- Title: Startup Picnic runs grocery delivery bus in Dutch online shopping boom
- Date: 19th September 2018
- Summary: DUBBELMAN OPENING PICNIC APP DUBBELMAN USING HER PHONE VARIOUS OF PHONE SCREEN SHOWING HOW PICNIC APP WORKS
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2018 17:34
- Keywords: Picnic grocery app delivery online milkman
- Location: UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Netherlands
- Topics: Living / Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0048YAMYX3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Coming to a stop outside yet another front door on Utrecht's narrow streets, 25-year-old Susann Huber gets out of her electric minivan, pulls out a crate of groceries and hands them over to a waiting customer.
Huber works for Picnic, an online supermarket which targets middle-income shoppers and is the first to offer free delivery in the Netherlands, where online grocery shopping is booming.
Statistics Netherlands, a Dutch government institution gathering statistical information about the country, said on Wednesday (September 19) that 29 percent of Dutch households ordered groceries at least once online in 2017, the most in the European Union, passing Britain at 28 percent.
Picnic snagged an eye-catching 100 million euro investment last year which it is using to fund a rapid expansion, including opening its first hub in Germany last month.
Chief Executive Michiel Muller told Reuters that the company was saving on costs by delivering along regular routes, somewhat like a public bus -- or a new 'milkman' model.
Customers can place their orders by smartphone app only, and pay upfront by 10 p.m. for delivery in a 20-minute window the following day.
Muller said the company, which had 150,000 customers at mid-year, can only add 1,000 customers a week against a current waiting list of thousands. So it cherry-picks its launches along the most attractive routes. He forecasts the company will more than double sales this year, from 100 million euros in 2017.
Customer Marieke Dubbelman, who has four children, said Picnic's selection is somewhat limited, but the quality was fine and prices comparable to that of a mid-range supermarket. The real plus for her is, she said, not having to waste time on shopping for staples.
"It's really nice if someone brings it to your home. For free!" she said.
Muller acknowledged Picnic's model could not compete with "on demand" or same-day delivery services, such as those offered by Instacart in the U.S., and that it faces a long-term threat from highly automated competitors on the model of Amazon.com and Britain's Ocado.
But for now, there is room to grow in online grocery, and Picnic has advantages: it is free of the costs associated with brick-and-mortar stores, including store staff and prime real estate locations. Their bus drivers, such as Huber, are often students looking for a part-time job.
The company prefers to invest in its software app and in its cheery electric vans, which contrast sharply with the diesel trucks used by competitors. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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