Turkish ultrafast grocery delivery provider Getir has completed the acquisition of FreshDirect, the U.S.-based online grocery previously owned by Ahold Delhaize.
The company has an annual turnover of $650 million and 3,000 employees and the acquisition will create “significant synergies” between Getir and FreshDirect according to the buyer.
When plans for the acquisition were first announced in November 2023, Ahold Delhaize USA said it had made the decision to sell its New York City-based FreshDirect business to focus investment on its omnichannel operations. Alongside private investment firm Centerbridge Partners, Ahold Delhaize USA acquired FreshDirect for an undisclosed sum in January 2021.
Getir said in a statement that its technological power will improve FreshDirect’s technological infrastructure, and FreshDirect customers will receive their orders much faster with Getir’s approach.
FreshDirect Part of Getir
With the purchase, Getir plans to accelerate the growth of its fast delivery business in the U.S. despite the fact that it consolidated its international market coverage earlier this year and announced a circa 11% head count cut, raising questions over the future of ultrafast delivery specifically.
Rival DoorDash ended its ultrafast program in New York City in July this year, around 18 months after launching a 15-minute service. However, the company has seen its stock raise a stellar 113% since the start of the year and transferred from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq in September.
This week, DoorDash entered the Nasdaq 100, which comprises the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Unlike Getir, FreshDirect’s business model is based on the scheduled delivery of orders to homes or offices at scheduled times of the day. With a fleet of 400 trucks and over 600,000 sq. ft. production and distribution center in New York, FreshDirect serves New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Getir, founded in 2015, operates in five countries and aims to deliver grocery orders within 10-15 minutes. Getir made its U.S. debut in Chicago in November 2021 and then expanded to New York City and Boston. However, more recently Getir has reduced staff, scaled back growth plans and has also been offering same-day and next-day delivery services.
In August Getir announced that it would lay off 2,500 workers to “increase operational efficiency”, amounting to a near 11% reduction in its workforce.
“The Getir network consists of roughly 23,000 people across five countries. This number includes couriers, pickers and office employees. Regrettably, Getir intends to reduce its team and, with a heavy heart, part ways with approximately 2,500 talented employees across its markets,” the company said in an announcement.
Focus On Profitable Markets
Having grown rapidly, Getir’s rise was jolted in April when there were claims, denied by Getir, that its most recent fundraiser of $500 million had slashed its valuation from a peak of $12 billion in 2022 to just $6.5 billion.
In July Getir announced that it would exit Italy, Portugal and Spain to focus on its more profitabile and sustainable growth markets, notably the U.S., the U.K., Germany and its domestic Turkish market, which collectively account for 96% of its global business.
Investors includeTiger Global and Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake, DisruptAD, and Mubadala Investment Company as well as an unnamed diversified asset manager on the West Coast.
For its part, FreshDirect was founded in 2002 in New York City.
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