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Message from our CEO (continued)
Our leadership
Creating value for our shareholders
14
Outlook for 2016
Our thanks
Ahold at a glance
Business review
Governance
We had a record response rate on our annual
associate engagement survey this year and our
already high engagement score stayed the same
at a global level. We continued to put initiatives
in place to make this even stronger. In last year's
survey, we found that getting associates engaged
in the strategies of our companies was an area for
improvement, so this year we started working on a
unique process in which we shared strategy "learning
maps" across the company to illustrate our global
and local strategies in a way that makes them
easier to understand and act on.
Our U.S. divisions' Produce
Marketplace is easy to shop,
with fresher, better quality
produce, more variety,
and an overall presentation
showcasing locally grown
and organic produce.
I am especially proud of how our associates worked
together to execute some fantastic cross-border
initiatives in 2015. Ahold USA launched its own
consumer magazine inspired by our popular Dutch
Allerhande, called Savory™ fast, fresh and easy,
aimed at helping customers get delicious and healthy
meals on the table. They also brought our Dutch Etos
health and beauty care brand to our U.S. stores and
Peapod. With the help of teams from Stop Shop,
our Czech business was able to roll out a store-centric
model, empowering associates and improving
execution in the stores.
In April, we announced that Jan Hommen would
resume his role as Chairman of the Supervisory
Board after stepping down temporarily at the time
of his election as CEO of KPMG. Supervisory Board
member Rob van den Bergh had replaced him on
an interim basis and we thank him for taking on this
additional role for Ahold.
Judith Sprieser stepped down from our Supervisory
Board following last year's annual General Meeting
of Shareholders. I would like to thank her for nearly
a decade of service to Ahold and wish her all the
very best in the future.
We also welcomed a new colleague when Jennifer
Carr-Smith joined Ahold as President and General
Manager of Peapod in June, bringing more than
20 years of e-commerce experience to the job.
Andrew Parkinson, one of the founding brothers
who had previously headed up Peapod, took on
an advisory role focused on pursuing new business
development opportunities for the online retailer.
We would like to thank Andrew for his dedication to
making Peapod a leading online grocer in the U.S.
We want Ahold to be an investment that brings good
value to you, the owners of our company, therefore
we propose to raise our dividend to €0.52 for 2015,
an increase of over 8%.
In addition, in connection with our intended merger
with Delhaize, we terminated our €500 million share
buyback program, and approximately €1 billion will
be returned to Ahold shareholders through a capital
return and a reverse stock split, subject to the
conditions as explained in Note 35.
Going forward, we aim to maintain a balance
between investing in profitable growth and returning
cash to our shareholders. We remain committed to
an investment grade credit rating while maintaining
an efficient capital structure.
Ahold
Annual Report 2015
In 2016, we expect underlying operating margins
to continue to trend in line with 2015, excluding
the potential impact from the proposed merger with
Delhaize. We aim to fund our ongoing investments
in our customer proposition with our Simplicity cost
saving and efficiency program. Our online businesses
are on track to meet our target of €2.5 billion
consumer sales in 2017. We are planning to invest
in our logistical infrastructure in the Netherlands,
with a new distribution center for Albert Heijn and
a new distribution center for bol.com, resulting in
an increased cash capital expenditure of around
€1 billion for 2016.
On behalf of our Executive Committee, I would
like to thank our associates for a tremendous year
- our final year as Ahold as we prepare for an
even more exciting future together with Delhaize.
We are fortunate to have so many talented people
in our organization who care about doing their very
best for our customers. I was happy to witness the
entrepreneurial spirit in 2015 and I am proud of the
way our people were able to adapt our business
to become an even better place to shop, a better
place to work and a better neighbor. I would also
like to thank our customers, who continue to inspire
us. And last but not least, our shareholders, for your
continued confidence in our business, our service
to consumers and our vision for the road ahead.
Dick Boer
Chief Executive Officer
March 2, 2016
