ICA
J www.ahold.com/reports2008
Our business
Joint ventures
ICA
Discontinued operations
Schuitema
Jerónimo Martins Retail
G DF EMPRESS DE RLT ALHÜ SC W J5 A
Operating and financial review
AHOLD ANNUAL REPORT 2008 9
Ahold has a 60 percent interest in ICA, a food retail and wholesale group
headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The remaining 40 percent stake is held by
Hakon Invest AB, a Swedish company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
As of December 31, 2008, ICA served over 2,200 retailer-owned and company-
operated retail food stores in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The
group reported net sales of EUR 9.5 billion over 2008, which was up 9.6 percent
from the previous year at constant exchange rates. ICA also provides limited
consumer financial services through its bank in Sweden.
Under the shareholders' agreement with Hakon Invest AB, our 60 percent stake in
ICA provides that strategic, financial and operational decisions will be made only
on the basis of mutual consent.
In 2008, Ahold divested its 73.2 percent interest in Schuitema, acquired in 1988.
As part of the transaction, Ahold retained 56 stores, 54 of which were converted
into Albert Heijn supermarkets during the second half of 2008, and the remaining
two in the first quarter of 2009. In addition, Ahold acquired a 20 percent indirect
interest in Schuitema. Full details of the transaction can be found in Note 5 to the
consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report.
Ahold has a 49 percent stake in Jerónimo Martins Retail (JMR), which is
headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. The remaining 51 percent is owned by
Jerónimo Martins, SGPS, S.A. As of December 31, 2008, JMR owned and
operated 356 retail food stores in Portugal under the brand names Pingo Doce
and Feira Nova. The decision was taken to divest our stake in JMR following
Ahold's strategic review in 2006. We are in the process of selling JMR and it
has been classified as a discontinued operation.
