May. In addition, throughout fiscal 2008, the Committee reviewed various elements of the
compensation program. For fiscal 2009, the review for all executives (including the Named Executive
Officers and Mr. Noddle) will be conducted in May.
Compensation Consultant
The Committee has the authority to retain outside compensation consultants to assist in the evaluation
of executive compensation or to otherwise advise the Committee. The Committee directs the work of
such consultants, and decisions regarding compensation of our Named Executive Officers are
ultimately made by the Committee and, in the case of Mr. Noddle, by the Board.
During fiscal 2007, the Committee retained Frederic W. Cook & Co. Inc. as its compensation
consultant to assist the Committee with its evaluation and assessment of executive compensation. The
compensation consultant also assisted the Committee with the development of its self-selected
comparison group used for purposes of benchmarking compensation levels and relative mix for fiscal
2007 and fiscal 2008.
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During fiscal 2008, the Committee, after an extensive review of compensation consultants, engaged
Towers Perrin as its new compensation consultant to assist the Committee with an assessment and
review of SUPERVALU’s incentive plan design and other aspects of SUPERVALU’s executive
compensation program for fiscal 2009 and beyond.
Neither Frederic W. Cook & Co. Inc. nor Towers Perrin provided any other services to SUPERVALU or
its management, other than as described in the “Director Compensation” section of this Proxy
Statement.
Elements of Compensation
For fiscal 2008, the principal elements of our executive compensation program consisted of the
following components:
• Base salary;
• Annual cash incentive;
• Long-term equity incentives in the form of stock options, performance shares and, more recently,
stock appreciation rights that pay in cash;
• Change of control and other separation agreements and policies;
• Non-qualified deferred compensation, supplemental executive retirement plans and pension
benefits; and
• Executive perquisites.
Compensation Mix
The Committee believes that the mix of compensation elements among base salary, annual cash
incentive opportunity and long-term equity incentive for fiscal 2008 should approximate the relative mix
found in the competitive market for each of the Named Executive Officers, when evaluated relative to
each of their peers.
The table below illustrates how the primary components of target executive compensation (base
salary, annual cash incentive opportunity and long-term equity incentive opportunity) is allocated
between performance and non-performance based components, how performance-based
compensation is allocated between annual and long-term components and how total compensation is
allocated between cash and equity components. For our Named Executive Officers in fiscal 2008, that
target allocation is as follows:
2008 Fiscal Year Compensation Mix
(Base Salary, Annual Cash Incentive Opportunity and Long-Term Equity Incentive
Opportunity) (1)
Percent of Total
Compensation that is:
Percent of Performance
Based Total Compensation
that is:
Percent of Total
Compensation that is:
Name
Performance-
Based (2)
Not
Performance-
Based (3) Annual (4) Long-term (5)
Cash
Based (6)
Equity
Based (7)
Jeffrey Noddle 85% 15% 22% 78% 34% 66%(8)
Michael L. Jackson 75 25 27 73 45 55
Pamela K. Knous 75 25 24 76 43 57
Duncan C. Mac Naughton (9) 73 27 26 74 46 54
Kevin H. Tripp (9) 71 29 28 72 49 51
(1) Total compensation for purposes of this table is different than the Total column used in the
Summary Compensation Table under “Executive Compensation” below. Total compensation as
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used above is the total of base salary, annual cash incentive opportunity at the target level and
long-term equity Incentives at the target level only.
(2) Sum of target annual cash incentive and target long-term equity incentives divided by target total
compensation.
(3) Base salary divided by target total compensation.
(4) Target annual cash incentive divided by the sum of target annual cash incentive and target long-
term equity incentives.
(5) Long-term equity incentives divided by the sum of target annual cash incentive and target long-
term equity incentives.
(6) Sum of base salary and target annual cash incentive divided by target total compensation.
(7) Target long-term equity incentives divided by target total compensation.
(8) Equity-based incentives for Mr. Noddle include stock appreciation rights that are settled in cash
but which vest and derive value in much the same manner as stock options. Stock appreciation
rights are described below under “Long-term Equity Incentives—Stock Appreciation Rights.”
(9) Does not include retention payments made in connection with the Albertson’s acquisition.
The Committee believes that this compensation mix aligns with the Company’s compensation
philosophy and goals because:
• a significant percentage (ranging from 71 percent to 85 percent) of each Named Executive
Officer’s compensation is performance-based;
• a significant percentage (ranging from 72 percent to 78 percent) of each Named Executive
Officer’s performance-based compensation serves to motivate and retain the executives for the
Company’s long-term success; and
• a significant percentage (greater than 51 percent) of each Named Executive Officer’s
compensation is equity-based, which serves to tie executive compensation to the long-term
enhancement of stockholder value.
Fiscal 2008 Compensation Decisions
In May 2007, the Committee approved (or in the case of Mr. Noddle, recommended to the Board of
Directors, who later approved) the targeted annual compensation for fiscal 2008 listed below for each
of the Named Executive Officers. The fiscal 2008 target amount is comprised of the following primary
components of compensation reviewed and approved for each Named Executive Officer by the
Committee on an annual basis: base salary, the annual cash incentive award assuming achievement
of target performance, stock options and any stock appreciation rights granted during the fiscal year
valued as of the grant date, and an annual allocation of the long-term incentive award assuming
achievement of target performance at the end of the two-year performance cycle.
Name
Fiscal 2008 Targeted
Annual Compensation
Jeffrey Noddle $7,578,000
Michael L. Jackson 2,666,000
Pamela K. Knous 2,567,000
Duncan C. Mac Naughton 1,796,000
Kevin H. Tripp 1,892,000
The fiscal 2008 target amounts differ from the amounts reflected in the Summary Compensation Table
because:
• the above table reflects targeted annual base salary, while the Summary Compensation Table
includes actual base salary paid for the fiscal year;
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• the above table assumes that annual cash incentive awards and long-term performance shares
are earned at the target award level and also allocates one year of long-term compensation that
may be earned over a two-year performance cycle while the Summary Compensation Table
reflects actual amounts earned in the fiscal year;
• the above table reflects all equity-based awards (stock options, stock appreciation rights and
performance shares) valued on the basis of a Black-Scholes model on the grant date, while the
Summary Compensation Table includes annual stock awards valued utilizing the Statement of
Financial Accounting Standard (“SFAS”) No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment” (“SFAS
123R”);
• the target amount does not include any one-time restricted stock grants used for purposes of
retention under special circumstances, while the Summary Compensation Table includes
compensation expenses during the year attributable to all awards; and
• the Summary Compensation Table reflects a variety of other elements of compensation, such as
perquisites, changes in pension value and earnings on deferred compensation, that the
Committee does not consider when setting annual compensation levels for the Named Executive
Officers on an annual basis.
Base Salaries
SUPERVALU provides the Named Executive Officers and other executives with an annual base salary
that is not subject to performance risk. Salary levels for our Named Executive Officers are based on
individual performance and experience, job responsibility, internal equity and salary levels that reflect
the competitive market.
Annual Cash Incentive
SUPERVALU provides its Named Executive Officers and other executives an annual cash incentive
opportunity in order to align executive compensation with the achievement of SUPERVALU financial
goals that support our business plans.
The Committee establishes annual target award opportunities expressed as a percentage of base
salary paid during the fiscal year, as well as threshold and maximum award opportunities expressed as
a percentage of base salary. For fiscal 2008, annual cash incentive opportunities for the Named
Executive Officers ranged from 70 percent to 125 percent of base salary paid for the year, at target
levels of performance, up to a possible range of 140 percent to 250 percent of base salary for
performance exceeding target levels of performance.
Performance Measures and Objectives. For fiscal 2008, the Committee selected corporate net
earnings as the primary performance measure for our annual cash incentive program because it
believes that corporate net earnings growth correlates directly with our business objectives and the
creation of fundamental value for our stockholders. For our Named Executive Officers who are
Corporate Executives as noted in the table below, if any payout is to be made under the annual cash
incentive plan, the corporate net earnings threshold must be met. If that threshold is met, then the
executive will be eligible for payout under the other components of the program. For our Named
Executive Officers who are Retail Executives as noted in the table below, the retail earnings threshold
must be met in order to receive a payout under the retail sales growth component.
In addition, in order to receive a payout above the levels established for the target corporate same
store sales and target corporate cash flow measures, the corporate net earnings number must meet or
exceed the target performance measure.
The diversity component for each of the Named Executive Officers, including Mr. Noddle, will be based
on the outcome of each Named Executive Officer’s leadership in increasing the level of diversity within
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their organization. The specific goals were established at the discretion of the Committee and are
measured against diversity goals monitored by the human resources staff.
Additionally, the Committee established performance measures for earnings and sales growth for
some of our executives, including certain of our Named Executive Officers, which correspond to their
retail region, in order to align executive incentives more closely with the business over which they have
responsibility and control.
The fiscal 2008 performance measures for our annual cash incentive plan were as follows:
Performance Measure
Corporate
Executives (1)
Retail
Executives (2)
Corporate Net Earnings 50% 50%
Corporate Same Store Sales Growth 20 0
Corporate Cash Flow 20 0
Retail Region Earnings 0 20
Retail Region Sales Growth 0 20
Diversity 10 10
(1) Includes Mr. Noddle, Ms. Knous and Mr. Mac Naughton (together, the “Corporate Executives”).
(2) Includes Mr. Jackson and Mr. Tripp (together, the “Retail Executives”).
For fiscal 2008, the corporate net earnings performance goals under our annual cash incentive plan
were as follows:
Performance Level
Corporate
Net Earnings
Percent of Target
Award Payout
Maximum $658 million 200%
Target $618 million 100
Threshold $572 million 50
In fiscal 2007, the award payout was set at 75 percent for achieving the threshold level of performance.
For fiscal 2008, the award payout was reduced to 50 percent for reaching the threshold level of
performance. It was determined that this adjustment to the Company’s annual bonus plan design for
fiscal 2008 was appropriate to (1) better reflect annual incentive practices in the competitive market
(assessed by the Committee as described above) and (2) align the annual incentive practices following
the Albertson’s transaction between legacy SUPERVALU annual incentives and legacy Albertson’s
annual incentives.
The threshold performance level for Corporate Net Earnings for fiscal 2008 was the Company’s fiscal
2007 reported net earnings as adjusted to exclude charges relating to the disposition of the Company’s
Scott’s Food and Pharmacy stores and excluding one-time transaction costs related to the Albertson’s
acquisition. In addition, fiscal 2007 net earnings were increased to reflect the Albertson’s acquisition as
if it had occurred on the last day of fiscal 2006. The target performance level for fiscal 2008 was an
increase of eight percent over the threshold performance level. The maximum performance level for
fiscal 2008 was an increase of 15 percent over the threshold performance level.
For fiscal 2008, the threshold corporate cash flow performance level was set at 50 percent of the
award, the target corporate cash flow performance level was set at 100 percent and the maximum
corporate cash flow performance level was set at 200 percent. Corporate cash flow is generally defined
by the Committee to be earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) plus
one-time transaction costs related to the Albertson’s acquisition and stock option expense, less
interest, dividends, taxes and capital expenditures, net of proceeds from asset sales.
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For fiscal 2008, the threshold corporate same store sales growth performance level was set at 50
percent of the award, the target corporate same store sales growth performance level was set at 100
percent and the maximum corporate same store sales growth performance level was set at 200
percent. Same store sales growth as defined by the Committee excludes fuel sales and assumes that
the Albertson’s acquisition occurred on the last day of fiscal 2006.
Discretionary Adjustments. The Committee reviews the quality of the Company’s performance and
determines the extent to which performance goals under the annual cash incentive plan are met in
April of each year, after completion of the Company’s financial statements. In making this
determination, the Committee may apply discretion such that the numbers used for our annual cash
incentive performance goals may differ from the numbers reported in the Company’s financial
statements. In applying this discretion, the Committee may exclude all or a portion of both the positive
or negative effect of external events that are outside the control of our executives, such as natural
disasters, litigation or regulatory changes in accounting or taxation standards. These adjustments may
also exclude all or a portion of both the positive or negative effect of unusual or significant strategic
events that are within the control of our executives, but that are undertaken with an expectation of
improving our long-term financial performance, including restructurings, acquisitions or divestitures. For
fiscal 2008, the Committee used its discretion with respect to the actual results used for our annual
incentive performance goals. Net earnings used for our annual incentive performance goals was
determined by taking actual net earnings and decreasing actual net earnings by $33 million for certain
purchase accounting adjustments and increasing actual net earnings by $9 million for cost related to
the closure of certain stores. The adjustments resulted in a $24 million decrease from actual net
earnings to arrive at net earnings used in the calculation of our annual incentive performance goals.
The effect of such discretion was to reduce the payout under the Corporate Net Earnings component to
95 percent.
Actual Award Payments. For fiscal 2008, Corporate Net Earnings were $613 million, as adjusted,
resulting in actual award payments to each Named Executive Officer that equaled 95 percent of the
target award opportunity. In determining Corporate Net Earnings for fiscal 2008, the Committee
exercised its discretion, as described above.
For fiscal 2008, Corporate Cash Flow was above target, but because the Company did not exceed the
target performance level established for Corporate Net Earnings, no additional amounts were paid with
respect to the Corporate Cash Flow component above the target level of 100 percent.
For fiscal 2008, our Corporate Same Store Sales Growth performance resulted in actual award
payments to each Named Executive Officer that equaled 52.8 percent of the target award opportunity.
Annual Discretionary Bonus Pool. An annual discretionary bonus pool exists from which
Mr. Noddle may make discretionary cash awards to the Named Executive Officers and other corporate
officers (other than himself) in recognition of their extraordinary achievements during any given fiscal
year. Awards from the pool may not exceed $750,000 in the aggregate or $100,000 to any one
individual during any fiscal year. For fiscal 2008, Mr. Noddle provided discretionary awards to several
officers, including an award in the amount of $100,000 to Mr. Jackson.
Compensation Committee Discretionary Bonus. At the April 2008 Committee meeting, the
Committee determined that, in light of the additional retail responsibilities that Mr. Jackson assumed
during fiscal 2008 and the changes he implemented with respect to those additional responsibilities,
they would award him a bonus in the amount of $50,000.
Long-term Equity Incentives
In General. SUPERVALU provides the Named Executive Officers and other executives with a long-
term equity incentive award in order to tie a significant portion of each executive’s total compensation
to the long-term financial results of the Company and to align incentives more meaningfully with the
interests of our stockholders. On an annual basis, SUPERVALU provides a grant of stock options. On
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a biennial basis, SUPERVALU provides a grant of performance shares. The Committee believes that
various forms of long-term awards provide incentives to executives that can further different corporate
objectives. The Committee feels that the granting of options is a source of motivation for SUPERVALU
employees more closely aligning long-term employee interest with the interests of the Company’s
stockholders. The Committee believes that the granting of performance shares can align an
employee’s long-term interest with the Company’s stockholders and can serve as a method of
retention for key employees.
For fiscal 2008, the long-term equity incentive program for Named Executive Officers and other executives
consisted of an annual grant of stock options. The Committee established the total value of the long-term
award for each Named Executive Officer in such a manner that achievement of the target levels of
performance would result in long-term incentives within the median range of the competitive market.
Stock Options. Stock options directly link a portion of each executive’s compensation to stock price
appreciation. Each Named Executive Officer’s stock option grant is established by the Committee as
described above with respect to awards of total long-term incentives. Stock options generally have a
“grant date” that is the same date as the date of Committee or Board (in the case of Mr. Noddle)
approval and have an exercise price equal to the fair market value on the grant date. In the event that
stock markets are closed for trading on the grant date, options are then priced based on the fair market
value of the Company’s stock on the first day in which markets are open for trading following the grant
date. In addition, stock options currently have a seven-year contractual exercise term and vest 20
percent on the date of grant and 20 percent on each of the next four anniversaries of the date of grant,
subject to the following post-termination and change of control provisions:
Event Award Vesting Exercise Term(3)
Death, Disability or Retirement (1) Accelerated Remaining Term
Other Termination None Two years (2)
Change of Control Accelerated Remaining Term
(1) Retirement is defined as termination at or after age 55 with 10 or more years of service. If
termination occurs because of death or disability before the age and years of service for retirement
have been satisfied, the remaining exercise term will be two years following termination or the
remainder of the original contractual term, if shorter.
(2) Or remainder of original contractual term, if shorter.
(3) The Company has the right to repurchase shares issued under options within six months before or
three months after termination for cause or if the terminated executive breaches the confidentiality
or non-competition provisions in the award agreement.
In April 2007, our equity compensation plans were amended to change the definition of fair market
value from the average of the opening and closing market price of the Company’s stock to the closing
market price of the Company’s stock on the applicable date. In accordance with a policy adopted in
April 2007, however, for options approved by the Committee or the Board on a date that Company
executives would otherwise be restricted from trading in our stock as a result of a “black-out” trading
restriction relating to the release of earnings results, the grant date will be delayed until the first trading
day after the expiration of the black-out period. We do not have any other program, plan or practice to
time stock option grants to executives in coordination with the release of material non-public
information. In addition, we have a pre-established black-out policy that prohibits employees from
trading in our stock during periods when they are aware of material non-public information.
Stock options granted prior to April 2005 have a 10-year contractual exercise term, and provide for an
automatic one-time reload or restoration stock option upon the exercise of the original stock option
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using shares of SUPERVALU stock to pay the exercise price. The restoration stock option is for the
same number of shares used to pay the exercise price and applicable withholding taxes, has an
exercise price equal to the fair market value of SUPERVALU stock on the date of exercise and is
exercisable for the remaining contractual exercise term of the original stock option.
Stock Appreciation Rights. As part of Mr. Noddle’s fiscal 2008 compensation package, the
Committee determined that Mr. Noddle’s long-term incentive award should be comprised of 50 percent
long-term performance shares, 25 percent stock options and 25 percent stock appreciation rights
(“SARs”). This was a change from previous long-term incentive awards granted to Mr. Noddle and
other executives of the Company, which were split equally between performance shares and stock
options. In discussing the form that Mr. Noddle’s long-term incentive award should take, the Committee
discussed the trends in executive compensation and the Company’s commitment to maintain average
annual equity grants at a level not greater than 2.91 percent of common stock outstanding over the
three-year period ending with fiscal 2010, while continuing to provide an incentive that is aligned with
the interests of the Company’s stockholders. The Committee decided that cash-settled SARs were an
appropriate method of achieving such goals. Thus, in fiscal 2008, Mr. Noddle was granted 127,120
SARs. These SARs vest 20 percent on the date of grant and 20 percent on each of the next four
anniversaries of the date of grant. If Mr. Noddle retires before these SARs are fully vested, the SARs
will vest in full at retirement, because Mr. Noddle meets the retirement definition set forth in the plan
under which this award was granted.
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Performance Shares. Our performance share program is based on a two-year performance cycle for
fiscal 2007-2008 and grants under this program are made every two years. As with stock options,
awards of performance shares are established by the Committee as described above with respect to
awards of total long-term incentives. The material provisions of the performance share awards for fiscal
2007-2008 are summarized below:
Provision Description
Current Performance Period • Fiscal year 2007 through 2008 (two-year performance cycle)
Award Value • Based on underlying value of our stock as of the last trading day of
the last fiscal year in the performance cycle (stock denominated)
Performance Measures • Combined two-year average return on invested capital (“ROIC”)
• ROIC is defined by the Committee as earnings before interest and
taxes for each year of the performance cycle, adjusted for stock
option expense, divided by invested capital.
• Invested Capital is the sum of the Company’s interest-bearing
short-term borrowings, interest-bearing long-term debt,
stockholders equity and the present value of capital leases,
subject to certain adjustments.
• Invested Capital for the performance period is calculated by
computing the sums of (i) the invested capital as of the last day of
the Company’s fiscal year immediately preceding such performance
period, which was adjusted to assume that the Albertson’s
acquisition occurred on the last day of such fiscal year; and (ii) the
invested capital as of the end of each fiscal year comprising such
performance period, and dividing such sum by three (the number of
fiscal years in the performance period plus one).
Performance Goals • Maximum award is 150 percent of performance shares granted if
ROIC is at or above 12.3 percent
• Target award is 100 percent of performance shares granted if
ROIC is at target level of 11.8 percent
• Threshold award is 50 percent of performance shares granted if
ROIC is at 11.2 percent
• Actual award amount could be anywhere between 50 percent and
150 percent based on the actual results
• Payout percentage subject to an increase (but not a decrease) if
our revenues for the period equals or exceeds inflation (as
measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index over the
period) ranging from ten percent (if revenues equal to inflation) to
25 percent (if revenues exceed inflation by three percent or more)
Award Payment • Made in common stock at the end of the performance cycle with
an additional one-year vesting period
• Vesting of this award accelerates on events as provided below
Event Award Vesting
Death, Disability or Retirement (1) Accelerated
Termination for Cause None/Award forfeited
Other Termination None/Award forfeited
Change of Control Accelerated
(1) Retirement is defined as termination at or after age 55 with 10 or
more years of service
Award Payout • For fiscal 2007-2008 performance cycle, the payout was 72
percent of performance shares granted
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The Committee chose return on invested capital, referred to as ROIC and defined above, as the
performance measure for the performance share program because it believes this measure is an
accurate assessment of how well the Company is performing from a financial standpoint. ROIC
indicates how efficiently and effectively capital is deployed by management. Performance goals are
established in connection with the Company’s annual financial planning process. In establishing our
performance goals for this measure, the Committee considers the extent to which the Company will
generate a return on invested capital for the performance cycle that represents an appropriate
improvement, as determined by the Committee. The Committee takes into consideration a variety of
factors, including future expectations of operating earnings and capital deployment in our strategic
plans.
The Committee reviews the quality of the Company’s performance and determines the extent to which
performance goals are met in April at the end of the two-year performance cycle, after completion of
the Company’s financial statements, for the purposes of determining the actual number of shares of
restricted stock that will be granted to each executive under the terms of the performance share award.
In making this determination, the Committee may apply discretion such that the numbers used for our
performance share goals may differ from the numbers reported in the Company’s financial statements.
In applying this discretion, the Committee may exclude all or a portion of both the positive or negative
effect of external events that are outside the control of our executives, such as natural disasters,
litigation or regulatory changes in accounting or taxation standards. These adjustments may also
exclude all or a portion of both the positive or negative effect of unusual or significant strategic events
that are within the control of our executives, but are undertaken with an expectation of improving our
long-term financial performance, including restructurings, acquisitions or divestitures.
Actual Award Payments. For fiscal 2007-2008, our two-year average ROIC was 11.4 percent,
resulting in actual award payments to each Named Executive Officer that equaled 72 percent of the
target award opportunity. No award was increased as a result of revenue adjustment component
described above in fiscal 2007-2008 because the requirements for such an increase were not met.
Retention Incentive Awards for Certain NEOs. In connection with the Albertson’s acquisition,
Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp, as well as certain other executives, were granted retention incentive
awards as part of their employment with SUPERVALU. Under the terms of the retention award, the
recipient received a retention incentive award comprised 50 percent of deferred cash and 50 percent of
restricted stock (valued as of the date of the closing of the Albertson’s acquisition). The awards were
subject to restrictions on transfer and potential forfeiture. With the exception of certain qualifying
terminations, including termination without cause, the vesting of the restricted stock portion of the
award and payment of the deferred cash portion is contingent on continued employment with
SUPERVALU, according to the following schedule:
• 10 percent of the total cash retention award and 10 percent of the total restricted shares vest on
January 2, 2007;
July 2, 2007;
January 2, 2008; and
June 2, 2008.
Executive Change of Control Policy
Our objective is to provide our Named Executive Officers and other executives with protection under a
market competitive change of control severance agreement. The Committee believes that this benefit helps
to maintain the impartiality and objectivity of our executives in the event of a change of control situation so
that our stockholders’ interests are protected. The Committee reviews this change of control policy
periodically to address whether these protections are consistent with those provided in our competitive
market and to be in compliance with federal tax rules affecting nonqualified deferred compensation.
29

