Ahold is partially endowing a professorship for women in manage
ment studies at the University of Amsterdam.
In 1996, Ahold will organize a trial of telecommuting.
Total assets of the Ahold Dutch Customer Fund, a savings
and investment program for customers and employees, were
approximately NLG 196 million at year end 1995, a 42% rise.
The fund invests 50% of its assets in Ahold shares and 50% in
interest-bearing loans to Ahold. At the end of December 1995,
the fund boasted 62,000 participants, including over 19,000 Ahold
employees. Since the launch of the fund four years ago, the unit
price has increased more than 45%.
Ahold has revised its profit-sharing plan to improve the
position of lower-income employees. The employee installment
savings plan, introduced in 1994, gained in popularity.
The assets of the Ahold Pension Fund totaled NLG 1,609
million at the end of 1995. I he number of employees contributing
to the fund was 23,494, while 4,292 retired employees received
pensions from the fund.
Given the level of change underway throughout Ahold,
much attention is being devoted to internal communications.
Every Ahold subsidiary company has its own means of communi
cations to regularly inform its staff about important developments.
International activities are also discussed in these publications,
so that employees in any of the local companies can learn about
Ahold's activities in other parts of the world. Through staff publi-
cations, specially produced videos and electronic media, employees
are kept abreast of important developments and opportunities.
Other European countries - The Ahold companies in Portugal and
the Czech Republic employed an average of 10,741 workers, a
36.8% increase. Employment grew in both countries due to the
addition of new stores.
In the Czech Republic, where acquisitions, among other
things, led to an increase in the number of employees by 1,153
to an average number of 2,675, many employees took advantage
of new and existing training courses. In particular, the English
language course offered to many employees, was extremely popu
lar in the Czech Republic. Job classification and pay scales were
improved.
It is Ahold's responsibility, as a good corporate citizen, to contribute
to the welfare of the local communities where we operate. Ahold
offers local organizations a way of providing information to inter
ested consumers. This is used on a large scale. International orga
nizations such as Unicef and the Red Cross also make use of our
stores for their fundraising and information campaigns.
Many of our stores offer special assistance to senior citizens.
These include transport to and from retirement communities, as
well as in-store assistance. The US subsidiaries are closely involved
20 Annual Report 1995 Royal Ahold
Ahold in society
