Amsterdam, March 6 - Dutch supermarket group Ahold does not plan to sell its U.S. retail operations and aims to remain a player in the United States and Europe, its chief executive said on Thursday.
"We want to have a strong presence on both continents, we want to be successful on both continents," Chief Executive Officer John Rishton told Reuters in an interview.
Ahold, the world's seventh-largest retailer by sales, makes more than half its revenue in the U.S. and the rest in Europe. The U.S. share has declined in recent years after the sale of some assets.
Half its operating profit comes from Dutch grocery chain Albert Heijn. It is also present in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and has joint ventures in Portugal and Sweden. In 2006, Ahold began a two-year overhaul of its two main U.S. stores, Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover, by cutting prices and offering more own-brand products and greater variety. It also sold its catering supplies unit U.S. Foodservice.
The move came after hedge funds Centaurus Capital and Paulson & Co, which own a combined 6.4 percent of Ahold, urged it to sell U.S. assets and focus on Europe, arguing this would boost its valuation.
Some analysts have also questioned the logic of having retail businesses on both continents, but Ahold has no intention of selling its U.S. stores, said Rishton, chief executive since mid-November.
"We know what we have got to do in the U.S. and we are in the midst of doing it," he said.
He said shareholders, including Centaurus and Paulson, were satisfied with management strategy.
"All shareholders that I have spoken to have indicated their support for what we are trying to do," Rishton said.