We have entered into retention agreements with certain of our executive officers in relation to the
Albertson’s acquisition, including two of our Named Executive Officers, Mr. Mac Naughton and
Mr. Tripp, which provide temporary protection against a change of control. Subsequent to the
expiration of their retention awards on June 2, 2008, the Company expects to enter into change of
control agreements with those executives.
For fiscal 2008, our change of control agreements for the Named Executive Officers, excluding
Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp, are summarized below:
Agreement Provision Description
Severance Triggers • Involuntary termination without cause, as defined below, or voluntary
resignation for good reason, as defined below, within 2 years following a
change of control, or in anticipation of a change of control.
• “Good reason” is defined as reduction in base salary or annual cash
incentive, duties and responsibilities that are materially and adversely
diminished, forced relocation of more than 45 miles or failure to provide
for assumption of agreement.
• “Cause” is defined as willful and continued failure to perform duties,
conviction of a felony, gross misconduct materially and demonstrably
injurious to the Company or personal dishonesty that results in
substantial personal enrichment.
• Mr. Noddle may terminate employment for any reason during the seventh
month following a change of control and receive severance benefits.
Severance Benefits • 3x base salary and higher of target, actual annual or prior 3-year average
cash incentive.
• 3x value of perquisites, additional savings and pension plan accruals and
welfare benefits continuation.
• Pro rata annual cash incentive for the year of termination.
• Accelerated vesting of all nonvested equity awards at change of control.
• Full excise tax gross up, if applicable.
The Committee last reviewed the Company’s standard change of control severance agreements in
fiscal 2006. At that time, the Committee, after reviewing market data from the independent
compensation consultants, determined that it was appropriate, and in line with market practices, for
Mr. Noddle to continue to have a change of control agreement that was different from our other Named
Executive Officers, in light of Mr. Noddle’s position as chief executive officer.
Our change of control agreements and our retention agreements are described in more detail under
“Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control.”
Deferred Compensation
On January 1, 2008, the Company established the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan under which
executives may elect to defer on a pre-tax basis up to 50 percent of base salary and may elect to defer
up to 100 percent of annual incentive compensation during the plan year. The program allows executives
to save for retirement in a tax-effective way at minimal cost to the Company. Under this unfunded
program, amounts deferred by the executive accumulate on a tax-deferred basis and are credited at an
effective annual interest rate equal to Moody’s Corporate Bond Index, set as of October 1 of the
preceding year. The Executive Deferred Compensation Plan also provides for additional contributions to
make up for any reduction to a participant’s benefits under certain qualified plans (pension plan and the
401(k) plan) for Company match and profit sharing contribution as a result of deferring compensation into
the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan or due to IRS-defined limitations. This make-up contribution
is credited to the participant’s account in the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan.
30

