o www.ahold.com/reports2009
Our strategy - continued
Our business model
Group at a glance
Our business model is a continuous cycle. We work to lower our cost base in order
to invest in price, value and our product and service offering. This, in turn, drives sales,
wins new customers, and allows us to allocate capital to further grow our business.
Or
Lowering cost base
We reduce costs by simplifying all aspects of our business. We work on streamlining
and standardizing processes to improve efficiency and achieve further economies of scale.
We completed a three-year, €500 million cost reduction program at the end of 2009 and,
to enable further investment to benefit our customers, we announced a new three-year
€350 million cost reduction program (2010-2012). The program will focus on all aspects
of our business, including store expenses, supply chain, and overhead. We will also deliver
additional sourcing cost savings over the same period.
Building strong consumer brands
We build powerful consumer brands in each of our markets by repositioning our
businesses to provide value, the right offering of products and services, and an appealing
shopping experience for our customers.
Driving identical sales growth
Our brand positioning and customer offering in each of our markets increase customer
loyalty, attract new customers and drive identical sales growth in our businesses.
Allocating capital to new growth
We continue to grow in existing and new markets where we can achieve an attractive
return. We are improving our store formats in all of our operating companies and opening
innovative new format concepts.
