Looking
back with
gratitude
EDITORIAL BY CHAIRMAN, COUNT JACOBS DE HAGEN
I have had the privilege to serve as your Chairman since 2005. During that time
Delhaize Group has made real progress in its objective to be a well respected
international food retailer. I am proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved
together and convinced there will be many more going forward.
Gratitude
DELHAIZE GROUP ANNUAL REPORT '11 3
I started my career as an economist with the IMF in 1966. With
that perspective I look back at 2011 as a year marked by seri
ous change and uncertainty. But we have seen difficult times
before and we will see them again. We must stay focused
and resolute, knowing that eventually things improve or come
into balance. Like, for example Southeastern Europe. About
fifteen years ago, parts of the region were engaged in a
bloody conflict with little room for optimism. Today, the region
is rebuilding and there has been real progress. Our acquisi
tion of Delta Maxi demonstrates just how much things have
changed and we see the region as an exciting area going
forward. In fact, when the Board recently met in Belgrade,
I was struck by the excitement and optimism of the people.
This confirmed for me the opportunity that exists in the region
for Delhaize to make a difference to customers and how they
shop and live.
So while I would like to put the current situation in con
text, there is no doubt that 2011 was a challenging year for
consumers and in turn for retailers. Consumers' confidence,
the aorta of our operations, was severely impacted by the
high level of unemployment, the austerity measures taken
by different governments and by the increasingly sensational
headlines on the economic and euro crisis. And we see the
impact in our 2011 results. But despite that we still managed
to grow and to make tremendous progress in support of our
profitable growth priorities. Based on this information the
Board has proposed a dividend increase of 2.3% to EUR 1.76
per share.
In such a climate it is crucial to have a clear long-term stra
tegic plan and to stay both focused and disciplined in all of
our investment or strategic decisions. I believe that we have
the right framework to guide us through these challenging
times. Allow me at this point to underline our strong balance
sheet and the successful launch of a retail bond in October
2011. Furthermore, I believe the portfolio optimization work
announced in January 2012 shows that we have the disci
pline to make tough decisions and drive shareholder value.
Another way we are dealing with the changing environment
is by attracting new members to our Board. I am pleased
that we were able to welcome three new board members
last year: Bill McEwan who is President Chief Executive
Officer of Sobeys, Jean-Pierre Hansen who is member of the
Executive Committee of GDF Suez and Chairman of its Energy
Policy Committee and Mats Jansson who currently serves as
an independent board member of Danske Bank after being
President and CEO of SAS, the Scandinavian airline company,
from 2006 to 2010. He held positions of increasing responsi
bility at Swedish food retailer ICA over a period of more than
20 years, serving eventually as President of ICA Detaljhandel
and Deputy CEO and Chairman of the Group from 1990 to
1994.
After the General Meeting on May 24th- I will hand over my
position as Chairman of the Board to Mats Jansson. I am
confident that under his and the Board's guidance, Pierre-
Olivier and his management team will continue to meet the
challenges of the current environment. In closing I would like
to express my enormous sense of gratitude. Gratitude to our
shareholders for their continuous support, gratitude to the
CEO and members of the board who shared their wisdom
and insights, gratitude to the members of the executive com
mittee that showed decisiveness in executing the strategic
choices and most of all, gratitude to all the associates of
Delhaize Group who share the same vision and values and
do everyday what it takes.
