--- title: "Ahold’s Q1 sales impacted by SNAP cuts, pharmacy prices" url: https://burnaze.com/article/0f2cb372-9e94-4bf3-a32a-efff6a7fc8ef source: "Winsight Grocery Business" original_url: https://www.supermarketnews.com/finance/ahold-s-q1-sales-impacted-by-snap-cuts-pharmacy-prices author: "Mark Hamstra" category: "Grocery" industry: "Retail" segment: "Grocery" topics: ["Finance & M&A"] published: 2026-05-08T16:56:49.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:17:33.798Z image: https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt58a1f8f560a1ab0e/blt6ff44582d0f5bba1/69fe16d350b7f73051ba7ead/Ahold_Delhaize_CEO_Frans_Muller.png?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale --- # Ahold’s Q1 sales impacted by SNAP cuts, pharmacy prices **TL;DR:** Ahold Delhaize reported 1.5% comparable sales growth in the US for Q1, impacted by SNAP benefit reductions and pharmacy pricing changes, despite a 14.3% surge in online sales. The company announced the planned retirement of CEO Frans Muller and nominated Thierry Garnier as his successor. *By Mark Hamstra, originally published in Winsight Grocery Business on 2026-05-08. [Read the original](https://www.supermarketnews.com/finance/ahold-s-q1-sales-impacted-by-snap-cuts-pharmacy-prices).* ## Story Ahold Delhaize reported that its U.S. online sales jumped 14.3% in the first quarter but its comparable-store sales inched up only 1.5%, excluding gasoline. The company said its Q1 comps would have been higher if not for reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, egg-price deflation and changes in drug prices due to the Inflation Reduction Act. Winter storms and calendar shifts had a positive impact of 0.4 percentage points. All combined, these factors had a negative impact of 1.9 percentage points on Q1 comps, compared with the year-ago period. The Amsterdam-based retailer also said that Frans Muller, who has been president and CEO since 2018, is planning to retire next year, and it has nominated Thierry Garnier, a former CEO at French retailing giant Carrefour, to succeed him. Garnier’s nomination is subject to shareholder approval. Garnier has been CEO of Kingfisher, an international home improvement retailer, since 2019. Before that, he spent more than two decades at Carrefour, where he held a range of senior roles including CEO of Carrefour International and CEO of Carrefour Asia. He is also a non-executive director at British supermarket giant Tesco. “He is a seasoned leader with a strong track record in retail, digital transformation, deep international experience and a clear focus on customers, associates and the future of grocery retail,” said Wiebe Draijer, chair of the supervisory board of Ahold Delhaize. Muller had joined the company in 2013 as CEO of Delhaize Group and was named deputy CEO and chief integration officer after the 2016 merger of Ahold and Delhaize, before being named president and CEO of the combined companies in 2018. Muller said in the company’s Q1 earnings report that customers in the U.S., where Ahold Delhaize generates about 57% of its sales, have been making “deliberate decisions to navigate a challenging environment.” “To keep groceries affordable, our U.S. brands are enhancing our own-brand assortments, starting the second round of price investments, and optimizing personalized offerings,” he said. He cited lower everyday prices for chicken at all Stop & Shop stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, a private-label packaging revamp at Hannaford to help those products stand out and a new “simply low” price campaign at The Giant Co. “Despite ongoing pressures in the market, our U.S. brands maintained food volumes and market positions,” he said. The company has seen positive volume trends at Stop & Shop, he said, driven by record-high online penetration and a “pronounced increase” in store-brand volume. As a result, Muller said Ahold will accelerate both its store remodeling program and the rollout of price investments to all stores by the end of 2026. Ahold Delhaize said its net sales in the U.S. were also up 1.5% in the first quarter, to about $15 billion, at constant exchange rates. U.S. sales were down 9% at actual exchange rates. Underlying operating margin was up 0.2 percentage points in Q1, to 4.6% of sales, which the company attributed to higher sales leverage, a favorable product mix from winter storms, the positive effect from cost deflation in eggs and a favorable mix in pharmacy that more than offset price investments and additional costs related to winter storms. Muller said the 14.3% gain in online sales in the U.S. was the company’s eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth and was led by the retailer’s Food Lion banner. He also said that more than 90% of the company’s U.S. customers now have access to online shopping and more than 90% of online sales are fulfilled through same-day delivery. As previously reported, the company recently began partnering with Uber Eats for on-demand and scheduled delivery in the U.S., marking the debut of the retailer’s banners on the ride-hailing app. Ahold also said it would expand the Click2Cart platform across its U.S. brands, allowing customers to add items to their carts through digital media. The company also confirmed its financial guidance for the year, with underlying operating margin expected to be about 4% of sales overall. However, the company said that the Inflation Reduction Act will have an estimated negative impact of $450 million on reported and comparable store sales, which exceeds previous estimates. The sales shortfall is not expected to have a material impact on underlying operating income, the company said. ## Entities - Retail (sector) - sales growth (topic) - Uber Eats (company) - Winsight Grocery Business (publication) - ceo succession (topic) - online sales (topic) - Mark Hamstra (person) - Tesco (company) - Ahold Delhaize (company) - snap benefits (topic) - Frans Muller (person) - Thierry Garnier (person) --- Originally reported by Mark Hamstra, Winsight Grocery Business (https://www.supermarketnews.com/finance/ahold-s-q1-sales-impacted-by-snap-cuts-pharmacy-prices). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/0f2cb372-9e94-4bf3-a32a-efff6a7fc8ef).