Retirement Benefits
Consistent with our overall compensation philosophy to provide careers and promote retention,
SUPERVALU maintains a retirement plan for all non-union employees under which a maximum of
$175,000 per year in annual benefits may be paid upon retirement based on limitations imposed by
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). In addition, SUPERVALU maintains a
non-qualified supplemental executive retirement plan and an excess benefit plan for certain highly
compensated employees, including the Named Executive Officers, that allow for the payment of
additional benefits so that such retiring employees may receive, in the aggregate, at least the benefits
they would have been entitled to receive if the Code did not impose maximum limitations. Our
retirement plans are described in more detail following the Pension Benefits Table on below under
“Executive Compensation.”
SUPERVALU provides post-retirement death benefits for certain designated retired executive officers,
which would include the Named Executive Officers if they meet the retirement definition of termination
at or after age 55 with 10 or more years of service. Currently, only Mr. Noddle meets the retirement
definition mentioned above. The death benefit is fixed at an amount approximately equal to, on an
after-tax basis, an eligible executive’s final base salary. The benefits may be funded through life
insurance policies owned by SUPERVALU.
On January 1, 2008, the SUPERVALU Retail Employees’ 401(k) Plan, SUPERVALU Wholesale
Employees’ 401(k) Plan, Pittsburgh Division Profit Sharing Plan, Albertsons Savings & Retirement
Estates and Albertsons Savings & Retirement Estates II of SUPERVALU INC. were merged into the
SUPERVALU INC. Pretax Savings and Profit Sharing Plan. Effective January 1, 2008, the surviving
401(k) plan, the SUPERVALU INC. Pretax Savings and Profit Sharing Plan, was renamed the
SUPERVALU STAR 401(k) Plan. Prior to these amendments, the Company’s matching contributions
ranged from 20 percent to 70 percent of the participant’s contribution, up to the first five percent of the
participant’s pay under legacy SUPERVALU plans and $0.50 for each $1 the participant contributed,
up to the first six percent of pay under legacy Albertson’s plans.
For all employees who participate in the SUPERVALU STAR 401(k) Plan, including Named Executive
Officers, the Company makes a matching contribution of $1 for every $1 the participant contributes, up to
the first four percent of pay and $0.50 for each $1 the participant contributes on the next two percent of
pay. The Company may also make additional profit-sharing contributions, at the discretion of the
Company’s management, of up to a maximum of three percent of the eligible participant’s compensation.
Perquisites
SUPERVALU provides our Named Executive Officers and other executives with a limited perquisites
program. Consistent with the Company’s goal to provide competitive pay to attract and retain key
executives, the Company seeks to provide its Named Executive Officers with a market competitive
perquisites program. Based on its review of market data, the Committee believes that similar
perquisites are commonly provided at other companies with which it competes for talent.
In addition, reimbursing executives for an annual physical and annual financial counseling and tax
planning encourages executives to be physically and financially healthy, such that executives can
better focus on the business affairs of the Company. Similarly, providing our CEO with limited personal
use of the Company’s aircraft encourages and allows him to make travel arrangements that maximize
the efficient use of his limited personal time, allowing him more time to focus on the Company’s
business for the benefit of the Company’s stockholders.
The Committee will continue to review this perquisites program periodically. In fiscal 2008, as a result
of the Committee’s review, certain perquisites, such as the Post-Retirement Death Benefit Coverage,
were scaled back or eliminated.
31

For fiscal 2008, SUPERVALU provided the following executive benefits and perquisites to our Named
Executives Officers:
Executive Benefit Description
Financial Counseling and Tax Planning • Annual maximum reimbursement ranging from
$6,000 to $20,000
• Program ends June 30, 2008
• Legacy Albertson’s program provides for a tax
reimbursement for imputed income
Post-Retirement Death Benefit Coverage • A death benefit of 140 percent of the executive’s
final base salary paid to the beneficiary
• Current participants have been grandfathered into
this program; no new enrollment is allowed
Personal Aircraft Usage • Limited to Mr. Noddle and his spouse
• Up to 30 hours of personal travel per year at the
expense of the Company
• Tax reimbursement for imputed income
Executive Physicals • Annual reimbursement for the full cost of an
executive physical
Executive Stock Ownership and Retention Program
SUPERVALU has an executive stock ownership and retention program for our Named Executive
Officers and other executives so that these executives will face the same downside risk and upside
potential as our stockholders experience. For fiscal 2008, stock ownership levels for our executives,
including the Named Executive Officers, are summarized below:
Position
Number of
Shares
Required to
be Owned
Chief Executive Officer 150,000
Chief Operating Officer (1) 70,000
Executive Vice Presidents (2) 50,000
Corporate Senior Vice Presidents 35,000
Remaining Corporate Officers (including Banner and Regional
Presidents) 20,000
(1) Applies to Mr. Jackson.
(2) Applies to Ms. Knous, Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp.
For purposes of complying with our executive stock ownership and retention program, stock is
considered owned if the shares are owned outright or in a vested tax qualified or nonqualified deferred
compensation plan, if the shares are owned by immediate family members or legal entities established
for their benefit, plus unvested restricted stock. Outstanding unexercised stock options are not
considered owned for purposes of our program. Our Named Executive Officers and other executives
may not pledge owned shares as security or enter into any risk hedging arrangements.
Prior to achieving their ownership objective, executives are required to retain shares equal to 100
percent of the net after-tax profit shares received from stock option exercises or the vesting of
restricted stock. After they meet their ownership goal, Named Executive Officers are required to retain
shares equal to 50 percent of the net after-tax profit shares received from stock option exercises or the
vesting of restricted stock. This 50 percent retention requirement can be satisfied on either an
32

individual basis for each stock option exercise or restricted stock vesting event, or on a cumulative
basis by aggregating all shares held from the exercise of stock options or the vesting of restricted stock
from the date the executive first met our stock ownership requirement.
For fiscal 2008, each of our Named Executive Officers has met their ownership objective. All of our
Named Executive Officers are in compliance with our program.
Tax and Accounting Considerations
The Committee monitors changes in the regulatory environment when assessing the financial
efficiency of the various elements of our executive compensation program. Tax and accounting
consequences are analyzed when adopting new or modifying existing executive compensation
programs.
The Committee has designed and administered our annual cash incentive and long-term equity
incentive plans for executive officers in a manner that generally preserves our federal income tax
deductions. Our annual cash incentives for executive officers are administered under a stockholder-
approved plan that specifies a formula for determining a maximum annual individual award limit. Our
stock options, SARs and performance shares for executive officers are granted under other
stockholder-approved plans that specify the maximum number of shares that may be awarded annually
to plan participants. Our restricted stock unit awards are granted for attraction and retention purposes
and are not performance based. Thus, our federal tax deductions from restricted stock awards may be
disallowed under certain circumstances. Although recent changes to accounting standards have made
stock option grants less favorable, SUPERVALU continues to grant stock options in our long-term
equity incentive program because these plans help to align the priorities and actions of executives with
the interests of our stockholders. The historic economic value delivered to executives from these
programs has been reasonable in relation to the compensation cost reported in our financial
statements.
The Committee has designed and administered our deferred compensation, equity compensation and
change of control severance plans to be in compliance with federal tax rules affecting nonqualified
deferred compensation.
Fiscal 2009
At the February 2008 meeting, the Committee approved the following changes to the annual cash
incentive plan. For fiscal 2009, the Company will (1) use a sales multiplier approach, rather than a
separate “same store sales” target component, (2) expand the range of possible payouts for
performance and (3) specify diversity objectives for the diversity component of the annual cash
incentive plan. With respect to the performance shares to be granted for the fiscal 2009-2010
performance period, the Committee approved the following changes: (1) eliminating the sales modifier
and (2) providing for a uniform grant structure, such that all participants will receive performance
shares. The Committee, in approving the performance cycle, retained the existing two-year, end-to-end
performance cycle for the fiscal 2009-2010 performance period, based on corporate ROIC targets.
33

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
The Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the
Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with management
and, based on such review and discussion, the Committee recommended to the Board that the
Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan E. Engel, Chairperson
Ronald E. Daly
Lawrence A. Del Santo
Edwin C. Gage
Charles M. Lillis
Wayne C. Sales
Kathi P. Seifert
34

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The following tables and accompanying narrative disclosure should be read in conjunction with the
“Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” which sets forth the objectives of SUPERVALU’s executive
compensation and benefit program.
SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE
Name and principal
Position Year
Salary (1)
($)
Bonus (2)
($)
Stock
Awards (3)
($)
Option
Awards (3)
($)
Non-
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compen-
sation (4)
($)
Change in
Pension
Value and
Non-
Qualified
Deferred
Compen-
sation
Earnings (5)
($)
All Other
Compen-
sation (6)
($)
Total
($)
Jeffrey Noddle
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
2008
2007
$1,130,608
1,100,000
$ —
—
$2,531,951
2,115,047
$2,672,922
5,040,035
$1,301,047
1,489,125
$1,668,314
2,100,334
$73,963
51,550
$ 9,378,805
11,896,091
Michael L. Jackson
President and Chief
Operating Officer
2008
2007
662,828
630,962
150,000
—
289,875
508,503
1,695,452
872,586
304,900
537,625
327,718
422,204
13,823
15,497
3,444,596
2,987,377
Pamela K. Knous
Executive Vice President;
Chief Financial Officer
2008
2007
646,378
573,077
—
75,000
222,208
444,252
1,552,523
548,806
407,489
405,293
88,954
136,515
15,416
8,193
2,932,968
2,191,136
Duncan C. Mac
Naughton
Executive Vice President,
Merchandising and
Marketing
2008 486,538 707,974 1,648,982 171,277 313,535 — 52,198 3,380,504
Kevin H. Tripp
Executive Vice President;
President, Retail Midwest
2008 543,269 796,472 1,729,014 171,277 366,825 — 50,040 3,656,897
(1) Amounts shown are not reduced to reflect the Named Executive Officers’ elections, if any, to defer
receipt of salary under the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan described in “Compensation
Discussion and Analysis.”
(2) Amounts for 2008 for Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp reflect (i) a retention award provided to
legacy Albertson’s executives to ensure their continued employment with the Company from the
time of the Albertson’s acquisition and (ii) a payout made in April 2007 in connection with an
Albertson’s long-term incentive plan. Amounts for 2008 for Mr. Jackson reflect an award from the
annual discretionary bonus pool from which Mr. Noddle may make discretionary cash awards to
the Named Executive Officers and other executives in recognition of their extraordinary
achievements during any given fiscal year and a discretionary bonus award from the Company’s
Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee. Amounts for 2007 reflect the annual
discretionary bonus pool. Other bonuses are paid under our annual cash incentive plan and,
accordingly, amounts are reported under the Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation column of
this table. The annual discretionary bonus pool, the Executive Personnel and Compensation
Committee discretionary bonus and the annual cash incentive plan are described in
“Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”
(3) Stock and option awards are calculated in accordance with SFAS 123R on the same basis as
used for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year. Refer to Notes 1 and 11 to the
Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
February 23, 2008 for our policy and assumptions made in the valuation of share-based
payments. The amounts in these columns do not include estimated forfeitures.
35

