Ahold Delhaize

ZAANDAM, the Netherlands — Ahold has entered into an agreement to acquire Spar's business in the Czech Republic. The acquisition includes 50 stores of which 36 are compact hypers and 14 are supermarkets.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Bi-Lo Holdings, LLC, parent company of Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie supermarket chains, is converting seven existing Harveys stores to Winn-Dixie stores and three existing Winn-Dixie stores to Harveys stores. These stores are part of the pending acquisition of 134 operating stores from Delhaize Group.

Harveys stores in Brunswick, St. Marys and Valdosta, Ga. are affected, as are Winn-Dixie stores in Americus, Albany, and Leesburg, Ga.

Peapod has opened a new fulfillment facility in Agawam, Mass., to better serve the needs of consumers from Hampshire and Hampden counties in Massachusetts.

Zaandam, The Netherlands -- Ahold plans to significantly expand its Peapod presence in the U.S. market.

"Peapod is expected to double its capacity in the U.S. in 2014," Dick Boer, Ahold CEO, told analysts during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

New York -- Bi-Lo Holdings and Delhaize Group have received approval from the Federal Trade Commission to proceed with the transaction in which Bi-Lo Holdings will acquire substantially all of the stores in Delhaize’s Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid’s supermarket chains. As part of the deal, Bi-Lo agreed to divest 12 Delhaize America stores in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and Delhaize Group agreed to retain two stores that were initially part of the deal.

Ahold USA has opened 120 pickup points for online orders as of the end of 2013. The company hopes to triple its online food sales by 2016, and said the opening of pickup points in the United States and Europe would be an important part of reaching that goal.

Most of the pickup points in the United States are operated under the Stop & Shop, Giant Food of Landover, Md., and Giant Food Stores of Carlisle, Pa., banners. The 120 pickup points compare with only eight a year ago.

E-commerce has redefined the retail shopping experience and shaped the fate of retailers in many sectors. Grocers have been the exception thus far, but that is about to change in a major way.

Giant Food Stores is expanding its partnership with sister company Peapod again, this time with the launch of a new pickup spot at a store in a town near Philadelphia.

Giant-Carlisle and online grocery service Peapod, both banners of Ahold USA, announced the launch of the pickup service in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. The store is the 10th Giant location in Pennsylvania to include a Peapod pickup spot.