Supervalu CEO responds to claims about retirement

MINNEAPOLIS Supervalu CEO Jeff Noddle rejected claims that he was forced out of his position because of poor performance or his refusal to break up the company.

Noddle told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal that he had been planning to retire for several years.

Analysts had questioned Noddle's retirement and believed he was forced out because Supervalu's board wanted to take action, including the possible sale of some of the company's businesses, to turn around Supervalu's financial performance.