US rapid grocery delivery space consolidates further
Ultrafast grocery delivery company Buyk announced on Thursday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after ceasing operations at its 39 dark stores in New York City and Chicago on March 4. Fridge No More, which operated in New York City and Boston, tweeted last Friday that it had closed its business due to "growing competition and other industry related issues."
Getir, which operates in nine countries, including the U.S., announced on Thursday it raised $768 million in a Series E round, bringing its valuation to $11.8 billion. The firm said it plans to use the funding to grow in countries where it currently operates.
As the battle continues in the quick grocery delivery space, Celia Van Wickel, senior director of digital commerce at Kantar, said in an interview that the remaining emerging players should diversify their operating models as their cash-burning businesses look to survive.
The consolidation that experts have predicted would eventually whip through the ultrafast delivery space is now underway in the U.S.
Before filing for bankruptcy, Buyk “diligently explored all possible options and partnerships to restructure” the company, James Walker, Buyk’s CEO, said in a statement on Thursday. Buyk’s Chapter 11 announcement follows worker furloughs after the company ran into financing roadblocks when Russian restrictions in response to U.S. sanctions cut off funding from its founders, who are Russian. Walker previously told Grocery Dive in a statement that the founders were providing bridge funding to Buyk until it finished its next investment round.
Fridge No More’s shutdown happened after talks fell through with DoorDash to buy some of its warehouses, Bloomberg reported last week. The failed deal resulted from “a combination of operational concerns that arose in due-diligence and the cost of assessing exposure and potential risk around the startup’s ties to Russia,” unidentified sources told the business publication.
On Wednesday, Fridge No More tweeted that it gave perishable food to its employees and decided to donate dry goods to Ukraine.
Fridge No More is unfortunately closing our business, effective immediately. Read more: pic.twitter.com/wMgWHBBjHg
— Fridge No More (@fridgenomore) March 11, 2022
