Ahold boss says small supermarkets struggle with technology costs
Ahold chief executive Frans Muller says independent supermarkets are under growing pressure from the cost of technology, and expects more of them to sell up or seek partners.
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More independent supermarkets are knocking on the door of Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of Albert Heijn, because technology is getting more expensive, chief executive Frans Muller said on Wednesday at a briefing on the quarterly figures.
"We're already seeing in our own network more companies coming to us to sell their business or to work with us," Muller said. He expects this to speed up, mainly in countries such as the United States, where Ahold owns chains including Food Lion and Stop & Shop.
Muller said supermarkets must put more money into loyalty programmes with personalised offers, artificial intelligence, online grocery shopping and updated stores if they want to keep customers. "These costs aren't always easy for smaller and medium-sized businesses to meet," he said. Large chains can spread such investments across many more stores.
Ahold Delhaize announced late last week that it will take over Tesco's supermarkets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for more than €1.2bn.
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Ahold Delhaize
Ahold Delhaize is an international food retail group with its headquarters in Zaandam, in the Netherlands. It is the parent company of supermarket chains including Albert Heijn in the Netherlands and Belgium, and it runs stores in other countries, mainly in Europe and the United States. Its chief executive leads the group as a whole, not a single store chain.