Albert Heijn

Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands with a market share of 34.8% in 2020. It was founded in 1887 and is part of "Ahold Delhaize" since 2016.
History.
The chain was founded on 27 May 1887 when "Albert Heijn" bought a grocery store from his father "Jan Heijn" in Oostzaan. In the following years Heijn opened other locations in several cities and in 1899 he opened a central warehouse in Zaandam.
Since 1895 Heijn started roasting his own brand of coffee in a laundry room in his Oostzaan location and in 1910 several other own produced items were added, including confectionary, cakes and pastry. Until 1913 these products were produced in an old town house in Zaandam, but the company build a professional factory on this spot in 1913.
In 1920 all enterprises were combined in the "Maatschappij tot Exploitatie der Fabrieken en Handelszaken". "Anton Jurgens" - one of the founders of "Unilever" - took a 50% share within the new company, these shares were bought back by the family Heijn in 1927. On 29 April 1920 Albert Heijn gave over control of the company to his sons "Gerrit Heijn", "Jan Heijn" and his son-in-law "Johan Hille", he stayed on as president of the board.
The chain went public in 1948 and underwent two major changes in the '50. The first change was in 1952 with the introduction of their first self-service store and the second change was in 1955 with the opening of their first supermarket.
The chain could become the largest within The Netherlands via several acquisitions. Notable (partial) acquisitions were "Van Amerongen (1950)", "Simon de Wit (1972)" and "C1000 (2008 and 2012)".
In 2007 the company crossed the ocean with the opening of a franchise store in Curaçao, this shop remained open until 2016 when it was changed to a different brand. The company entered the Belgium market in 2011 with the opening of a store in Brasschaat. Despite the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Albert Heijn remained active in Belgium and has currently 60 stores. After Curaçao and Belgium the company entered the German market with their AH To Go formula, this venture ended in 2018.
Formulas.
Albert Heijn.
This formule is most used throughout The Netherlands and Belgium and is their regular store format. Since 2018 the company began to rollout the concept "Echt Vers" in which the stores would be remodelled to offer 10-15% more fresh produce.
AH To Go.
In 1999 the chain developed a new formula for a convenience store on request of the "Nederlandse Spoorwegen", the railway company would become a franchisee and opened the first store on Station 's-Hertogenbosch. The formule got its current name in 2001 and specialises in products that customers need on their commute.
Since 2019 the company is testing a new version of the formule without staff and cash registers. The customer scans their debit card and cameras register the customer and the items that are picked, after the customer leaves the right amount is deducted from their account. The new concept and technology was tested in a mobile unit that has been placed at the headquarters of Ahold Delhaize and Schiphol.
AH XL.
Since 2002 the company operates several hypermarkets with a larger variety of products in both food and non-food. Within the store there are also several chefs preparing take-away.
Albert Heijn Online.
The company started testing delivery in 1999 with the "Albert Hein Thuisservice", which was renamed "Albert.nl" in 2001. Via this channel customers could purchase their groceries, but also productes from sister-companies "Etos" and "Gall&Gall". The Albert brand was discontinued in 2014 and the delivery service was integrated in the Albert Heijn brand.
Organisation.
Since 1899 the chain is headquartered in Zaandam, their parent company is also located here. The chain operates six distribution centres in Nieuwegein, Geldermalsen, Zaandam, Tilburg, Pijnacker and Zwolle. It also operates seven "Home Shop Centers" in Almere, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, De Meern, Amsterdam, Oosterhout and Bleiswijk.