Supervalu Strikes New Deal with Coinstar

Supervalu shoppers can cash in their coins for free when they choose the grocer’s gift card option at in-store Coinstar kiosks.

The no-fee option will be available at about 1,000 stores across the country, including Acme, Albertsons, Farm Fresh, Horbnbacher’s, Jewel-Osco, Lucky, Shaws/Star Market, Shop n’Save and Shoppers.

“We are very pleased with the results of the pilot program with Coinstar and look forward to a program expansion starting in June,” said Mark Schumacher, Supervalu’s director of financial services. “This agreement provides our customers the opportunity to receive the full value of their coins with no fees when they choose the gift card option.”
Supervalu and Coinstar began their collaboration on the gift card project in January 2010 in 78 Albertsons stores in Washington and Oregon.

“We’re delighted to be moving forward on this exciting new project with Supervalu and look forward to maximizing the potential increase in both trips and shopping basket size,” said Mike Skinner, president of Coinstar’s coin business. “There's approximately $10 billion in coins across the U.S. waiting to be converted, and this gives consumers a compelling option for turning those coins into something of great value.”

Coinstar’s fee-free coin counting service allows consumers to put the full value of their change onto a gift card or e-certificate from a variety of national retailers. Now, consumers can choose the gift card option at the Coinstar kiosks located in Supervalu chains across the United States.

Coinstar Inc.’s core automated retail businesses include the Redbox self-service DVD rental and Coinstar self-service coin-counting brands.

Minneapolis-based Supervalu Inc. operates 1,114 traditional retail stores, including 805 in-store pharmacies; 1,280 hard-discount stores, of which 899 are operated by licensee owners; and 1,900 independent stores serviced primarily by the company's traditional food distribution business.