Dive Brief:
- Year over year, Ahold reported a 7.9% boost in net sales for Q4 2014 and a 0.5% increase in net sales for the full year.
- Back home in the Netherlands, Ahold saw more positive sales: a 4.5% increase, due in part to the expansion of Albert Heijn supermarkets, the largest Dutch supermarket chain, in the Netherlands and Belgium.
- The same day, Ahold announced that Wouter Kolk would be new CEO of Albert Heijn, replacing Sander van der Laan.
Dive Insight:
In a trading statement, Ahold said, "Investments in our customer proposition continue to be largely funded by cost reductions from our Simplicity program, and we expect underlying operating margin for the fourth quarter to be broadly in line with the previous quarter."
These sales increases are welcomed following Ahold's shrinking profit margins in both Q3 and Q2 2014.