Ahold Delhaize

THE 2019 POWER 25 TOP BANNERS: GIANT, STOP & SHOP, FOOD LION, HANNAFORD HQ: CARLISLE, PA. U.S. STORE COUNT: 2,000

Ahold Delhaize, where U.S. volume has traditionally been strong but growth only modest, now wants it all. The Dutch retail giant is counting on turning its brands back to local control—and stepped up investment in stores and e-commerce—to begin delivering results under CEO Frans Muller’s Leading Together strategy. A surprise worker walkout at Stop & Shop this year may prove to slow the effects of a multimillion-dollar investment in that banner, but WGB’s 2019 Grocery Business of the Year still has plenty of momentum particularly at Hannaford, Food Lion and Giant/Martin’s brands, where loyalty, price and fresh have been in the spotlight. The move to local brand leadership was accompanied by creation of a central services group, Retail Business Services, which among other things is pushing out innovations to the banners around e-commerce, robotics and private label and can potentially become a source of new income by outsourcing the same services to others.