Albert Heijn (born 1927)
Encyclopedia
Albert Heijn was a Dutch entrepreneur
, major stock holder and founder and chairman of the board of Ahold
.
Albert was the grandson of his namesake Albert Heijn (1865–1945), who began the family business with a single grocery store in Oostzaan
and after extending to multiple stores laid the foundation of the same named leading Dutch retail chain
, which was expanded by Albert into a multinational company
. Albert introduced the supermarket
store model in The Netherlands and was instrumental behind several innovations in the retail industry such as the passing of an international standard for bar codes in 1974. He was CEO
of Ahold until 1989.
His brother and business partner Gerrit Jan Heijn
was murdered after being kidnapped in September 1987.
In 1989 he was honored with the Sydney R. Rabb Award by the Food Marketing Institute
making him the first non-American to win this prestigious award.
Albert Heijn had lived in Hereford
, England
for many years when he died, and was in no way formally involved with Ahold at the time of his death, although he at times commented upon the state of the company. In Hereford he founded a new company called Eign Enterprises (named after the English pronunciation of his surname) which established shops, restaurants, hotels and other enterprises in the local region. For this he was named Honorary Freeman of the City of Hereford in 2002.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, major stock holder and founder and chairman of the board of Ahold
Ahold
Ahold is a major international supermarket operator based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ahold is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.-History:...
.
Albert was the grandson of his namesake Albert Heijn (1865–1945), who began the family business with a single grocery store in Oostzaan
Oostzaan
Oostzaan is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town has a population of 9.104 inhabitats in december 2010. Oostzaan has got 11.49 km² land and 4.64 km² water....
and after extending to multiple stores laid the foundation of the same named leading Dutch retail chain
Albert Heijn
Albert Heijn B.V. is a supermarket chain founded in 1887 in Oostzaan, Netherlands. It is named after Albert Heijn, Sr., the founder of the first store in Oostzaan....
, which was expanded by Albert into a multinational company
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
. Albert introduced the supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
store model in The Netherlands and was instrumental behind several innovations in the retail industry such as the passing of an international standard for bar codes in 1974. He was CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Ahold until 1989.
His brother and business partner Gerrit Jan Heijn
Gerrit Jan Heijn
Gerrit Jan Heijn was a Dutch businessman, who was a top manager of Ahold until his death in 1987. His grandfather was Albert Heijn, who originally founded the family business, and his older brother was also named Albert Heijn, who was the founder of Ahold...
was murdered after being kidnapped in September 1987.
In 1989 he was honored with the Sydney R. Rabb Award by the Food Marketing Institute
Food Marketing Institute
The Food Marketing Institute is an organization that conducts food safety, public affairs, education, research, and industry relations programs for food retailers and wholesalers. FMI's membership consists of approximately 1,500 companies in 50 countries, ranging from large multi-chain stores to...
making him the first non-American to win this prestigious award.
Albert Heijn had lived in Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for many years when he died, and was in no way formally involved with Ahold at the time of his death, although he at times commented upon the state of the company. In Hereford he founded a new company called Eign Enterprises (named after the English pronunciation of his surname) which established shops, restaurants, hotels and other enterprises in the local region. For this he was named Honorary Freeman of the City of Hereford in 2002.