Personnel Updates:

Ahold has appointed James McCann as Chief Commercial and Development Officer, a new position, effective 9-1-2011.
Associated Food Stores announced that Dick King is retiring as Senior VP.
Big Y Foods named Michael P. D’Amour VP of Sales and Merchandising. D’Amour, son of the privately held company’s President, succeeds the retiring Phillip Schneider.

Buehler’s Fresh Foods is bringing in a COO to handle day-to-day grocery operations to free them up to work on diversifying and moving the company into new areas. Daniel Shanahan, who most recently was CFO and a principal partner for Wilson Farms, a Western New York-based convenience store chain with 188 units, started his position in mid-July 2011.

EZ Energy is welcoming a number of new employees, including Michael Paull as VP & CFO. Charlotte Fornal has joined EZ Energy as manager of Treasury Services. Also joining the EZ Energy team with a strong background in c-stores and foodservice is Aaron Taylor, as Marketing Category Manager. Jim Mitchell has been hired as the new Dealer Operations Manager.
Kroger announced that it has named Michael Donnelly SVP Merchandising. Donnelly has been President of the company’s Ralphs Grocery Company division, based in Los Angeles, CA since August 2007.
Marsh Supermarkets has hired Mary Snell as Director of Nutrition and Wellness Marketing, and has also promoted Melinda Hustmyer to Sales and Promotion Marketing Manager.
Marsh Supermarkets named David C. Siegel Senior VP of Merchandising and Marketing strategic initiatives, a newly created position at the privately-owned chain.

The Pantry, Inc. announced that Thomas D. Carney is joining the executive leadership team as SVP, General Counsel and Secretary.

Safeway announced that Don Keprta, President of its Chicago-area Dominick’s Finer Foods division, has resigned. Brian Baer, Dominick’s CFO and VP of Finance, will assume the role of Acting President of Dominick’s.

Susser Holdings Corp. today announced the appointment of three new members to its leadership team: Gail Workman as SVP of Sales and Operations with Susser Petroleum Co., Susser’s wholesale fuel subsidiary, based in Houston; Bob Swan as SVP of Human Resources, based in Corpus Christi; and Joe Albanese as VP of Facilities Management, also based in Corpus Christi.
Unified Grocers announced that Bob Ling, Exec VP General Counsel and Secretary, has been named President of the company, succeeding Al Plamann, who remains as Unified’s CEO.
Industry Insight:

Giant Eagle celebrated the grand opening of 18 new in-store Huntington bank branches in Cleveland and the surrounding areas for 2011.
Mapco Express, the retail division of Delek US Holdings, plans to install its own brand of QSRs in all new Mapco stores going forward, up to 75 locations over the next 5 years. It has opened its first MY Top Ten Subs & Sliders restaurant in Franklin, TN.
Unified Grocers announced that Times Supermarkets has switched its grocery supply business to Unified Grocers and will begin receiving groceries and other products from Unified during the second week of July, 2011. Times Supermarkets had previously been supplied by C&S Wholesale Grocers.
The Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (TPCA) and the Texas Grocery and Convenience Association have agreed to merge into a combined association called the Texas Food and Fuel Association (TFFA).
Real Estate:

Bristol Farms Markets is seeking growth opportunities throughout southern CA during the coming 18 months.  Typical leases run 15 years. 
Hy-Vee, Inc. is seeking growth opportunities throughout the existing markets during the coming 18 months.  Typical lease run 20 years.
Rouses Enterprises, Inc. is seeking growth opportunities throughout Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans, LA, as well as MS during the coming 18 months.  The company prefers to acquire sites and will consider smaller locations.
Walter Lagestee, Inc. is seeking growth opportunities throughout IL during the coming 18 months.  Typical leases run 10 to 20 years.  A vanilla shell is required.  Preferred cotenants include T.J. Maxx.  Preferred demographics include a population of 35,000 sq. ft. within 10 miles earning $65,000 to $75,000 as the average household income.
Technology News:

Albertsons LLC grocery chain confirmed that it is removing self-checkout systems from all of its stores because of a “very high focus on customer service.” It’s important to note that Albertson’s split into two chains a few years ago and Supervalu’s Albertsons have not said they are abandoning self-checkout.
Giant Eagle said it is offering a new iPhone app that allows customers to integrate and monitor their Giant Eagle coupons and accounts.
Kroger is now doing a trial in Texas where it has redesigned a store to completely do away with self-checkout.
Roundy’s Supermarkets has deployed Agilence’s Hawkeye POS video auditing solution.
Sinclair Oil Corp. of Salt Lake City and Daktronics Inc. of Brookings, S.D., announced the LED display manufacturer is now the petroleum distributor’s LED signage provider.
Safeway, WinCo Foods and Wegmans have each selected Sysrepublic’s Secure loss prevention software solution which enables them to identify and catch employee theft and decrease shrink.
Green Initiatives:
Supervalu announced that plans to transition 40 stores to zero waste operations by the end of its current fiscal year ending Feb. 29, 2012.