In all of those cases, Schlicker said Ahold took advantage of its lead time to assess its strengths and vulnerabilities, and develop specific strategies and tactics necessary to be effective in each case. Those plans are subject to approval for financial return and operate within Ahold’s “Reshaping Retail” framework, a companywide strategic growth plan that seeks to improve shopper loyalty, broaden offerings and expand geographic reach, supported by cost reduction and emphasis on responsible retailing.

A program of store investments for renovations and an approach to acquisitions with an eye toward expanding where organic growth is difficult to come by have also contributed to Ahold’s U.S. growth, Schlicker said. The Genuardi’s deal — which opened up the demographically attractive but tight Philadelphia suburbs — and an acquisition of two former King Kullen stores in New York’s Staten Island are two such examples.

“I have a long association with Giant-Carlisle but there were literally some areas that for 14 years … we wanted to have a store but there weren’t any,” he said. In Staten Island, the two acquired King Kullen stores — in conjunction with existing stores and a new build set to open next year — should position Stop & Shop as the borough’s market-share leader.

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“We were No. 3 or 4 on Staten Island only a few years ago,” Schlicker noted. The Stop & Shop-Metro New York division as a whole was gaining on A&P for the No. 2 overall position in its market, which includes metro New York, Long Island and New Jersey.

In Wynnewood, a handsome 100-year-old building that originally housed a John Wanamaker’s department store, Ahold converted the 42,000-square-foot former Genuardi’s behind a sensitivity to local tastes — expanding kosher offerings, for example — along with a brighter interior look and a stronger price message including a greater emphasis on private brands and a “wall of values” where shoppers can find items on weekly special.

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