Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of Albert Heijn (AH), online store bol, and drugstore chains Etos, has reached a milestone with its online activities. It is the first time the company has succeeded in making them profitable across the board.
European online sales of Ahold Delhaize rose by 12.7 percent in the second quarter. They were driven by the strong growth of online store bol (12.5 percent) and supermarket Albert Heijn (over 10 percent).
Ahold Delhaize speaks of a “milestone” that online activities are now profitable. The parent company sees a good future in the combination of physical and online stores.
The acquisition of the Romanian supermarket chain Profi earlier this year also contributed to the increase in sales. Ahold Delhaize gained seventeen hundred branches with it. The group was already present in Romania because it owns the Mega Image retail chain.
The Dutch and Belgian supermarkets were still affected by the fact that they are no longer allowed to sell tobacco. In the United States, Ahold had actions to keep prices low and profitability.
Ahold’s total turnover increased by 3.3 percent to over 23 billion euros.