(4) Non-equity incentive plan compensation represents awards earned during fiscal 2008 in
recognition of achievement of performance goals under the annual cash incentive plan.
(5) This column represents both changes in pension value for the Named Executive Officers and
above market interest earnings on deferred compensation. The changes in pension values were
as follows: Mr. Noddle, $1,668,314 for fiscal 2008 and $2,100,334 for fiscal 2007; Mr. Jackson,
$321,092 for fiscal 2008 and $411,727 for fiscal 2007; and Ms. Knous, $88,954 for fiscal 2008 and
$136,515 for fiscal 2007. Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp had no changes in their pension values.
Mr. Jackson was the only Named Executive Officer with above market interest earnings on
deferred compensation, which was $6,625 for fiscal 2008 and $10,477 for fiscal 2007.
(6) The following components comprise the amounts of “all other compensation” for the Named
Executive Officers:
Name
401(k)
Contributions
Life
Insurance
(a)
Executive
Physical
Financial
Planning
Company
Aircraft
(b)
Tax
Gross-Ups
(c) Total
Jeffrey Noddle $14,212 $17,927 $3,376 $16,750 $11,809 $9,889 $73,963
Michael L. Jackson 9,600 2,973 — 1,250 — — 13,823
Pamela K. Knous 10,406 1,460 — 3,550 — — 15,416
Duncan C.
Mac Naughton 30,895 4,313 3,901 7,500 — 5,589 52,198
Kevin H. Tripp 30,895 5,964 — 7,500 — 5,681 50,040
(a) Represents premiums paid for current employee life insurance coverage under policies
maintained by the Company for the benefit of the Named Executive Officer. This benefit is
described in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”
(b) We calculate the incremental cost to the Company of any personal use of the corporate
aircraft based on the cost of fuel, trip-related maintenance, crew travel expenses, on-board
catering, landing fees, trip-related hangar and parking costs and other variable costs. Since
the corporate aircraft is primarily for business travel, we do not include the fixed costs that do
not change based on usage, such as pilot’s salaries, the purchase cost of the corporate
aircraft and the cost of maintenance not related to trips. The Company does not permit
personal use of the corporate aircraft for any executive or their spouse other than for
Mr. Noddle and his spouse.
(c) Tax reimbursements on income imputed to Mr. Noddle for use of the corporate aircraft for
personal reasons or for reimbursements for travel costs for the officer’s spouse. The
Company pays the cost of a spouse’s travel when the spouse attends Company or industry-
related events where it is customary and expected that officers attend with their spouses. Tax
reimbursements are paid to the officer when these travel costs are imputed as income, and
therefore taxable, to the officer. Tax reimbursements were also provided to Mr. Mac Naughton
and Mr. Tripp as part of their legacy Albertson’s financial planning benefit. That financial
planning benefit will be discontinued for all executives effective June 30, 2008.
36

GRANTSOFPLAN-BASEDAWARDSFORFISCAL2008
EstimatedFuturePayoutsUnder
Non-EquityIncentivePlanAwards
(1)
EstimatedFuturePayouts
UnderEquityIncentivePlan
Awards
Name
Grant
Date
Approval
Date
Threshold
($)
Target
($)
Maximum
($)
Threshold
(#)
Target
(#)
Maximum
(#)
All
Other
Stock
Awards:
Number
of
Shares
ofStock
orUnits
(#)
AllOther
Option
Awards:
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Options
(#)
Exercise
orBase
Priceof
Option
Awards(2)
($/Sh)
GrantDate
FairValue
ofStock
andOption
Awards
JeffreyNoddle4/17/074/17/07$706,630$1,413,260$2,826,520
4/30/07(3)—101,747$45.90$269,172
6/1/07(6)5/23/07107,07948.641,175,567
11/6/07(4)—15,10737.8243,446
11/6/07(4)—12,53937.8236,061
7/25/07(7)7/19/07127,12042.941,250,000
MichaelL.Jackson4/17/074/17/07265,131530,2621,060,524
4/20/07(5)4/17/0775,000$43.59696,525
4/27/07(3)—39,08446.01389,230
4/27/07(3)—16,52346.01164,549
4/27/07(3)—41,85946.01416,865
PamelaK.Knous4/17/074/17/07226,233452,465904,930
4/20/07(5)4/17/0775,000$43.59696,525
5/7/07(3)—46,48146.98472,651
5/7/07(3)—42546.984,322
5/7/07(3)—6,78446.9868,984
5/7/07(3)—41,47046.98421,696
DuncanC.MacNaughton4/17/074/17/07170,289340,577681,154
4/20/07(5)4/17/0750,000$43.59464,350
KevinH.Tripp4/17/074/17/07190,144380,288760,576
4/20/07(5)4/17/0750,000$43.59464,350
37

(1) Represents range of possible awards under our annual cash incentive plan. The actual amount of
the award earned for fiscal 2008 is presented in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation”
column of the Summary Compensation Table. The annual cash incentive plan is described above
in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis.” The maximum amount reflects a payout of 200
percent of the target award.
(2) All options are granted with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the Company’s
common stock on the date of grant. For grants prior to April 2007, fair market value was defined
under our stock plans as the average of the opening and closing sales prices for the common
stock on the New York Stock Exchange for that date. In April 2007, these stock plans were
amended to change the definition of fair market value to the closing price for the common stock on
the New York Stock Exchange for that date. This change is also reflected in our 2007 Stock Plan.
Except for “reload” stock options, described in (2) and (3) below, all options in this table have a
seven year term.
(3) Represents a “reload” stock option granted under the 2002 Stock Plan upon the exercise and
payment of the exercise price by delivery of previously owned shares of SUPERVALU common
stock. The “grant date” is the date of exercise of the related option. Reload stock options are
automatically granted under the terms of the original stock option agreement to which they relate
and no further action of the Committee or the Board is required. Each reload stock option is
granted for the number of shares tendered as payment for the exercise price and tax withholding
obligation, has a per share exercise price equal to the fair market value of a share of the
Company’s common stock on the date of grant, is exercisable in full on the date of grant and
expires on the same date as the original option. Reload Stock Options were eliminated for all new
grants beginning in 2005.
stock. The “grant date” is the date of exercise of the related option. Reload stock options are
automatically granted under the terms of the original stock option agreement to which they relate
and no further action of the Committee or the Board is required. Each reload stock option is
granted for the number of shares tendered as payment for the exercise price and tax withholding
obligation, has a per share exercise price equal to the fair market value of a share of the
Company’s common stock on the date of grant, is exercisable in full on the date of grant and
expires on the same date as the original option. Reload Stock Options were eliminated for all new
grants beginning in 2005.
(5) Represents options granted under our 2002 Stock Plan. The options vest with respect to 20
percent of the shares on the date of grant and an additional 20 percent of the shares on each of
the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.
(6) Represents options granted under our 2007 Stock Plan. The options vest with respect to 20
percent of the shares on the date of grant and an additional 20 percent of the shares on each of
the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.
(7) Represents a cash settled SAR granted under our 2007 Stock Plan. The cash settled SAR vests
with respect to 20 percent of the shares on the date of grant and an additional 20 percent of the
shares on each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.
38

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FEBRUARY 23, 2008
Option Awards Stock Awards
Name
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Unexer-
cisable
Option
Exercise
Price ($)
Option
Expiration
Date
Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock
Held That
Have Not
Vested (#)
Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested (18)
($)
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights That
Have Not
Vested (#)
Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or
Payout
Value of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other Rights
That Have
Not Vested
($)
Jeffrey Noddle 21,416(1) 85,663(1) $48.64 6/1/2014 305,157(19) $ 8,526,087 — $—
157,515(3) 39,378(3) 30.73 5/26/2014 60,000(20) 1,676,400
116,595(4) 174,891(4) 29.58 6/2/2013 158,330(24) 4,423,740
70,012(6) — 29.31 5/29/2013
210,326(8) — 18.99 5/29/2013
1,998(9) — 18.99 5/29/2013
150,000(10) 100,000(10) 32.71 6/15/2012
200,000(11) — 30.08 5/30/2012
110,835(6) — 33.27 6/26/2011
177,607(6) — 29.31 6/26/2011
50,000(12) — 19.00 6/29/2010
102,426(6) — 33.27 3/14/2010
60,000(13) — 20.69 4/6/2009
27,646(7) — 37.82 4/8/2008
Totals: 1,456,376 399,932 523,487 $14,626,227 — $—
Michael L. Jackson 15,000(2) 60,000(2) 43.59 4/20/2014 40,000(20) $ 1,117,600 — $—
41,859(6) — 46.01 4/7/2014 43,629(24) 1,218,994
— 13,000(14) 29.90 4/7/2014
32,000(15) 48,000(15) 29.18 4/20/2013
16,523(6) — 46.01 4/9/2013
28,017(6) — 32.16 4/9/2013
45,000(10) 30,000(10) 32.71 6/15/2012
39,084(6) — 46.01 4/10/2012
42,000(16) 28,000(16) 33.46 4/6/2012
4,242(6) — 34.03 6/27/2011
15,383(6) — 32.16 6/27/2011
1,953(5) — 32.16 6/27/2011
6,763(6) — 32.16 3/14/2010
4,039(6) — 34.03 3/14/2010
7,981(6) — 34.03 10/13/2009
15,635(6) — 34.03 4/6/2009
Totals: 315,479 179,000 83,629 $ 2,336,594 — $—
Pamela K. Knous 15,000(2) 60,000(2) 43.59 4/20/2014 5,000(21) $ 139,700 — $—
41,470(6) — 46.98 4/7/2014 30,000(20) 838,200
— 13,000(14) 29.90 4/7/2014 43,277(24) 1,209,159
28,000(15) 42,000(15) 29.18 4/20/2013
6,784(6) — 46.98 4/9/2013
425(6) — 46.98 4/9/2013
8,129(6) — 34.16 4/9/2013
8,152(6) — 33.93 4/9/2013
6,034(6) — 31.80 4/9/2013
10,887(6) — 30.62 4/9/2013
46,481(6) — 46.98 4/10/2012
42,000(16) 28,000(16) 33.46 4/6/2012
70,816(6) — 30.46 3/14/2010
39,134(6) — 33.93 4/6/2009
Totals: 323,312 143,000 78,277 $ 2,187,059 — $—
Duncan C.
Mac Naughton 15,220(17) — $26.96 12/16/2014 17,395(23) $ 486,016 — $—
10,000(2) 40,000(2) 43.59 4/20/2014 15,865(22) 443,268
28,148(24) 786,455
Totals: 25,220 40,000 61,408 $ 1,715,739 — $—
Kevin H. Tripp 10,000(2) 40,000(2) 43.59 4/20/2014 17,395(23) $ 486,016 — $—
33,983(17) — 58.85 6/24/2009 17,848(22) 498,673
28,148(24) 786,455
Totals: 43,983 40,000 63,391 $ 1,771,144 — $—
39

