Exhibit No. (a)(9)
 
                   SUPERMARKETS GENERAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION
 
                                                                  March 15, 1999
 
Dear shareholder:
 
     We are pleased to advise you that on March 9, 1999, SMG-II Holdings
Corporation entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Koninklijke Ahold
N.V. and one of its subsidiaries, Ahold Acquisition, Inc., which provides for
the acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock of
Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation at a price of $38.25 per share in
cash. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Ahold Acquisition, Inc. has
today commenced a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Preferred
Stock of Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation at $38.25 net per share.
Following the completion of the tender offer, any approvals required by law,
and the merger of Ahold Acquisition, Inc. with and into SMG-II Holdings
Corporation, Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation will be merged with and
into SMG-II Holdings Corporation and all shares of Preferred Stock not
purchased in the tender offer (other than those owned by Koninklijke Ahold N.V.
or Ahold Acquisition, Inc., held by any subsidiary or in the treasury of
Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation or held by the stockholders who have
perfected appraisal rights) will be converted into the right to receive $38.25
per share in cash in the merger.
 
     In the event that the tender offer and the merger are not consummated,
Koninklijke Ahold will instead acquire from PTK Holdings, Inc., all of the
capital stock of Pathmark Stores, Inc. for a purchase price, payable in cash,
equal to $242,800,000. In such event, the only material asset of the Company
would be the ownership of all of capital stock of PTK Holdings, Inc., the only
material asset of which in turn would be the net after tax proceeds from the
sale of the Pathmark stock to Koninklijke Ahold.
 
     YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS (INCLUDING THE TWO DIRECTORS ELECTED BY THE
HOLDERS OF THE PREFERRED STOCK) (I) HAS UNANIMOUSLY DETERMINED THAT THE TERMS
OF THE TENDER OFFER AND THE MERGER OF THE COMPANY INTO SMG-II HOLDINGS
CORPORATION ARE FAIR TO, AND IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF, THE COMPANY AND THE
HOLDERS OF PREFERRED STOCK, AND (II) RECOMMENDS THAT THE HOLDERS OF PREFERRED
STOCK ACCEPT THE TENDER OFFER AND TENDER THEIR SHARES PURSUANT TO THE TENDER
OFFER.
 
     In arriving at its recommendation, the Board of Directors gave careful
consideration to a number of factors more fully described in the accompanying
materials.
 
     Accompanying this letter is a copy of Supermarkets General Holdings
Corporation's Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9. Also
enclosed is Koninklijke Ahold N.V.'s Offer to Purchase and related materials,
including a Letter of Transmittal for use in tendering shares. These documents
set forth the terms and conditions of the Offer and provide instructions as to
how to tender your shares of Preferred Stock. We urge you to read the enclosed
materials carefully.
 

 
      The management and directors of Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation
thank you for the support you have given the Company and encourage you to
tender your shares in the manner described in the materials accompanying this
letter.
 
                                          On behalf of the Board of Directors,
 
                                          James L. Donald
                                          Chairman, President and Chief
                                           Executive Officer