Ahold Delhaize has had a better than expected first quarter. Online sales went through the roof and the merged group gained market share again in the Benelux.
Online acceleration
Despite the challenging basis for comparison with the first quarter of last year – when sales rose sharply as a result of panic buying in the first lockdown – Ahold Delhaize managed to post good growth figures this year as well. Sales rose by 5.8% to 18.3 billion euros. This increase is partly due to a more than doubling of online sales: +103.3%, to 2.68 billion euros. The strongest increase was in the US (+188.3%). In Europe, online sales increased by 78.6%. Ahold Delhaize sees an acceleration and expects its online sales to grow by 40% this year (against the previously predicted 30%). But sales in physical stores also performed above expectations: in Europe, comparable growth was 8.6%.
The retail group again gained market share in both Belgium and the Netherlands. In Belgium, Delhaize‘s SuperPlus loyalty programme contributed to the growth: 1.7 million Belgians now have an account. Albert Heijn is further expanding its home delivery service in Belgium and now serves 400,000 households. In the Netherlands, AH is continuing to convert supermarkets to the latest generation concept with a focus on fresh products and technology.
At bol.com, revenue grew by 76.6%. The platform attracted 4,000 new sales partners, bringing the total to 45,000. Partner sales increased by 101%. This year, the platform will reach the 5.5 billion revenue mark, half a billion more than previously forecast.
