FreshDirect Acquired By Getir
Ahold Delhaize is offloading its online New York City grocery delivery business FreshDirect to Turkish startup Getir, the company announced this morning.
The move comes as Ahold – the parent company of grocery chains Giant Food, Hannaford and Food Lion as well as online platform Peapod – aims to focus investments on its omni-channel businesses, which the company described as its “biggest growth opportunity.” The deal is expected to close by the end of November; terms were not disclosed.
FreshDirect customers will continue to be served by its existing, local delivery teams according to the announcement; there will be no changes for regular customers or DeliveryPass subscribers following the close of the transaction. Ahold Delhaize acquired FreshDirect with private equity firm Centerbridge Partners as a minority shareholder in 2021.
“This was a difficult decision, especially given FreshDirect’s rich history in the New York City area,” said JJ Fleeman, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA, in a press release. “However, our strength as a grocery retailer in the U.S. is the true omni-channel experience…where we have leading brands and market share, strong store density and online presence, and a deep heritage of customer loyalty and relationships.”
Founded in 2002, FreshDirect currently has about 3,200 employees serving the greater New York tri-state area with same-day or next day grocery delivery from its Bronx headquarters.
For Getir, which has built its platform on ultra-fast 10 to 15- minute delivery windows, adding FreshDirect to its portfolio accelerates its expansion into the U.S. and will allow the startup to increase its product range and operations in the New York metropolitan area. While the companies said there will be no significant changes to FreshDirect’s business as a result of the deal, Getir noted in a press release that it will integrate its technology and operational footprint with FreshDirect to offer faster services to its customers.
Alongside the deal announcement, Ahold, released its Q3 earnings results which saw net online sales increase by 6.4%, fueled by “double-digit growth at Food Lion and Hannaford,” the former of which has delivered positive sales growth for eleven consecutive years, the retailer said. Last week, the Netherlands based grocer also announced the acquisition of leading Romania grocery retailer Profi Rom Food SRL.
The move comes at a pivotal time for e-commerce grocery delivery. Ahold-owned Giant Foods shuttered its in-house home delivery service and fulfillment centers in the Mid-Atlantic region earlier this fall, stating at the time it was working to shift to a faster, more “localized” system that deploys store employees and third-party contractors, such as Uber Eats, Door Dash and Instacart.
Additionally, leading U.S. online grocery platform Instacart took the company to the public markets earlier in September; while Instacart’s initial $33.70 share price steadily decline following the IPO, it has seen some improvement over the past month, increasing 11.13% to $27.42.