(1) This non-qualified stock option vests at the rate of 20 percent per year, with vesting dates of
June 1, 2007, June 1, 2008, June 1, 2009, June 1, 2010 and June 1, 2011.
April 20, 2007, April 20, 2008, April 20, 2009, April 20, 2010 and April 20, 2011.
May 26, 2004, May 26, 2005, May 26, 2006, May 26, 2007 and May 26, 2008.
(5) Represents a “reload” stock option granted under the SUPERVALU/Richfood Stock Incentive Plan
upon the exercise and payment of the exercise price by delivery of previously owned shares of
SUPERVALU common stock. Each reload stock option is granted for the number of shares
tendered as payment for the exercise price and tax withholding obligation, has a per share
exercise price equal to the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the
date of grant, is exercisable in full on the date of grant and expires on the same date as the
original option.
stock. Each reload stock option is granted for the number of shares tendered as payment for the
exercise price and tax withholding obligation, has a per share exercise price equal to the fair
market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, is exercisable in full
on the date of grant and expires on the same date as the original option.
stock. Each reload stock option is granted for the number of shares tendered as payment for the
exercise price and tax withholding obligation, has a per share exercise price equal to the fair
market value of a share of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, is exercisable in full
on the date of grant and expires on the same date as the original option.
(8) This non-qualified stock option vested at the rate of 20 percent per year, with vesting dates of
(9) This incentive stock option vested at the rate of 20 percent per year, with vesting dates of May 29,
2003, May 29, 2004, May 29, 2005, May 29, 2006 and May 29, 2007.
(10) These non-qualified stock options vest at the rate of 20 percent per year, with vesting dates of
(14) These non-qualified stock options vested at the rate of 20 percent per year, with vesting dates of
(17) These non-qualified stock options were issued under the Albertson’s, Inc. Amended and Restated
1995 Stock Based Incentive Plan prior to the Albertson’s merger. At the time of the merger, the
options became fully vested.
40

(18) The amounts shown in these columns are calculated using a per share value of $27.94, the
closing market price of a share of our common stock on February 22, 2008 (the last trading day
preceding the last day of our 2008 fiscal year).
(19) Represents a special restricted stock unit grant to Mr. Noddle to retain his services and maintain
his continued leadership of the Company, including integrating the new enterprise following
completion of the Albertson’s merger. Subject to adjustment and certain performance conditions
set forth in the award agreement and Mr. Noddle’s continued employment, the restricted stock
units will vest over a period of five years from the grant date, on a cumulative basis as follows: up
to 25 percent of the total award on October 12, 2009, up to 50 percent of the total award on
October 12, 2010 and up to 100 percent of the total award on October 12, 2011 (subject to
extension to December 31, 2011 as provided in the award agreement). The award does not vest in
full until the fifth anniversary of the date of grant and the final installment representing one-half of
the award is contingent on two factors. The first factor is Mr. Noddle’s development and delivery of
an acceptable succession plan to our Board of Directors. The second factor relates to our stock
price maintaining a threshold value. In this regard, the number of shares that vest on each vesting
date will be reduced if the Company’s stock price on such date is lower than $32.77 (the average
of the opening and closing price for our common stock on the grant date), although shares that do
not vest as a result of this provision may vest on the next vesting date to the extent that the
Company’s stock price is greater than $32.77 on such vesting date. The restricted stock units do
not pay dividends.
(20) Represents grants of restricted stock units provided for executive retention purposes under the
1993 and 2002 Stock Plans. Following vesting, the units are paid out in shares of SUPERVALU
stock upon the later to occur of a specified age of the executive, one year following retirement or
termination or 30 days following death, provided non-competition provisions of the award
agreement are adhered to between the vesting and payout dates.
For Mr. Noddle, the restricted stock units became 71 percent vested in June 2002, 86 percent
vested in June 2003 and 100 percent vested in June 2004. The age and retirement dates are 60
and June 2006.
For Mr. Jackson, the restricted stock units became 71 percent vested in April 2008, and will
become 86 percent vested in April 2009 and 100 percent vested in April 2010. The age and
retirement dates are 60 and December 2011.
For Ms. Knous, the restricted stock units became 71 percent vested in June 2005, 86 percent
vested in June 2006 and 100 percent vested in June 2007. The age and retirement dates are 57
and March 2011.
(21) Represents a restricted stock award in recognition of the Named Executive Officer’s performance
in connection with the Albertson’s merger under our 2002 Stock Plan. The restricted stock award
vests in full on April 18, 2009. Dividends are paid on the restricted stock.
(22) Represents grants of restricted stock awards provided for executive retention purposes under the
2002 Stock Plan. The restricted stock has vested and will vest as follows: 10 percent on
January 2, 2007, 20 percent on July 2, 2007, 30 percent on January 2, 2008 and 40 percent on
July 2, 2008. Dividends are paid on the restricted stock.
(23) Represents grants issued under the Albertson’s Inc. 2004 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan
prior to the Albertson’s merger. The restricted stock units have vested and will vest at a rate of 25
percent per year with vesting dates of January 26, 2007, January 26, 2008, January 26, 2009 and
January 26, 2010. Dividends are paid on the restricted stock.
(24) Represents shares of restricted stock earned under performance share awards for the fiscal 2007
– 2008 performance period that were granted under the long-term incentive plan. The restricted
stock vests in full on March 2, 2009. Dividends are paid on the restricted stock.
41

OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED FOR FISCAL 2008
Option Awards Stock Awards
Name
Number of Shares
Acquired on
Exercise (#)
Value Realized on
Exercise (1) ($)
Number of Shares
Acquired on
Vesting (2)(3) (#)
Value Realized on
Vesting (4) ($)
Jeffrey Noddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190,000 $4,263,123 127,903(2) $4,720,260
Michael L. Jackson . . . . . . . . . . 163,729 2,892,468 31,853(2) 1,175,535
Pamela K. Knous . . . . . . . . . . . . 153,807 2,506,741 28,182(2) 1,040,057
Duncan C. Mac Naughton . . . . . — — 28,528(3) 1,031,768
Kevin H. Tripp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,706 659,793 31,007(3) 1,129,049
(1) Amounts reflect the difference between the exercise price of the option and the market price of the
Company’s common stock at the time of exercise. The market price is the closing sales price for
the Company’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the exercise date.
(2) These shares represent restricted stock awards earned from a performance share award under
the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan based on our performance for the fiscal 2005-2006
performance period. The restricted stock awards vest in full one year following issuance. These
shares vested on March 2, 2007.
(3) These shares represent (a) vesting of restricted stock units granted prior to the Albertson’s merger
and (b) vesting of a restricted stock award granted in lieu of change in control agreements with
Albertson’s.
(4) Amounts reflect the market value of the Company’s common stock on the day the stock vested,
determined by multiplying the number of shares acquired on vesting by the closing sales price for
the Company’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the vesting date.
PENSION BENEFITS
Name Plan Name (1)
Number
of Years
Credited
Service
(#)
Present
Value of
Accumulated
Benefit (2)
($)
Payments
During
Last
Fiscal
Year ($)
Jeffrey Noddle (3) Qualified Retirement Plan 30 $ 898,396 $—
SERP 30 9,284,275 —
Deferred Compensation Plan —
Michael L. Jackson (4) Qualified Retirement Plan 23.92 417,349 —
Excess Benefits Plan 23.92 1,449,046 —
Deferred Compensation Plan 23.92 137,118 —
Pamela K. Knous (5) Qualified Retirement Plan 10.33 181,201 —
Excess Benefits Plan 10.33 554,979 —
Deferred Compensation Plan — — —
Duncan C. Mac Naughton
Kevin H. Tripp
(1) We maintain the following programs to provide retirement income to the Named Executive
Officers: the SUPERVALU INC. Retirement Plan (the “Qualified Retirement Plan”), the
SUPERVALU INC. Nonqualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (the “SERP”), the
SUPERVALU INC. Excess Benefits Plan (the “Excess Benefits Plan”) and the SUPERVALU INC.
Executive Deferred Compensation Plan (the “EDCP”). Each of these plans is discussed below.
(2) The calculation of present value of accumulated benefit assumes: (a) a measurement date of
February 23, 2008; (b) a discount rate of 6.75 percent; (c) an assumed retirement at age 62
42

(earliest unreduced retirement age); (d) a single life annuity form of payment; (e) the use of the
RP-2000 Combined Healthy Mortality Table (projected to 2017); and (f) no pre-retirement
decrements.
(3) Mr. Noddle is currently eligible for early retirement under the Qualified Retirement Plan, the SERP
and the EDCP. Mr. Noddle has elected a lump sum distribution at retirement under the SERP.
(4) Mr. Jackson has elected a lump sum distribution at retirement under the Excess Benefits Plan for
amounts credited to his account after calendar 2004. For amounts credited prior to calendar 2005,
Mr. Jackson has elected a 10-year installment.
(5) Ms. Knous has elected a lump sum distribution at retirement under the Excess Benefits Plan.
Mr. Noddle participates in the Qualified Retirement Plan and the SERP. Mr. Jackson and Ms. Knous
each participate in the Qualified Retirement Plan and the Excess Benefits Plan. Mr. Mac Naughton and
Mr. Tripp are not eligible to participate in the Qualified Retirement Plan, the SERP or the Excess
Benefits Plan. The SERP and the Excess Benefits Plan were designed to restore the loss of qualified
retirement plan benefits due to the Internal Revenue Service limits on compensation and benefits and,
in addition, the SERP was designed to restore the loss of qualified retirement plan benefits due to a
change in the formula required by statute in 1989. In addition, Named Executive Officers may also
defer compensation under the Deferred Compensation Plan, as described below.
SUPERVALU INC. Retirement Plan
To participate in the Qualified Retirement Plan, an employee must have one year of service with the
Company during which 1,000 hours of service were completed and be at least age 21. Union
employees are not covered unless a collective bargaining agreement provides for coverage in the plan.
Accrued benefits under the Qualified Retirement Plan are one percent of final average compensation
times credited service (not to exceed 30 years) plus 0.4 percent of final average compensation in
excess of covered compensation times credited service (not to exceed 30 years). Final average
compensation is defined as the highest five consecutive complete plan years of compensation.
Elements of compensation include base pay and bonus pay, less any deferrals under nonqualified
deferred compensation plans. Credited service are years during which the participant completed at
least 1,000 hours of service. Normal retirement is age 65. Accrued benefits are available unreduced at
age 62 with 10 or more years of service. Early retirement is available at age 55 with 10 or more years
of service. Early retirement reductions are four percent per year prior to age 62. Effective
December 31, 2007, credited service was frozen under the Qualified Retirement Plan. However,
vesting service will continue to be counted and compensation will be recognized under the Qualified
Retirement Plan through December 31, 2012.
There are seven optional distribution forms under the Qualified Retirement Plan: single life annuity,
which is payable for the lifetime of the participant only; 5, 10 and 15 year term certain annuities, which
are payable for the lifetime of the participant with a guaranteed stream of benefits payable to the
named beneficiary if the participant dies before the end of the guaranteed term; and 50 percent, 66-2/3
percent and 100 percent joint and survivor annuities, which are payable for the lifetime of the
participant with the applicable percentage of the participant’s annuity being paid to the surviving
spouse or surviving joint annuitant for their lifetime. Lump sums are also available to certain limited
participant groups. These distribution options are elected and payable at early or normal retirement.
Certain former Albertson’s pension plans in which benefit accruals for all nonunion employees were
previously frozen have been merged into the Retirement Plan. The frozen accrued benefits for merged
participants are determined under the formulas in the merged plans, and distributions to such
participants are made in the normal and optional distribution forms provided under the merged plans.
43

