IRI, a global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail and media companies, and Ahold Delhaize Licensing, SARL, a proud company of Ahold Delhaize, have announced they have entered into a long-term agreement for IRI to serve as the primary partner and analytics platform of record for the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America. Together, the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America represent the largest grocery retailer group on the U.S. East Coast, including the Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant Foods, GIANT/MARTIN’S and Hannaford brands.

Leveraging its leading technology platform, IRI Liquid Data, IRI will provide integrated point-of-sale (POS), frequent shopper program (FSP) and supply chain data for Delhaize America and POS and supply chain data for Ahold USA. In addition, the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America and their suppliers will benefit from: 

• Simplified access to best-in-class consumer insights and analytics, empowering better and faster business decisions; 
• Improved targeting capabilities to reach customers; and 
• Increased effectiveness of marketing campaigns to drive improved ROI.

“This is a transformational alliance that will give the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America a more comprehensive understanding of their businesses, improve collaboration with suppliers and provide a holistic view of the customer,” said JJ Fleeman, chief strategy and development officer for Delhaize America. “The Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America look forward to leveraging this partnership to grow through more effective and efficient business operations and more personalized consumer impacts.”

“We are thrilled to add the respected Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America to our growing list of retail partners, so that we can help them realize the full value of their data,” said Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer of IRI. “The Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America have an impressive footprint in key markets up and down the U.S. East Coast, and their decision to partner with IRI underscores the strength of our offerings and team, and our unmatched ability to help retailers grow and collaborate with their suppliers. This partnership will arm their key supplier decision-makers with access to innovative and business-critical shopper and market insights, translating into better category management, a better experience for customers and better returns for the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America.”

“This partnership builds on the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America’s commitments to big data and technology to drive consumer-centric collaboration and growth,” said Nick Bertram, senior vice president of merchandising for Ahold USA. “More than ever, winning with customers requires the right combination of strategy, tools, talent and data technology, and the Brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America are pleased to partner with an industry leader with a proven track record in helping retailers find new avenues of growth.”

The U.S. brands of Ahold USA and Delhaize America and their vendor partners will benefit from IRI’s Unify visualization capabilities, which provide a more personalized view of data on an interactive dashboard with advanced rendering, display and analytics features. Brand teams and users will be able to easily access insights and integrate multiple, disparate data sources, to quickly get to real-time, actionable insights. 

The brands will begin the transition in early 2018.