Food Lion 2003 Annual Report Download - page 26

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 26 of the 2003 Food Lion annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 80

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80

Delhaize Group - Annual Report 2003
24
Southern and
Central Europe
In 2003, Delhaize Group’s operations in Southern and Central
Europe posted a 2.8% sales increase, in large part due to the
continuing sales momentum at Alfa-Beta in Greece. In the
Czech Republic and Slovakia, Delvita suffered from price
defl ation and fi erce competition, but it improved its margins
through cost discipline and a better sales mix.
Cooperation between the different companies of Delhaize
Europe continued, with the implementation in the fall of
2003 of the European City store concept in Brussels, Aachen,
Athens and Prague. The development of a common concept,
with suffi cient room for local accents in assortment, will
allow Delhaize Europe’s companies to leverage each other’s
expertise and to create cooperative effi ciencies.
The evolution towards stronger cooperation was supported
by a further strengthening of the European support
functions: information technology, technical support, supply
chain management and procurement. The cooperation
between the European companies of Delhaize Group will be
enhanced by the entrance of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
into the European Union on May 1, 2004.
Alfa-Beta “Successful Integration”
In Greece, Alfa-Beta continued its strong sales performance,
with signifi cant sales increases at Trofo due to the upgrading
of the stores, the integration into Alfa-Beta and efforts to
differentiate further from the competition. These efforts
resulted in improvements in assortment in 2003 with the
launch of a range of environmentally friendly products
under the “Green-Leaf” label, the increase of its organic
offering, the creation of new categories like sushi meals
and the expansion of the wine and the home and beauty
departments.
Private label offerings were enlarged, particularly with new
labels like “Multicultural Tastes “ (frozen prepared meals
from all over the world), “Vita Care” (personal care and
hygiene), “AB Choice” (perishables from suppliers who work
exclusively and closely with Alfa-Beta) and “Alfa-Beta Close
to Greek Nature” (high-quality Greek regional products, often
from small local producers).
Customers also appreciated the investments made to upgrade
and diversify the store network. The fi rst European City store
in downtown Piraeus and the fi rst Greek self-scanning store in
Halandri both target time-starved urban customers. In 2003,
Alfa-Beta remodeled its large-surface Mega Hellenikon store,
including an innovative store layout, equipment and services.
Another driver of Alfa-Beta’s success was the completion of
the integration of the Trofo stores into the Alfa-Beta network.
Encouraged by the positive results from the integration and
particularly the positive effect on Trofo’s performance, Alfa-
Beta in 2004, decided to merge the Trofo legal entity into
Alfa-Beta, facilitating a full administrative combination. This
will lead to operational and fi nancial effi ciencies in the years
to come.
STRO N G s yn e r g ie s
SH O PPIN G EXPERIEN CE
PRO XIMITY