The conclusion of a strategic alliance in the ownership of the startup Made in Chile, Cornershop took longer than its founders expected and the process has not been without setbacks, the most difficult being the rejection by the regulatory authorities of Walmart’s offer for US $ 225 million.
But all those storm clouds were left behind. Today, the company of local origin dedicated to the delivery of supermarket purchases and other businesses formalized its operational integration with the international Uber, within the framework of the entry of the North American into control of the Cornershop property, in exchange for US $ 459 million announced. The foregoing means that the firm founded by Oskar Hjertonsson, Daniel Undurraga and Juan Pablo Cuevas, would be on the verge of becoming the first unicorn –startup valued at more than US $ 1 billion-, which today is present in 30 cities in seven countries. In the coming days they plan to formally close the deal.
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“This is a moment of great pride and happiness for everyone at Cornershop,” says Oskar Hjertonsson, CEO of Cornershop, who acknowledges that they have always looked to Uber as an example. He adds that “everyone in our team from our headquarters in Santiago de Chile is very proud today, because we are growing, showing the world and Latin America that innovation can be exported from here. It is exciting that we can now see our ‘baby’ being inside Uber, reaching places we never imagined five years ago. ”
After the approval of the majority acquisition of Cornershop by Uber, by the Chilean National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, Uber’s majority investment in Cornershop is expected to close in the coming days, excluding the operation of Cornershop Mexico. Uber and Cornershop continue to work with Cofece, the Mexican competition authority, while evaluating the final component of the investment, in order to unite Uber and Cornershop México.
Uber Eats senior director of products, Daniel Danker, indicates that with this alliance the company will be able to start the delivery of supermarkets in 19 cities in Latin America and Canada -except Mexico-, with free dispatches on purchases of more than US $ 30, with a purchase order and dispatch time that could be between 1 and 2 hours. Orders can be made by both the Uber, Uber Eats and Cornershop applications.
Raj Beri, Global Head of Supermarket Purchases and Strategic Initiatives at Uber Eats, highlights that “Latin America is one of the fastest growing markets in the world for the delivery of supermarket products” and stresses that with Cornershop they have “a very strong partner, who has our same DNA, which comes from the technological world and focused on an excellent user experience. ” Beri adds that during this month this alliance with Cornershop and dispatches from supermarkets will also be available in the US.
In the apps, users can search for the products they want to buy using filters, either by price, popularity, or by brand name. Each product has details that can be reviewed by the buyer in the app, for example, detailed nutritional information.
Customers can choose which partner supermarket they will buy from, where in the Latin American case chains such as Jumbo, Lider, Carrefour and Wong stand out, among others. To finalize the order, users must choose the time block in which they want their office, for example between 14:30 and 15:30.
Like ordering an Uber ride or meal with Uber Eats, users will be able to find out the status of their ride and receive alerts informing them of the status of their order.
Oskar Hjertonsson explained that the shoppers or collaborators of Cornershop are already fully integrated to the platforms with Uber.
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