Edeka invests in online supermarket Picnic

The Dutch start-up is to take over Edeka's online business. Picnic plans to deliver outside NRW as early as next year.

Edeka, Germany's largest food retailer, is investing in the Dutch start-up Picnic. Edeka is investing in both the German subsidiary and the parent company Picnic International. "Picnic will become the online arm of Edeka," said Edeka CEO Markus Mosa at the Wirtschaftspublizistische Vereinigung in Düsseldorf , according to Wirtschaftswoche.

In future, Edeka will supply Picnic with products and take over the supply of goods with its purchasing company Everest. "We are not seeking a majority stake in the company, no control", Mosa continued. Such a complex business is best left to those who can do it. "No brick-and-mortar retailer can ultimately be better online than a genuine e-commerce retailer."

So far, Picnic has only been active in North Rhine-Westphalia. It has quadrupled its number of customers from 50,000 to 200,000 within a year. The start-up now delivers food using 400 e-cars in 45 cities in NRW. In the coming year, Picnic also plans to deliver outside North Rhine-Westphalia. Unlike its competitors, Picnic does not deliver within a time window, but at predetermined times.