Comps Decline at 3 of 4 Ahold USA Chains

AMSTERDAM -- Ahold yesterday said same-store sales at its Tops, Giant-Landover and Stop & Shop divisions suffered a decline in the low single digits in the fourth quarter, while Giant-Carlisle saw a 3.1% gain. The company also said profit margins at Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover were impacted by the new value-pricing program at the chains. Same-store sales at Stop & Shop were down 1.5% in the fourth quarter and 1.3% for the year. At Giant-Landover, same-store sales slid 2.1% in the fourth quarter and 1.6% in the full year. Total sales for the combined Stop & Shop-Giant-Landover chains were up 0.1%, to $3.8 billion, for the fourth quarter, and 0.6%, to $16.4 billion, for the year. At Tops, same-store sales declined 2.9% in the quarter and 5.5% for the year. Total sales in the Giant-Carlisle-Tops division were down 2.7% for the quarter, to $1.4 billion, and fell 3.3% for the year, to $6 billion.