Ahold

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.

AMSTERDAM — Former Ahold senior executive Albert Heijn, who helped lead the overhaul of the Dutch-based supermarket giant in the 1960s and 1970s, died peacefully Thursday at his home in the United Kingdom, the company announced. He was 83.

LANDOVER, Md. — Two-and-a-half years after joining the company, Robin Michel is leaving as president of the Giant-Landover division of Ahold USA to pursue other opportunities, the company confirmed Monday.

Michel will depart at the end of the month, according to Ahold USA spokesperson Sara Neumann. She will be replaced on a temporary basis as operations chief by Don Sussman, EVP supply chain at Ahold, while the company conducts a search for a successor.