ZAANDAM, The Netherlands -- Ahold here said last week its worldwide sales rose 26.6% to $34.6 billion for the 52-week year of 1999, compared to the 53-week year of 1998. Based on a comparable 52-week period, sales rose 29.1%.
ecially the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., Quincy, Mass.
Ahold's sales grew 7.1% to $8.4 billion in The Netherlands.
In Europe outside The Netherlands, sales rose 35.5% to $2.4 billion, with particularly strong growth in Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic and Poland.
In Latin America, sales grew 64% to $3.6 billion, a surge the company attributed to the full-year consolidation of Disco in Argentina and Santa Isabel in Chile.
In Asia, sales rose 15.3% to $487.1 million.
Cees van der Hoeven, Ahold president and chief executive officer, said, "Ahold sales growth in the past year has developed excellently. Specifically in the fourth quarter, sales were robust. In all our trade areas, all sales records were broken in the last weeks of the year."
