Ahold

FEASTERVILLE, Pa. — Giant Food Stores plans to open a new store near Philadelphia on March 16, the Carlisle, Pa.-based Royal Ahold banner said.

Giant-Carlisle acquired the 53,000-sq.-ft. former Genuardi’s store from Safeway in Feasterville, Pa., in November 2010 and said the renovated store will look more like a modern Giant prototype.

One supermarket operator is literally driving customers to its pharmacies.

Customers at Royal Ahold’s Giant-Landover stores can earn one Gas Rewards point for every dollar spent on purchases in Giant pharmacies in Maryland, most of Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C. With the program, for example, a $20 pharmaceutical co-pay earns 20 points and a $50 pharmacy purchase earns 50 points. For every 100 Gas Rewards points earned, shoppers save 10 cents off every gallon of gas bought at Giant and participating Shell gas stations.

MONTVALE, N.J. — Bankrupt grocer A&P, which just revealed plans to shutter 32 stores in six states, has bolstered its merchandising and marketing team with the appointment of six new executives.

A&P filed for bankruptcy in December 2010 and is in the midst of a turnaround aimed at reducing structural operating costs and enhancing value for shoppers. On Feb. 15, the company announced it is seeking court approval to close 32 stores by the end of the company's fiscal first quarter.

The new executives are:

QUINCY, Mass. — Stop & Shop is taking supermarket energy efficiency to a new level at a store in New England.

The supermarket chain, owned by Netherlands-based Royal Ahold, announced the installation of a 400-kilowatt fuel cell at its store in East Torrington, Conn.

The fuel cell, a UTC Power PureCell System Model 400, is expected to generate more than 90% of the store’s electrical energy.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Martin’s Super Markets has promoted Tim Killelea to VP operations, the chain said.

Martin’s, founded in 1947, operates 21 stores in northern Indiana and Michigan, but is a separate company from Martin’s Food Markets, which is part of Royal Ahold’s Pennsylvania-based Giant-Carlisle chain.

The company said Killelea, who began as a store manager in Mishawaka, Ind., in 1969, would have primary responsibility for overseeing all aspects of store operations for the retailer.

CARLISLE, Pa. — A Martin’s Food Markets store in Indiana, Pa., has opened the doors to its new Marketplace Café, the chain announced.

Martin’s, part of Royal Ahold’s Giant-Carlisle branch, said the chain had received a restaurant liquor license from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and would sell domestic and imported beer for customers dining in and carrying out.

The café also will stock such food items as hot and cold sandwiches, wraps and paninis; a salad bar; soups; baked goods and coffees.

NEW YORK — Supermarket giant Royal Ahold, which operates under five banners in the United States, reported that U.S. customers' continued focus on value drove its sales.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Fast on the heels of her departure from Ahold USA’s Giant Foods of Landover supermarket unit, Robin Michel has been tapped for an increasingly critical role at retail giant Sears Holdings. Michel, who left as president of Giant-Landover in December 2010, will serve as SVP and president of food and consumables, health and beauty and pharmacy at Sears and its Kmart subsidiary.