SUPERVALU INC. Nonqualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
The SERP was designed to restore the loss of qualified retirement plan benefits due to statutory limits
on benefits and compensation in such plans and to restore the loss of any qualified retirement plan
benefits due to the change in the benefit formula in that plan on February 26, 1989. Participation in this
plan is limited to employees who satisfy the following requirements: (1) born before March 1, 1952;
(2) have at least 15 years of credited service; (3) are a highly compensated employee (as defined
under Section 414(q) of the Code) at termination; and (4) on February 26, 1989 were actively
employed by SUPERVALU and were participants in the Qualified Retirement Plan. Accrued benefits
are determined as the greater of the current qualified retirement plan benefit formula compared to the
SERP formula of 1.7 percent of final average compensation times credited service (not to exceed 30
years) minus the sum of (A) 0.1 percent of final average compensation in excess of $75,000 times
credited service (not to exceed 30 years) and (B) 1/30th of the participant’s approximate social security
benefit times credited service (not to exceed 30 years) minus the dollar amount of the benefit payable
from the Qualified Retirement Plan. Normal retirement is age 65. Accrued benefits are available
unreduced at age 62 with 10 or more years of service. Early retirement is available at age 55 with 10 or
more years of service. Early retirement reductions are four percent per year prior to age 62. Effective
December 31, 2007, credited service was frozen under the Qualified Retirement Plan and, indirectly,
under the SERP. However, vesting service and pay continues to be recognized under the Qualified
Retirement Plan and, indirectly, under the SERP, through December 31, 2012.
There are nine basic distribution forms under the SERP: single life annuity, which is payable for the
lifetime of the participant only; 5, 10 and 15 year term certain annuities, which are payable for the
lifetime of the participant with a guaranteed stream of benefits payable to the named beneficiary if the
participant dies before the end of the guaranteed term; 50 percent, 66-2/3 percent and 100 percent
joint and survivor annuities, which are payable for the lifetime of the participant with the applicable
percentage of the participant’s annuity being paid to the surviving spouse or surviving joint annuitant
for their lifetime; a single lump sum payment; and annual installments over a five or ten year period.
Participants who do not file timely distribution elections receive payment in the form of a single lump
sum payment.
Distribution of benefits occurs at the election of the participant: (a) within 30 days of termination;
(b) during the month of March following termination; (c) during the month of March following the later of
age 55 or termination; (d) during the month of March following the later of age 62 or termination;
(e) during the month of March following the later of age 65 or termination; or (f) within 30 days following
the later of a specific date or termination. Participants who do not file a timely election will receive
distribution during the March following termination. If distribution is being made to a “key employee,”
the portion of the participant’s benefit attributable to benefits accrued after December 31, 2004, will be
delayed for 6 months following termination. A “key employee” is any officer of the Company.
SUPERVALU INC. Excess Benefits Plan
The Excess Benefits Plan was designed solely to restore the loss of qualified retirement plan benefits
due to statutory limits on benefits and compensation in such plans. Participation in the Excess Benefits
Plan is limited to employees who satisfy the following requirements: (1) have a benefit in a qualified
plan that is reduced by statutory limits; (2) are not covered under the SERP; and (3) are selected for
participation by the Committee. Accrued benefits are the additional amount that would have been paid
from the qualified plans but for the statutory limits. Normal retirement is age 65. Accrued benefits are
available unreduced at age 62 with 10 or more years of service. Early retirement is available at age 55
with 10 or more years of service. Early retirement reductions are four percent per year prior to age 62.
Effective December 31, 2007, credited service was frozen under the under the Qualified Retirement
Plan and, indirectly, under the Excess Benefits Plan. However, vesting service and pay continues to be
recognized under the Qualified Retirement Plan and, indirectly, under the Excess Benefits Plan
through December 31, 2012.
44

There are seven basic distribution forms under the SERP: single life annuity, which is payable for the
lifetime of the participant only; 50 percent, 66-2/3 percent and 100 percent joint and survivor annuities,
which are payable for the lifetime of the participant with the applicable percentage of the participant’s
annuity being paid to the surviving spouse or surviving joint annuitant for their lifetime; a single lump
sum payment; and annual installments over a five or ten year period. Participants who do not file timely
distribution elections receive payment in the form of a single lump sum payment.
Distribution of benefits occurs at the election of the participant: (a) within 30 days of termination;
(b) during the month of March following termination; (c) during the month of March following the later of
age 55 or termination; (d) during the month of March following the later of age 62 or termination; or
(e) during the month of March following the later of age 65 or termination. Participants who do not file a
timely election will receive distribution during the March following termination. If distribution is being
made to a “key employee” (as defined above), the portion of the participant’s benefit attributable to
benefits accrued after December 31, 2004, will be delayed for 6 months following termination.
SUPERVALU INC. Executive Deferred Compensation Plans (Pension Make-Up Benefit)
Executives who defer the receipt of pay under the SUPERVALU INC. Executive Deferred
Compensation Plan (the “EDCP”) will have reduced qualified retirement plan benefits and related
non-qualified supplemental retirement benefits. To make up this loss in retirement plan benefits, the
EDCP contains a make-up provision to determine and to pay an amount representing the additional
benefit that would have been payable under those plans if there had been no deferrals under the
EDCP. This make-up benefit is determined by commuting this additional benefit to a lump sum that is
deposited in the participant’s EDCP account at retirement and then distributed promptly after
retirement as a single payment. For this make-up computation, accrued benefits are determined using
the qualified retirement plan benefit formula as if there had been no reductions in final average pay due
to deferrals. Effective December 31, 2007, credited service was frozen under the qualified retirement
plan and, indirectly, under this make-up provision of the EDCP. However, additional vesting service
continues to be counted and pay continues to be recognized under the qualified retirement plan and,
indirectly, under this make-up provision of the EDCP, through December 31, 2012. If a distribution is to
be made to a “key employee” (as defined above), the portion of the benefit attributable to deferral after
December 31, 2004, will be delayed for six months following separation from service.
NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION (1)
Name
Executive
Contributions
in Last Fiscal
Year ($) (2)
Registrant
Contributions
in Last Fiscal
Year ($) (3)
Aggregate
Earnings
in Last
Fiscal
Year ($) (4)
Aggregate
Withdrawals/
Distributions
($)
Aggregate
Balance at
Last Fiscal
Year ($)
Jeffrey Noddle $ — $ — $ 28,980 $— $ 523,257
Michael L. Jackson 97,483 18,651 121,003 — 2,130,782
Pamela K. Knous — — — — —
Duncan C. Mac Naughton 58,026 57,985 (5,170) — 110,841
Kevin H. Tripp 67,869 60,777 (8,101) — 120,545
(1) The Company offers eligible participants the opportunity to participate each year in the current
executive nonqualified deferred compensation plan Additionally, Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp
were eligible to participate in the Albertson’s, Inc. Executive ASRE Make Up Plan through
December 31, 2007. Other inactive nonqualified compensation plans also exist and are governed
by the respective rules which existed while they were active. The contributions for Mr. Jackson are
also included in the Summary Compensation Table. The registrant contributions and aggregate
earnings are not included in the Summary Compensation Table.
(2) Contributions credited in fiscal 2008 include deferrals on base salary earned during parts of
calendar 2007 and calendar 2008.
45

(3) Because of limitations on the annual compensation that can be taken into account under the
401(k) Plan, participants received an additional contribution by the Company for their 2007
Deferred Compensation Plan deferrals and contributed this restoration to a participant account in
2008 as if there were no income limitations for a Company match or profit sharing contribution
under the 401(k) Plan.
(4) Earnings for the current and inactive plans are determined based on a combination of a fixed
percentage rate as well as variable interest rate methodologies based on current account
balances.
SUPERVALU INC. Executive Deferred Compensation Plan
In addition to the “make-up” feature described previously, the EDCP provides that an eligible employee
can elect to defer between 5% and 50% of base pay and between 5% and 100% of incentive pay. A
new deferral election can be made before the beginning of each calendar year. The amount deferred
for a year is credited to an unfunded bookkeeping account for that year and that account is credited
from time to time with interest at a rate determined by reference to Moody’s Corporate Average Bond
Index for the year ending in the October preceding the calendar year. With each deferral election, the
employee also makes an election of (i) whether the account for that year will be distributed in a lump
sum or in 5, 10 or 15 annual installments and (ii) the time when distribution of that year’s account will
be paid in a lump sum or commenced in installments (either a specified date or upon separation from
service). SUPERVALU may, in its discretion, credit additional amounts to a participant’s account. If
distribution is to be made to a “key employee” (as defined above), the portion of the benefit attributable
to deferral after December 31, 2004, will be delayed for six months following separation from service.
Subject to limited exceptions, all amounts are 100% nonforfeitable at all times. If distribution is to be
made to a “key employee” (as defined above), distribution will be delayed for six months following
separation from service.
Albertson’s, Inc. Executive ASRE Make Up Plan
Eligible employees defer compensation and receive employer contributions under the Albertson’s, Inc.
Executive ASRE Make Up Plan to make up for retirement benefits in a qualified defined contribution
plan that are lost on account of statutory limitations. Amounts deferred and contributed for a year are
credited to an unfunded bookkeeping account for the participant for that year, and that account is
credited from time to time with interest at a rate determined by reference to certain investment options
available under the Company’s prior and current qualified plan, as elected by the
participant. Distribution of the participant’s account for a year is made or commenced upon the
participant’s separation from service or, if elected by the participant, an earlier date when the
participant attains a specified age after age 59-1/2. Such distribution is made in the form of a lump
sum, 5, 10, or 15 year installments, or a combination of lump sum and installments as elected by the
participant. If distribution is to be made to a “key employee” (as defined above), distribution will be
delayed for six months following separation from service.
POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE OF CONTROL
The tables below reflect the amount of compensation that would be paid to each of the Named
Executive Officers in the event of termination of such executive’s employment under several different
circumstances. The amounts shown assume that such termination was effective as of the last day of
the last completed fiscal year, and thus includes amounts earned through such time and are estimates
of the amounts that would be paid out to the executives upon their termination. The actual amounts to
be paid out can only be determined at the time of such executive’s separation from SUPERVALU.
For purposes of calculating the estimated potential payments to our Named Executive Officers under
the SERP and Excess Benefit Plan, we have used the actuarial factors and assumptions set forth in
the plan documents.
46

Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination Absent a Change of Control
The first column of the table below sets forth the payments to which each Named Executive Officer
would be entitled, other than accrued but unpaid base salary and any benefits payable or provided
under broad-based employee benefit plans and programs, in the event of a qualified retirement. The
second and third columns of the table reflect payments that would be due in the event of the Named
Executive Officer’s termination of employment due to death or disability prior to a change of control of
SUPERVALU. In any of these events, we are not obligated to provide any special severance
payments, health or welfare benefits or tax gross-ups to the Named Executive Officers. Mr. Noddle
meets the age and service requirements for retirement and, therefore, accelerated vesting of equity
awards would occur upon death, disability or retirement.
Name Retirement Death (1)(3) Disability (2)(3)
Jeffrey Noddle $ — $1,582,852 $ —
Michael L. Jackson 877,679 1,805,638 877,679
Pamela K. Knous 870,610 1,775,540 870,610
Duncan C. Mac Naughton 566,260 1,806,214 1,125,060
Kevin H. Tripp 566,260 1,885,637 1,125,060
(1) A life insurance payout would be made as a single cash payment to the beneficiary.
(2) Amounts in this column represent payments owed to the Named Executive Officer as of
February 23, 2008 for awards earned under the Company’s Fiscal 2007-2008 Long Term
Incentive Plan.
(3) For Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp, the amounts also include payments under their respective
retention agreements described below.
All other payouts are made as previously described under the Pension Benefits Table above.
Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination Following, or in Connection with, a Change
of Control
SUPERVALU Change of Control Agreements
We have entered into change of control agreements with certain of our executives and other
employees, including Mr. Noddle, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Knous.
In general, these agreements entitle the Named Executive Officers to receive a lump sum cash
payment if the executive’s employment is terminated (other than for cause or disability, as defined in
the agreements) within two years after or in anticipation of a change of control (as defined in the
agreements). In addition, Mr. Noddle is entitled to receive this payment if he terminates his
employment for any reason during the seventh month following a change of control.
The lump sum cash payment is equal to a multiple of three times the Named Executive Officer’s annual
base salary, annual bonus (calculated in accordance with the agreements) and the value of the Named
Executive Officer’s annual perquisites. Each Named Executive Officer would also receive a lump sum
retirement benefit equal to the present value of the additional qualified pension plan benefits the
executive would have accrued under the plan absent the early termination. Generally, the Named
Executive Officer would also be entitled to continued family medical, dental and life insurance coverage
until the earlier of 36 months after termination or the commencement of comparable coverage with a
subsequent employer. Each agreement includes a covenant not to compete with SUPERVALU. Due to
the possible imposition of excise taxes on the payments, the agreements also provide that the
severance benefits payable to a Named Executive Officer will be increased by an amount equal to the
excise tax imposed on such payments.
Albertsons Retention Agreements
We have entered into retention agreements with certain of our executives in relation to the Albertson’s
merger, including two of our Named Executive Officers, Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac Naughton. These
47

