Royal Ahold: multinational, multi-channel, multi-format food provider

With more than 30 million customers per week through over 8,000 stores across four continents Royal Ahold was, in 2003, one of the world’s leading retailers. Royal Ahold developed as a major international presence relatively recently and relatively quickly since its first international move in 1976. In 2002 it had over 85 per cent of group sales outside its original home country of the Netherlands.