18 July 2023 at 05:15
Speed delivery drivers are having great difficulty holding their own on the Dutch market. Costs and delivery times are increasing and consumers are spending more and more on their groceries.
“The Netherlands is a difficult market for flash delivery people. It is not for nothing that Deliveroo has already left,” says retail expert Michel Kregel. “Moreover, there is only room for one or two parties.”
It was only two years ago when one flash delivery person after another settled in our country. Deliverers from Getir, Flink and Gorillas have since become an integral part of the street scene. But times for flash delivery drivers have changed considerably. For example, more and more municipalities want to move the warehouses from the center. Moreover, consumers are more likely to keep their purse strings because of the sky-high inflation.
“Two years ago, the cake had to be divided among the various parties. But then it was already clear that eventually takeovers would take place or that parties would leave,” says Kregel.
The British Zapp was the first flash delivery company to leave our country last year. In addition, Getir took over its competitor Gorillas for an amount of 1.2 billion euros. According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt the Turkish company is considering a departure from the Netherlands.
‘Departure is purely speculative’
According to the newspaper, Getir is struggling with significant losses and wants to attract additional investments from lenders with the help of cost savings. The company states that the news of a possible departure is purely speculative.
Getir has already said goodbye to Spain, Portugal and France. If the company also leaves the Netherlands and Italy, only home countries Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany will remain as markets.
According to Kregel, the Netherlands is a difficult market. For example, the cities are relatively small and more and more municipalities are banning the darkstores of speed delivery drivers. “They are more often banned from the center, which means that delivery times are longer. And then it becomes difficult in cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Costs are also rising and there is a shortage of personnel.”
‘Flash delivery company still a takeover target for large parties’
Jumbo has now stepped out of flash delivery. The supermarket chain had become active in this through a collaboration with Gorillas, which was therefore taken over by Getir. The Van Eerd family, owner of Jumbo, also had an interest in Gorillas. That investment is also reversed.
Kregel emphasizes that flash delivery companies can still be an interesting takeover target for large supermarket chains. “If there is ultimately a large flash delivery company with a good market share, such a story simply slides back to the table.”
2023-07-18 03:15:48
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