retention agreements are effective until June 2, 2008. Subsequently, the Company expects to enter
into change of control agreements with these executives similar to those described above.
In general, the retention agreements entitle Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac Naughton to receive a lump sum
cash payment and accelerated vesting of certain awards of restricted stock if their employment is
terminated in a qualifying termination (as defined in the agreement) prior to June 2, 2008. Included as
a qualifying termination is a voluntary termination of employment by the executive for good reason (as
defined in the agreement), which includes a change of control of the Company.
The lump sum cash payment is equal to the cash portion of the total retention award remaining
outstanding and all outstanding shares of restricted stock received in relation to the retention award will
become fully and immediately vested. Additionally, Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac Naughton will receive a lump
sum cash payout of the executive’s targeted annual and long-term incentive awards for the relevant
performance periods, disregarding any applicable vesting provisions. Generally, Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac
Naughton will also be entitled to continued family medical, dental and life insurance coverage until the
earlier of 36 months after the qualifying termination or the commencement of comparable coverage
with a subsequent employer. Each retention agreement includes a covenant not to compete with the
Company. Due to the possible imposition of excise taxes on the payments, the agreements also
provide that the benefits payable to an executive will be increased in an amount equal to the excise tax
imposed on such payments.
SUPERVALU Equity Compensation Plans
Several of our compensation and benefit plans contain provisions for enhanced benefits upon a
change of control of SUPERVALU. These enhanced benefits include immediate vesting of stock
options, performance shares, restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards. The Named Executive
Officers and other executive officers also hold limited stock appreciation rights, granted in tandem with
stock options that would become immediately exercisable upon a change of control, and allow the
executive to receive cash for the bargain element in the related stock option. Under our executive
deferred compensation plans, benefits payable upon termination may be increased by 30 percent to
compensate the Named Executive Officer for any excise tax liability incurred following a change of
control. Our retirement plans provide for full vesting if employment terminates under specified
circumstances within two years following a change of control. Additionally, the Qualified Retirement
Plan provides that if it is terminated within five years following a change of control, any excess plan
assets will not revert to the Company and will be used for the benefit of certain plan participants.
We may set aside funds in an irrevocable grantor trust to satisfy our obligations arising from certain of
our benefit plans. Funds will be set aside in the trust automatically upon a change of control. The trust
assets would remain subject to the claims of our creditors.
POTENTIAL PAYMENTS TABLE
The table below sets forth the amounts each Named Executive Officer, excluding Mr. Tripp and
Mr. Mac Naughton, would be entitled to receive, other than accrued but unpaid base salary and any
benefits payable or provided under broad-based employee benefit plans and programs, in the event of
a termination of their employment by SUPERVALU, without cause or by the Named Executive Officer,
excluding Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac Naughton, for good reason following or in connection with a change in
control of SUPERVALU. For purposes of calculating the estimated potential payment to each Named
Executive Officer, excluding Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac Naughton, with respect to the pension differential
under the change in control agreements, as reflected in the table below, we have used the actuarial
factors and assumptions set forth in the plan documents, including an immediate discount rate of 4.69
percent and assuming a lump sum payment of the pension differential. These amounts do not include
pension benefits described in the Pension Benefits Table and the other retirement benefits described
following the Pension Benefits Table.
48

For Mr. Tripp and Mr. Mac Naughton, the table below sets forth the amount each would be entitled to
receive, other than accrued but unpaid base salary and any benefits payable or provided under broad-
based employee benefit plans and programs, pursuant to their retention agreements in the event of a
qualifying termination.
Jeffrey
Noddle
Michael L.
Jackson
Pamela K.
Knous
Duncan C.
Mac Naughton
Kevin H.
Tripp
Base salary (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3,391,825 $1,988,484 $1,939,135 $ 469,200 $ 527,850
Bonus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,239,783 1,590,786 1,357,395 340,577 380,288
Accelerated vesting of equity
awards (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,764,723 2,336,594 1,209,159 1,788,523 1,843,928
Health and welfare benefits . . . . 428,502 236,370 173,159 110,301 137,248
401(k) payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171,711 80,534 74,172 — —
Pension valuation differential . . . 90,800 1,028,904 598,381 — —
Perquisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238,530 70,033 75,288 100,970 89,543
Excise/income tax gross-up . . . . — — — — —
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18,325,874 $7,331,704 $5,426,689 $2,809,571 $2,978,857
(1) The award value is calculated by multiplying the number of unvested shares by the difference
between the grant price and the closing stock price on February 22, 2008 ($27.94), the last trading
day before our fiscal year end.
(2) For Mr. Mac Naughton and Mr. Tripp, these amounts represent the amount of lump sum cash
payment that each would receive pursuant to their respective retention agreements.
Definitions under SUPERVALU Change of Control Agreements
A change of control generally includes the occurrence of any of the following events or circumstances:
• the acquisition of 20 percent or more of the outstanding shares of SUPERVALU or the voting
power of the outstanding voting securities of SUPERVALU, other than any acquisition from or by
SUPERVALU or any SUPERVALU-sponsored employee benefit plan;
• consummation of a merger or other business combination of SUPERVALU or sale of substantially
all of the assets of SUPERVALU, unless following such transaction SUPERVALU’s historic
shareholders retain at least 60 percent ownership of the surviving entity;
• a change in our Board’s composition within any 24-month period such that a majority of the
Board’s members does not include those who were members at the date of the beginning of the
employment period; or
• a determination by a majority of our Board that a change of control has occurred.
Cause generally means the willful and continued failure of the officer to substantially perform his or her
duties, the conviction of a felony, the willful engaging in gross misconduct that is materially and
demonstrably injurious to SUPERVALU or personal dishonesty that results in substantial personal
enrichment.
Good reason generally means the annual base salary or highest annual bonus are reduced, the duties
and responsibilities or the program of incentive compensation are materially and adversely diminished,
the forced relocation of more than 45 miles or the significant increase in travel obligations, the failure to
provide for the assumption of the agreement by any successor entity or, for Mr. Noddle, the termination
of employment for any reason during the seventh month following the change of control.
49

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is comprised of the following non-employee directors:
Garnett L. Keith, Jr. (Chairperson), A. Gary Ames, Irwin Cohen, Marissa T. Peterson, Steven S. Rogers
and Kathi P. Seifert. All of the members of the Audit Committee are independent directors under the New
York Stock Exchange listing standards. In addition, the Board has determined that all members of the
Audit Committee are financially literate under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards and that
Mr. Cohen qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” under the rules of the SEC.
The Audit Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, which is
evaluated annually. The charter of the Audit Committee is available on SUPERVALU’s website at
under the heading “About Us.” The Audit Committee selects, evaluates and, where deemed
appropriate, replaces SUPERVALU’s independent registered public accountants. The Audit Committee
also pre-approves all audit services, engagement fees and terms, and all permitted non-audit
engagements, except for certain de minimus amounts.
Management is responsible for SUPERVALU’s internal controls and the financial reporting process.
SUPERVALU’s independent registered public accountants are responsible for performing an audit of
SUPERVALU’s consolidated financial statements and the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States). The Audit Committee’s responsibility is to monitor and oversee these processes.
In this context, the Audit Committee has reviewed SUPERVALU’s audited financial statements for fiscal
2008 and has met and held discussions with management and KPMG LLP, the independent registered
public accountants. Management represented to the Audit Committee that SUPERVALU’s consolidated
financial statements for fiscal 2008 were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America, and the Audit Committee discussed the consolidated financial
statements with KPMG. The Audit Committee also discussed with KPMG matters required to be
discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, Communications with Audit Committees.
KPMG provided to the Audit Committee the written disclosure required by Independence Standards
Board Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions with Audit Committees, and the Audit Committee
discussed with KPMG the accounting firm’s independence.
Based upon the Audit Committee’s discussions with management and KPMG and the Audit
Committee’s review of the representation of management and the report of KPMG to the Audit
Committee, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited consolidated
financial statements be included in SUPERVALU’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended February 23, 2008, filed with the SEC.
The Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee also considered whether non-audit services
provided by the independent registered public accountants during fiscal 2008 were compatible with
maintaining their independence and concluded that such non-audit services did not affect their
independence.
Respectfully submitted,
Garnett L. Keith, Jr., Chairperson
A. Gary Ames
Irwin Cohen
Marissa T. Peterson
Steven S. Rogers
Kathi P. Seifert
50

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS’ FEES
The Audit Committee has a formal policy concerning the approval of audit and non-audit services to be
provided by SUPERVALU’s independent registered public accountants. A copy of this policy can be
found in the Audit Committee’s charter which is available on SUPERVALU’s website at
under the heading “About Us.” The policy requires that the Audit Committee pre-approve all audit
services, engagement fees and terms and all permitted non-audit engagements, subject to the de
minimus exceptions permitted pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”). The Chairperson of the Audit Committee is authorized to grant such pre-approvals in
the event there is a need for such approvals prior to the next full Audit Committee meeting, provided all
such pre-approvals are then reported to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.
During fiscal 2008 and 2007, KPMG provided various audit, audit-related and tax services to
SUPERVALU. The Audit Committee pre-approved all audit services, audit-related services and tax
services provided by KPMG in fiscal 2008 and 2007. The following table presents fees for professional
services charged by KPMG to SUPERVALU by type and amount for fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007.
2008 (3) 2007 (4)
($ in thousands)
Audit fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,254 $6,170
Audit-related fees (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908 1,024
Total audit and audit related fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,162 7,194
Tax fees (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100
All other fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —
Total fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,262 $7,294
(1) Audit-related fees consist principally of fees for audits of financial statements of certain employee
benefit plans and audits of the financial statements of certain subsidiaries.
(2) Tax fees consist of fees for tax consultation services.
(3) Fees for 2008 are estimates.
(4) Fees for 2007 reflect final amounts billed.
51

PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS (ITEM 2)
The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors has appointed KPMG LLP as our independent
registered public accountants for the year ending February 28, 2009. Stockholder ratification of the
appointment of KPMG as our independent registered public accountants is not required by our bylaws
or otherwise. However, the Board of Directors is submitting the appointment of KPMG to the
stockholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate practice. If the stockholders fail to ratify the
appointment, the Audit Committee will reconsider whether or not to retain that firm. Even if the
appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee, which is solely responsible for appointing and terminating
our independent registered public accountants, may in its discretion, direct the appointment of different
independent registered public accountants at any time during the year if it determines that such a
change would be in the best interests of SUPERVALU and its stockholders.
A representative of KPMG will be present at the Annual Meeting with the opportunity to make a
statement and to respond to questions.
The Board of Directors recommends a vote “FOR” the proposal to ratify the appointment of
KPMG LLP as independent registered public accountants.
52

STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL POULTRY SLAUGHTER (ITEM 3)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (“PETA”), 501 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510,
beneficial owner of 88 shares of SUPERVALU common stock, has notified us that they intend to
present the following proposal at the Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors unanimously
recommends a vote “AGAINST” this stockholder proposal. As required by the rules of the SEC,
the text of the resolution and the supporting statement of PETA are included below exactly as
submitted by PETA.
Shareholder Resolution Regarding Poultry Slaughter
RESOLVED that, to advance both Supervalu’s financial interests and the welfare of animals supplied
to its stores, shareholders encourage the board to give purchasing preference to suppliers that use or
adopt controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), the least cruel form of poultry slaughter available.
Supporting Statement
• Supervalu’s poultry suppliers use a cruel and inefficient method of slaughter called “electric
immobilization,” in which the birds are paralyzed with an electric current, have their throats slit
while they are still conscious, and are dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water (often while they
are still alive).
• In addition to being cruel, this electric-immobilization method causes various economic problems,
such as reduced product quality, yield, and shelf life as well as increased contamination and
employee turnover.
• CAK is a better, U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved method of poultry slaughter that
replaces the oxygen that birds are breathing with inert gases, gently and effectively putting them
“to sleep.”
• A report commissioned by McDonald’s concurred that CAK is, as animal welfare experts have
described it, the least cruel method of poultry slaughter available and found that it “[1.] has
advantages [over electric immobilization] from both an animal welfare and meat quality
perspective … [2.] obviates potential distress and injury … [and 3.] can expeditiously and
effectively stun and kill broilers with relatively low rates of aversion or other distress.” The report
further concluded that McDonald’s suppliers that use CAK have experienced improvements in bird
handling, stunning efficiency, working conditions, and meat yield and quality.
• Many major meat retailers have made concrete movement toward CAK: Burger King has a
purchasing preference for birds killed by CAK; Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr., and Hardee’s now give
consideration to CAK suppliers; and Safeway has begun purchasing some birds from CAK facilities.
Board of Directors’ Statement in Opposition of the Proposal
The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote “AGAINST” this stockholder proposal.
Your directors understand the importance of humane processing of animals within the supply chain of
protein vendors and the Company has taken many steps toward ensuring humane processing. While
we do not directly engage in raising or processing animals at our stores, we are a purchaser of these
products and require that our vendors maintain programs for the humane handling of animals
processed within their systems. This year alone, SUPERVALU has taken important steps to improve
animal welfare issues by:
• Continuing to monitor and update an animal welfare policy on www.supervalu.com
• Establishing a formal, cross-functional Consumer Interest Council
• Comprised of company, vendor and independent team members, this council provides
guidance and counsel to SUPERVALU on a quarterly basis on matters related to animal
53

