Dive Brief:

• A&P announced that Sam Martin, its chief executive officer and president, has left the company.
• The supermarket chain did not name a replacement. Gregory Mays, executive chairman of the retailer, will take the role on an interim basis.
• Martin took the helm in July 2010 as the company spiraled toward bankruptcy. Within months, A&P filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Dive Insight:

Martin's time at A&P has not been easy. He did succeed in bringing the retailer out of bankruptcy in just 15 months, but the new A&P seems to have the same problems as the old A&P.

And chief among those problems is that the A&P brands — which include A&P, Waldbaums, Pathmark and Food Emporium — all seem strangely out of place in today's retail environment. The stores are neither high-end destinations like Whole Foods, nor trendy joints like Trader Joe's, nor local institutions like Star Markets. Nor are they value outlets, organic or natural, or convenience-focused. The A&P brands all feel like some sort of throwback to us, like a store that has traveled through time from the early '80s or so.

Here's hoping the new CEO can help A&P find its way.