The current crisis will provide Ahold Delhaize with opportunities to make acquisitions, CEO Frans Muller said: “Consolidations in the market will only continue.” In the Benelux, the group is building an ecosystem with Delhaize, Albert Heijn and bol.com.
“We want to grow”
“During the pandemic, retailers got a little tailwind, allowing some that were not future-proof – because they did not invest enough in technology – to survive for longer than they should. This crisis is going to give us opportunities”, Muller said in Belgian newspaper De Standaard.
“We want to grow and there are three ways to do that”, the CEO added. “The cheapest way is to do more sales with the existing surfaces. A second way is to take over existing shops in the regions where you already operate, using logistical advantages and scale. In the United States, we can move our operating area a bit further west. In Europe, this means we would have to add a country, because we already are the biggest or the second biggest anywhere where we already operate.”
Creating an ecosystem
The group learned a lot from the merger with Delhaize. That was a good move, the CEO says, even if there are still steps to be taken. “We already do some things together like sharing some strategic suppliers, we strengthen each other with private labels. We have opened a state-of-the-art bottling plant near Brussels, which will supply our stores in the whole of Europe, and even the US.”
Now, Ahold Delhaize wants to create an ecosystem in Belgium, so that customers can see all the group’s brands after one login, combine orders and deliveries of products at bol.com and Delhaize, and make only one payment. “However, Belgium is a difficult market, with too many shops”, Muller warns. The three big food retailers are struggling with their higher cost structures. Delhaize and Albert Heijn do appeal to different customer groups in Belgium and together they are gaining market share. Bol.com will also join them, as that platform will sell more food.