welfare, food safety, consumer advocacy and corporate citizenship. The council consults
with Dr. Temple Grandin, Associate Professor of Livestock Handling and Behavior at
Colorado State University, to gain guidance in awarding business and influencing
suppliers in their processes.
• Mandating animal welfare audits of its poultry suppliers
• Encouraging vendor partners to evaluate alternate methods of humane slaughter procedures by
including specific animal welfare language in fiscal year 2009 vendor contracts and ensuring those
methods are thoroughly tested and scientifically evaluated
SUPERVALU will continue to monitor and ensure compliance of the vendor community with required
humane processing of animals and will support programs that are adopted as industry standards and
will stay attuned to new technologies developed to advance these processes.
SUPERVALU believes controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS), CAK and other emerging technologies
are worthy of continued study; however, to date, the research is incomplete and inconclusive. In
addition, effects of CAS and CAK on food safety and product quality also remain to be proven at this
time.
SUPERVALU reviews its poultry sourcing regularly, and as part of that review, SUPERVALU asks
poultry suppliers to study the feasibility and effectiveness of CAS before contracts are awarded. If CAS
proves to be a more humane way of processing poultry without jeopardizing the safety of the product,
SUPERVALU will require its suppliers to study and embrace the technology.
For the foregoing reasons, the Board of Directors believes that this stockholder proposal is not in the
best interests of SUPERVALU or in the best interests of our stockholders. Therefore, the Board of
Directors unanimously recommends a vote “AGAINST” this stockholder proposal.
54

STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING DECLASSIFICATION OF BOARD
(ITEM 4)
Gerald R. Armstrong of 820 Sixteenth Street, No. 705, Denver, Colorado 80202-3227, owner of
350 shares of SUPERVALU common stock, has notified us that he intends to present the following
proposal at the Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote
“AGAINST” this stockholder proposal. As required by the rules of the SEC, the text of the resolution
and the supporting statement of Mr. Armstrong are included below exactly as submitted by him.
Shareholder Resolution Regarding Declassification of Board
That the shareholders of SUPERVALU INC. request its Board of Directors to take the steps necessary
to eliminate classification of terms of its Board of Directors to require that all Directors stand for election
annually. The Board declassification shall be completed in a manner that does not affect the unexpired
terms of the previously-elected Directors.
Supporting Statement
The proponent believes the election of directors is the strongest way that shareholders influence the
directors of any corporation. Currently, our board of directors is divided into three classes with each
class serving three-year terms. Because of this structure, shareholders may only vote for one-third of
the directors each year. This is not in the best interest of shareholders because it reduces
accountability.
U. S. Bancorp, Associated Banc-Corp, Piper-Jaffray Companies, Fifth-Third Bancorp, Pan Pacific
Retail Properties, Qwest Communications International, Xcel Energy, Greater Bay Bancorp, North
Valley Bancorp, Pacific Continental Corporation, Regions Financial Corporation, CoBiz Financial Inc.,
Marshall & Illsley Corporation, and Wintrust Financial, Inc. are among the corporations electing
directors annually because of the efforts of the proponent.
The performance of our management and our Board of Directors is now being more strongly tested
due to economic conditions and the accountability for performance must be given to the shareholders
whose capital has been entrusted in the form of share investments.
A study by researchers at Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton
School titled “Corporate Governance and Equity Prices” (Quarterly Journal of Economics, February,
2003), looked at the relationship between corporate governance practices (including classified boards)
and firm performance. The study found a significant positive link between governance practices
favoring shareholders (such as annual directors election) and firm value.
While management may argue that directors need and deserve continuity, management should
become aware that continuity and tenure may be best assured when their performance as directors is
exemplary and is deemed beneficial to the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders.
The proponent regards as unfounded the concern expressed by some that annual election of all
directors could leave companies without experienced directors in the event that all incumbents are
voted out by shareholders. In the unlikely event that shareholders do vote to replace all directors, such
a decision would express dissatisfaction with the incumbent directors and reflect a need for change.
If you agree that shareholders may benefit from greater accountability afforded by annual election of all
directors, please vote “FOR” this proposal.
55

Board of Directors’ Statement in Opposition of the Proposal
The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote “AGAINST” this stockholder proposal.
Your directors have given careful consideration to annual elections of the Board of Directors. After
careful deliberation, including discussions held in 2007, your Board of Directors concluded that for the
reasons described below, it is in the best interests of SUPERVALU and its stockholders to maintain a
classified Board of Directors on which the directors have staggered terms.
Stability and Continuity—We believe that the three-year staggered terms of directors provide stability
and continuity in the leadership of the Company. Staggered terms are designed to ensure that at any
given time, the Board of Directors has a majority of members who, by serving for several years, have
developed a deeper understanding of the breadth and nature of the Company’s business. Directors
who have considerable experience with and knowledge of the Company’s business are better
equipped to provide the oversight and make the decisions required by a board of directors, and are,
correspondingly, more capable of engaging in the long-term strategic planning that is critical to the
Company’s success.
Long-Term Outlook—We believe the Company should be strongly focused on the long-term interests
of its stockholders. The Board believes that having a classified board of directors better facilitates a
long-term outlook, and provides the best value to the Company’s stockholders.
Protection Against Unfair Takeover Proposals—A classified board of directors can play an important
role in protecting stockholders against an unsolicited takeover proposal at an unfair price. If our Board
of Directors was not classified, a potential acquirer whose nominees receive a plurality of the votes
cast at an annual meeting of the stockholders could replace all or a majority of the directors with its
own nominees, who could then approve the takeover proposal from that acquirer even if the price did
not adequately value the Company. Classified board structures have been shown to be an effective
means of protecting long-term shareholder interests from abusive tactics.
A classified board of directors encourages a potential acquirer to negotiate with the Board of Directors
on an arm’s-length basis, and provides the Board of Directors with more time and leverage to evaluate
the takeover proposal, negotiate the best result for all stockholders and consider alternatives available
to the Company. Moreover, a potential acquirer can always make a tender offer to the stockholders of
a company which has a classified board of directors.
Accountability to Stockholders—We believe that a classified board of directors makes directors no less
accountable to stockholders than a board elected annually. The fiduciary duties of directors elected to
three-year staggered terms are identical to those of directors elected annually, and the Company’s
directors believe that they are no less attentive to stockholder concerns as a result of having been
elected to three-year staggered terms. In addition, since one-third of the directors stand for election
each year, stockholders have the opportunity on an annual basis to express their opinion of the Board
of Directors or management by conducting a proxy contest to replace, or withhold votes from, the
directors up for election that year. The Company believes that a classified board is consistent with
good corporate governance and notes that a substantial number of public companies have classified
boards.
For the foregoing reasons, the Board of Directors believes that this stockholder proposal is not in the
best interests of SUPERVALU or in the best interests of our stockholders. Therefore, the Board of
Directors unanimously recommends a vote “AGAINST” this stockholder proposal.
56

OTHER INFORMATION
SUPERVALU Mailing Address
The mailing address of our principal executive offices is: SUPERVALU INC., P.O. Box 990,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440.
Stockholder Proposals for the 2009 Annual Meeting
In accordance with rules of the SEC, all proposals of stockholders that are requested to be included in
SUPERVALU’s Proxy Statement for the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must be received by the
Corporate Secretary on or before January 17, 2009, 120 days before the one-year anniversary of the
mailing date.
In accordance with our bylaws, any other stockholder proposals to be presented at the 2009 Annual
Meeting must be given in writing to the Corporate Secretary and received at our principal executive
offices no later than the close of business on February 27, 2009, nor earlier than January 28, 2009.
The proposal must contain specific information required by our bylaws, a copy of which is available on
SUPERVALU’s website at http://www.supervalu.com. Click on the tab “Site Map” and then the caption
“Corporate Governance” under the heading “About Us.” Copies of the bylaws are also available by
writing to the Corporate Secretary at the mailing address above.
Communications with the Board of Directors
Any interested parties who desire to communicate with the Board of Directors, the non-employee
members of the Board of Directors or any individual member of the Board of Directors may do so by
sending a letter addressed to the director or directors in care of the Corporate Secretary at the mailing
address above. All such correspondence will be forwarded to the appropriate director or directors.
Code of Ethics
SUPERVALU has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to its principal executive officer, principal
financial officer, principal accounting officer and controller, or persons performing similar functions, and
all other employees and non-employee directors. The Code of Ethics is available on SUPERVALU’s
website at http://www.supervalu.com. Click on the tab “Site Map” and then the caption “Corporate
Governance” under the heading “About Us.” Copies of the Code of Ethics are also available to any
stockholder who submits a request to the Corporate Secretary at the mailing address above.
Expenses of Solicitation
This solicitation of proxies is being made by SUPERVALU and we will pay the costs of such
solicitation. We arrange with brokerage houses, custodians, nominees and other fiduciaries to send
proxy materials to their principals and we reimburse them for their expenses in this regard. In addition
to solicitation by mail, proxies may be solicited by our employees, by telephone or personally. No
additional compensation will be paid for such employee solicitation. We also have retained Innisfree
M&A Incorporated to assist in the solicitation of proxies for an estimated fee of $10,000 plus
out-of-pocket expenses.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
The rules of the SEC require our directors, executive officers and holders of more than 10 percent of
our common stock to file reports of stock ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Based on
the Section 16 reports filed by our directors and executive officers and written representations of our
directors and executive officers we believe there were no late or inaccurate filings for transactions
occurring during fiscal 2008, except that Sherry M. Smith, our Senior Vice President, Finance, was
required to file an amended Form 4 to correct an administrative error.
57

Householding
Only one copy of each of our Annual Report to Stockholders and this Proxy Statement have been sent
to multiple stockholders who share the same address and last name, unless we have received contrary
instructions from one or more of those stockholders. This procedure is referred to as “householding.”
We have been notified that certain intermediaries (brokers or banks) will also household proxy
materials. We will deliver promptly, upon oral or written request, separate copies of the Annual Report
and Proxy Statement to any stockholder at the same address. If you wish to receive separate copies of
one or both of these documents, or if you do not wish to participate in householding in the future, you
may write to our Corporate Secretary at SUPERVALU INC., P.O. Box 990, Minneapolis, Minnesota
55440, or call (952) 828-4289. You may contact your broker or bank to make a similar request.
Stockholders sharing an address who now receive multiple copies of our Annual Report and Proxy
Statement may request delivery of a single copy of each document by writing or calling us at the
address or telephone number above or by contacting their broker or bank (provided the broker or bank
has determined to household proxy materials).
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholders Meeting to
be Held on June 26, 2008
Our Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available on
SUPERVALU’s website at http://ww3.ics.adp.com/streetlink/SVU.
Requests for Copies of Annual Report
SUPERVALU will furnish to stockholders, without charge, a copy of its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended February 23, 2008, as filed with the SEC upon receipt of a written
request addressed to our Corporate Secretary at SUPERVALU INC., P.O. Box 990, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55440.
Owners of Shares Held in Street Name: Check the information provided to you in the proxy materials
mailed to you by your bank or broker.
58

DIRECTIONS TO THE MORRISON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
2201 Cesar Chavez Lane
Boise, Idaho 83725
Main #: 208-426-1609
http://mc.boisestate.edu/park.html
The Morrison Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2201 Cesar Chavez Lane. The street
name has only recently been changed from Campus Lane. Consequently, signage, maps and
web mapping services may not yet be updated.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS
• From I-84: take the Vista Avenue exit, North towards city center. Vista merges into Capital
Boulevard. In a sweeping curve below the Train Depot. The first traffic light on Capitol Boulevard.
Is University Dr. Turn right onto University, taking the next left north onto Earle Street. Enter
parking lot straight ahead or parking garage on right.
• From City Center: take 9th Street South across the Boise River. Turn left at the first traffic light
onto University Drive. Take the next left onto Earle Street. Enter parking lot straight ahead or
parking garage on right.

supervalu Proxy Statements 2008

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supervalu Proxy Statements 2008