Ahold

AMSTERDAM — Ahold is buying back about $650 million worth of shares, with plans to finalize the deal within 12 months, the Dutch retail company said Monday.

Ahold — which operates the Stop & Shop, Giant-Carlisle and Giant-Landover supermarket banners and the Peapod online grocery service in the United States through its Ahold USA subsidiary — said the purpose of the share-buyback program was to return value to shareholders.

AMSTERDAM — Rene Dahan will step down as Royal Ahold's board chairman in October, the Dutch supermarket operator said Wednesday.

Netherlands-based Ahold — which operates the Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle chains and the Peapod online grocery service in the United States through its Ahold USA subsidiary — said that Dahan would step down after serving on the company's board since 2004. The company plans to propose at its shareholder meeting the appointment of Jan Hommen as Dahan's successor.

LANDOVER, Md. — Supermarket chain Giant Food of Landover, Md., will focus on the employment of transitioning veterans and their family members as it designates March as its Military Appreciation Month, the Ahold USA banner said Friday.

Giant-Landover will work with the USO of Metropolitan Washington and USO Delaware for a third year, sponsoring an in-store giving campaign that will support programs from both across the Mid-Atlantic region.

NEW YORK — Publix may join Royal Ahold later this month in making a bid for the more than 200 Harris Teeter supermarkets, according to a report published Friday by Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the situation. 

Virginia and North Carolina would represent new markets for Publix if the Florida-based grocer acquired Harris Teeter. Publix has already marked North Carolina for expansion with plans to open two stores in the state in 2014. 

LANDOVER, Md. — Ahold USA banner Giant Food of Landover, Md., presented a check for $10,000 to the National Center for Children and Families at a Giant store in Washington, D.C., to mark Black History Month and the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. NCCF executive director Sheryl Brissett Chapman, recently featured in Giant's Profiles in Excellence publication, accepted the donation.

AMSTERDAM — Keeping stores open during Hurricane Sandy was one of the factors that contributed to an increase in total store sales and comps in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 for Ahold USA, the supermarket operator's Dutch parent company said Thursday.

Ahold attributed its 4.3% increase in sales in the fourth quarter, to $6.1 billion, partially to the Hurricane Sandy effort. The quarter also saw comps increase by 2.4%, while full year sales were $25.8 billion, a 3.1% over 2011, as comps increased by 1.4%.

NEW YORK — Royal Ahold may be one step closer to acquiring Harris Teeter, though the Dutch supermarket conglomerate has yet to make a formal bid, according to a story published Friday morning by Bloomberg. 

Citing persons familiar with any potential acquisition pursuit, Bloomberg reported Ahold has contacted JPMorgan Chase, which has been retained by Harris Teeter to evaluate options.

BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons named the division presidents who will lead the 877 stores it will acquire from Supervalu after the purchase agreement closes next month, the company said. The two companies agreed to the purchase in January.