June 2008

Carmen “Vito” D’Anna Jr. has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Mars Super Markets, the 18 store regional operator based in Baltimore, MD that was founded in 1943 and currently employs about 1,700 associates.

Several sources told Food World that D’Anna, who was named president in 1997 following the death of his father, Carmen D’Anna Sr., left for personal reasons. He will reportedly continue to assist the company in a consulting capacity.

Associates admired D’Anna’s outgoing personality and his strong rapport with personnel at the stores. He first joined Mars in 1978 as a bagger, rising to store manager and executive VP-store operations until being named president 11 years ago.

Replacing Vito D’Anna will be his younger brother Chris, who joined the company about 15 years ago. Chris D’Anna has assumed many key administrative roles for the family-owned chain whose strongest presence remains in East Baltimore. Mars’ veteran chief financial officer, Phil Hanlon has reportedly added the title of president to his duties.

Additionally, senior grocery buyer John Gahan, who has been with Mars since 1964, has announced his retirement, effective at the end of 2008.

Vito D’Anna’s resignation caps an internally active year for the regional supermarket retailer. Last summer, Mars began exploring its future options, including a possible sale. A prospectus was sent to interested parties, the most serious of which were reportedly Food Lion, Supervalu, AWI and Wakefern. After several rounds of qualification and bidding, no sale has been consummated. With Vito D’Anna’s departure, it is unclear if the sales process will be re-explored. Mars’ voting stock is reportedly owned by Chris and Vito’s mother Katherine Dakis D’Anna. Their brother, Ted D’Anna, also works at the retailer as executive VP, as does another brother, Joseph.

As with other regional operators, Mars has been impacted by the new and diverse competition that has entered the Baltimore market in recent years. Wal-Mart, in particular, has proven to be a thorn, with new SuperCenters opening near Mars’ locations in Aberdeen, MD, Arbutus, MD, Glen Burnie, MD and two stores on the York Road corridor in Timonium and Cockeysville, MD.