Zaandam, the Netherlands- Ahold today published its interim report for the second quarter and first half
of 2014.
• Q2 sales* of €7.4 billion down 1.1%, affected by the timing of Easter
• Strong online Q2 sales, up 18.6% to €273 million on an identical basis
• Q2 underlying operating margin 3.9%, reflecting pressure on volumes and price investments
• Program to improve customer proposition in the U.S. rolled out to a total of 320 stores
• European reorganization implemented, resulting in a €29 million restructuring charge
• Acquisition of SPAR stores in the Czech Republic completed
* at constant exchange rates
CEO Dick Boer said: "In a challenging competitive environment, we remain focused on executing our
Reshaping Retail strategy and continue to make investments in our customer and value offering,
making our stores a better place to shop.
"In the United States, the roll-out of our program to improve our customer proposition is progressing
well, bringing better quality, service and value to our customers. By the end of this quarter, the
program was active in 320 stores and will be rolled out to more than half of our stores by the end of
this year. The accelerated roll out of the program together with our decision to absorb commodity
price increases resulted in an investment in margin that was partly offset by cost savings from our
Simplicity program.
"In Europe, as part of our Simplicity program, we implemented a reorganization of our head office
support roles to improve efficiency. In addition, we streamlined Albert Heijn's commercial organization
to enable a greater focus on improving quality and value for our customers and successfully
introduced new products, especially in fresh.
"We expect that ongoing investments in our customer proposition and further development of our
product range across multiple categories will result in improving sales trends."

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