QUINCY, Mass. (AP) – Shaw’s Supermarkets, which has opened only seven new stores in the past two years, will open 13 stores this year at a cost of $470 million.

The move comes at the same time the corporate owners of its top supermarket competitor, Stop & Shop, are mired in a $900 million accounting scandal, and new competitors including Wal-Mart and Costco are entering the New England market.

Shaw’s executives did not discuss the reasons why they plan to expand this year.

“We feel our growth level is appropriate,” Shaw’s spokesman Terry Donilon told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy.

But industry analysts told the newspaper that the problems at Royal Ahold, the Dutch conglomerate which owns Stop & Shop, offers Shaw’s a growth opportunity.

“I think they see a weak spot in Ahold and they’re probably upping their presence,” said Michael Berger, editor of the Pembroke-based Griffin Report of Food Marketing. “They have a green light, and Shaw’s has proven to be a good money-maker.”

Stop & Shop, based in Quincy, had one of the best years in its history last year, with sales rising 27 percent to $8.8 billion in the 12 months ending Dec. 31.

But despite the fact it has not been implicated in the scandal, Stop & Shop’s success has been obscured by the troubles at Ahold, which owns 7,500 stores in 27 countries.

Ahold has admitted to overstating earnings by more than $900 million over three years. Last month, Ahold announced it also had found accounting irregularities at its Buffalo, N.Y.-based Tops supermarket chain.

Stop & Shop has previously said it will open as many as 100 new or replacement stores in the next three years. “We’re moving forward with that capital plan, permitting and construction issues notwithstanding, and I’m going to leave it at that,” spokeswoman Faith Weiner said.

According to a report to be released this month by Griffin Publishing, Stop & Shop has a market share of 30 percent at 216 stores in New England. Shaw’s, headquartered in West Bridgewater, is second, with 188 stores under the Shaw’s and Star Market brands. It has a 17.5 percent market share.

Kevin Coupe, editor of the on-line food industry newsletter MorningNewsBeat.com, said with Super Wal-Mart and Costco discount clubs making inroads in New England, this could be Shaw’s last, best chance of expanding its market share.

“This would be the time, if Ahold is in a defensive position as far as not being able to spend as much on expanding,” Coupe said. “The way the Northeast is going to heat up, it’s evident if you don’t move now, you can’t afford it.”

AP-ES-06-15-03 1310EDT