Cybersecurity Issues Disrupt Operations at Ahold Delhaize USA Stores

A cybersecurity breach on November 8 disrupted operations at various Ahold Delhaize USA grocery stores, including Stop & Shop and Hannaford locations. According to local reports from Maine and Connecticut, the breach led to shortages of products at some Stop & Shop stores due to delivery disruptions, and pharmacy services were unable to process debit and gift card payments.

While Hannaford’s website remained down for some time, Stop & Shop’s website was operational. Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of Ahold Delhaize USA, issued a statement confirming the cybersecurity breach and disclosed that its security teams, with the help of external experts, had launched an investigation into the incident. Law enforcement has also been notified.

Several of Ahold Delhaize USA’s brands and services, including some pharmacy operations and certain ecommerce services, were affected. The company is taking measures to assess and mitigate the situation, including taking some systems offline to protect them.

This cybersecurity breach occurred just one day after Ahold Delhaize reported disappointing third-quarter earnings. The grocer attributed the downturn to multiple factors, including the sale of its online grocery delivery service FreshDirect, the closure of Stop & Shop stores, and the Boar’s Head deli meat recall, which had been linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak over the summer that resulted in 10 fatalities.

In its U.S. operations, Ahold Delhaize USA reported net sales of $14.49 billion, marking a year-over-year decrease of 0.1% at constant exchange rates, and a 1% drop at actual exchange rates. Despite these challenges, comparable sales, excluding gasoline, rose by 1.2% compared to the previous year. Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize, noted that the Stop & Shop closures and the Boar’s Head deli recall negatively impacted comparable sales by approximately $70 million in the third quarter.