AHOLD : The Biggest Supermarket Retailer You Have Never Heard Of

							    AHOLD : The Biggest
Supermarket Retailer You Have
      Never Heard Of
                          TEAM 3
                Background

• Ahold is a large global supermarket chain
  headquartered in the Netherlands.

• It is the second largest food retailer in the
  world with sales of over $60 billion in 2002,
  but its name does not appear on any of the
  several supermarket chains it owns and
  operates in countries around the world.
               Aholds Companies
• US-                   • Europe -
  – Stop & Shop           – Albert Heijn

  – Giant-Landover        – Etos

  – Giant-Carlisle        – Gall & Gall

  – Martin's              – Albert

  – Peapod                – Hypernova
Subsidiaries
Objective
• The case describes Ahold's global
  and U.S. strategies and
  competitive strengths vis-à-vis
  other large food retailers such as
  Wal-Mart and Carrefour.
             Question 1
• WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND
  DISADVANTAGES OF THE GROWTH STRATIGIES
  PURSUED BY AHOLD, CARREFOUR AND WAL-
  MART ?
Aholds Strategies
• Multi-local

• Multi-format

• Multi-channel

• Culture- first and foremost the
  culture of local operating guy
Growth Strategy
• Revenue from chains acquired

• Motive : “Going global with a
  local face”

• Walmart and Carrefour : “Global
  retail brand”
Difficulties in terms of:
• Tastes and preferences

• Distribution channels

• Culturally embedded value
  systems

• Difficulty in establishing common
  retail model
Rationale
• Consumer behavior changing

• Competition intensifying

• Performance under pressure

• Locally, the product lines are flexible
  and adaptable to individual
  customer requirements, as are the
  store formats
Aholds Advantages
• Different nations = Different
  problems, hence using different
  brands Ahold has a better
  approach

• Similarities between nations may
  be superficial.

• Global planning may be easy, but
  global execution is not.
Walmart & Carrefours’ Advantages
• Global Brand – Generate Loyalty

• Removes Confusion

• Clarity in operations & format
           Ahold: SWOT Analysis
Strengths                             Weaknesses
 International experience             No global brand
 Non-food, discount format,           Not in EU key markets (FR,

  wholsale, e-commerce                  GB, D)
 Strong domestic presence             Scale vs Wal-Mart

 Ability to integrate acquisitions

Opportunities                         Threats
 Diversification of format            Risk of joint-venture failure
 Diversification of products          Too complicated to manage

 Acquisition of major EU              Wal-Mart position in the US
  retailers
 Presence increase in Asia
    Wal-Mart & Carrefour: SWOT Analysis

Strengths                          Weaknesses
 Scale                             International presence and
 Home market strong position        profits
 Technological pionneers           Low penetration in EU

 Focus on discount                 Lack of international

                                     experience
Opportunities                      Threats
 Growing supercenter format        Too large too manage
 Product diversification (food)    Internationalisation costs

 New markets (EU, Asia)            Union opposition

 E-commerce                        Not present in large
                                     communities
              Question 2
• SHOULD AHOLD USE ITS NAME ON ALL OF ITS
  STORES LIKE WAL-MART AND CARREFOUR ?
  WHY OR WHY NOT ?
             Ahold Subsidiaries
   Europe              Asia               Americas
Ahold Polska         Tops                Stop & Shop
Ahold Czech Republic Tops Market Place   Giant-Landover
Ahold Slovakia                           Giant-Carlisle
Ahold Supermercados                      Tops
                                         BI-LO
Albert Heijn
                                         Bruno’s
Schuitema                                U.S. Foodservice
Etos                                     Peapod
Gall & Gall                              La Fragua
Deli XL                                  CSU
ICA AB                                   CARHCO
Jerónimo Martins                         Bompreço
                                         G. Barbosa
                                         Disco
Global Branding
• Yes ,because to build the brand image and identity in
  market.
• It will help them to enhance there market share and
  attract more investment from shareholders.
• It will support them to enter new markets like India
  and other emerging markets.
• If they use there name they can even develop there
  own private label brands.
• It will help them in global expansion and market
  penetration.
• It will help them to build good customer relationship
  and attract new employees and customers.
• It will help them in B2B business to build strong
  relationship with vendors and suppliers.
Global Branding
• Brand Awareness

• Evoke Loyalty

• Brand Re-call

• Universal Branding – Clarity,
  Consistency & Maximum
  communications impact
              Question 3
• WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND
  DISADVANTAGES OF WAL-MART’s AND
  CARREFOUR’s MORE CENTRALISED DECISION
  MAKING COMPARED WITH AHOLD’s
  DECENTRALISED DECISION MAKING ?
Decentralization
• Ahold’s corporate strategy is
based on decentralized decision
making and global exchange
of know-how

• Local competitiveness

• Local Retailer Flexibility & Rich
  Product Mix
Centralization pros
• Emphasis on: top-down control
• Decision-making: strong
• Organizational change: shaped by top,
  vision of leader
• Execution: decisive, fast, coordinated.
  Able to respond quickly to major issues
  and changes
• Uniformity: Low risk of dissent or
  conflicts between parts of the
  organization.
• Share resources
Centralization pros
• The use of standardised procedures
  can results in cost savings.
Relative advantages & disadvantages