Friday, June 11, 1999
Royal Ahold, the international food retailer, today announced that its US headquarters, currently located in Atlanta, Georgia, will move to the Washington DC area at the end of this summer.
Some 65 executives and assistants work at the Ahold USA office supporting Ahold's five US operating companies: Stop & Shop in New England with sales of USD 6.2 billion; Giant-Landover in the Washington DC and Baltimore metropolitan areas with sales of USD 4.4 billion; Giant-Carlisle in Pennsylvania with sales of USD 3.4 billion; Tops in northwestern New York with sales of USD 3.0 billion; and BI-LO in the Carolinas with sales of USD 2.9 billion. In March 1999, Ahold announced its intention to acquire Pathmark stores in the New York metropolitan area with sales of USD 3.7 billion. Ahold's operating companies in the United States generate annualized sales of over USD 20 billion and employ 140,000 associates.
'The move from Atlanta to Washington DC is a logical step as our US headquarters will now be located among our rapidly growing operating companies,' said Robert Tobin, President & CEO of Ahold USA. 'Basing our headquarters in the nation's capital facilitates support, coordination and synergy activities. We will be located closer to where most of our business is generated.'
More than 15 million American consumers have clearly put their trust in Ahold's over 1,000 supermarkets along the eastern seaboard. 'They see our state-of-the-art supermarkets as their preferred place to shop,' Tobin continued. 'All our chains offer low prices in addition to high quality, a broad product range, a friendly atmosphere and a superior shopping experience. We will pursue considerable growth in the US and with our new headquarters in Washington DC, we feel we are well positioned to make it happen.' The new office will be located in Chantilly, Virginia. The majority of executives and assistants are expected to transfer to the new site.