The chief financial officer at Ahold Delhaize, Jeff Carr, has told ESM that the Netherlands-based retailer should achieve approximately €220 million of net synergies by the end of 2017, as part of the integration of the former Ahold and Delhaize businesses.
This is close to half (44%) of the anticipated €500 million worth of net synergies that the group hopes to achieve by financial year 2019.
Carr noted that Ahold Delhaize has made "good momentum" on this front, achieving €22 million worth of synergy savings in the months since its formation, last July.
Carr was speaking to ESM during a media briefing to announce Ahold Delhaize's Q4 and full-year results.
"Including the €22 million that we achieved in the fourth quarter of 2016, we will have achieved €220 million in synergies by the end of 2017," he said. "That's €200 million incremental in 2017 that we are going to deliver."
Quick Wins
In terms of where Ahold Delhaize has already been able to realise synergy savings, Carr said that the "quick wins that we see coming through in the first quarter of 2017 are in the areas of A-brand negotiations and national brand negotiations, in both Europe and the US, where we've been able to harmonise pricing and harmonise costs."
He added that the group has made "good progress" in the US with regards to private label, "where we have been able to harmonise many of the Delhaize brands and Ahold US brands. Also, in many fresh areas in the US, we have made some excellent progress."
According to its full-year report, the group has made €8 million worth of synergy savings at its US operations, €7 million worth in Europe, and €7 million in its global support office.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
