Remarkable figures from Ahold Delhaize's annual report

Ahold Delhaize had already released its financial results a fortnight ago, but now the Dutch retail group has also published its full annual report. We shed some light on a few remarkable figures.

78 %

… is the score the retailer’s own employees give to Ahold Delhaize’s efforts to creating an inclusive workplace – up 4 % from the year before. 54 % of the group’s 380,000 employees are women, but in the leading positions that number is just 31 %. An important boost for female representation will be the accession of British Helen Weir, a financial expert with experience at Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, to the management board.

1,989

… is the number of stores that currently feature self-scan solutions (out of a current total of 6,967. Best achiever is American chain Stop & Shop, with 96 % of stores featuring such devices. Technology is an important driver for the group: 5.4 million shoppers use the one of the company’s apps each month, while 66 % of turnover is generated by loyalty card holders (at Food Lion that figure rises to a staggering 85 %).

56,681 tonnes

… is the amount of food Ahold Delhaize donated to food banks last year. Moreover, 17.5 million euros was donated to community projects. All major flagships were involved: American Food Lion is participating in the charity “Feeding America” and aims to give away a billion meals by the end of 2025. In Romania, the group encourages its employees to join “12 acts of kindness”. Earlier this week, Ahold Delhaize also announced it would raise its sustainability ambitions, a target in which combating food waste is one of the top priorities.

48 %

… is the share of healthy products in the group’s private labels – a number that should rise to 51 % next year. To improve transparency in the production chain and allow quicker availability of product information, Ahold Delhaize will invest in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. Efforts will start in fresh fruit and vegetables, to be expanded to seafood and fish. Another planned project is personalised food information.

51 million euro vs. 3.5 billion

… is the enormous difference in online turnover between Belgium and the Netherlands, a striking contrast. In Belgium, Delhaize‘s delivery service pushed online turnover up 14 %. In the Netherlands however, online turnover growth exceeded 30 %, even though that market is already a lot more mature. There is a slight error in those numbers as the turnover Bol.com amasses in Belgium is added to the Dutch figures, but that effect is almost negligible. Albert Heijn‘s online turnover is not reported separately, but Twinkle Magazine estimates it was around the 565 million euro mark last year – already ten times as much as what Delhaize sells online in Belgium…