Dive Brief:
- In an attempt to "make Ahold USA better able to serve our customers," the company is forecast to shed 120 support center positions, according to Tracy Pawelski, Ahold USA's vice president of external communications, as told to Progressive Grocer.
- The restructuring program, predicted to be completed by early summer, involves support centers in Carlisle, PA, and Quincy, MA, wherein the company will offer eligible workers a voluntary separation incentive plan in the hopes of lessening the blow to employees.
- Pawelski told Progressive Grocer, "These changes build on the successful steps we’ve taken in other parts of our operations to lower prices, limit costs and make our decision-making quicker and less complex.”
Dive Insight:
According to Eurofruit, Ahold CEO Dick Boer said that the Dutch company is focusing its efforts on "great value, high quality and affordable fresh products," to hit certain targets in 2015, as laid out by its Responsible Retailing Report 2014, recently released to shareholders. The announcement comes nearly two months after reporting growth in Q4 2014 sales and appointing a new CEO for Albert Heijn.
Ahold isn't the only retailer looking toward healthier foods as a strategy for growth. Reacting to strong sales in its organic sector, which more than doubled in a year and a half, Costco announced it "intends to increase" its organic foods selection, according to Supermarket News.