Awards
Royal Ahold’s progress was recognized by a number of awards in 2001 as the group continued to expand and to develop new formats and platforms.
The company was named U.S. Retailer of the Year by prominent trade publication MMR Mass Market Retailers and the annual Dutch Investor Relations Prize.
Online business
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Ahold made significant moves into the home online shopping business through the purchase of U.S internet grocer Peapod, while in the Netherlands, Ahold subsidiaries join forces to introduce Albert, a joint internet-based home delivery service.
New additions to the Ahold group during the year
U.S. Foodservice further strengthened its position through the acquisition of Alliant Exchange, Inc., the parent company of Alliant Foodservice Inc., a leading foodservice operator in the United States with net sales of approximately USD 6.6 billion. It also acquired 100 percent of the shares of Parkway Food Service, a broadline distributor in western Florida.
Other new additions included Brazilian food retailer G. Barbosa, Bruno's Supermarkets in the U.S., Superdiplo in Spain and a joint venture to develop and operate discount stores and hypermarkets in Sweden and Norway.