SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Remember that Latin America-based app Walmart tried to acquire last year? Well, Walmart Canada has found a way to get around the sting of rejection—authorities rejected Walmart’s acquisition proposal this year—by becoming the first official Canadian retailer to partner with Cornershop, which it announced earlier this week. But with the newswires flooded with headlines proclaiming that grocery delivery up-and-comer Uber just acquired the start-up, the ANUK team can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the retail waters.
“We’re excited to partner with the team at Cornershop to scale their vision and look forward to working with them to bring grocery delivery to millions of consumers on the Uber platform,” Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, said in a statement, according to The New York Times.
The news source noted that Uber has acquired a majority stake in Cornershop, which is active in Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Canada (#Walmart?), for an undisclosed sum.
“Uber is the perfect partner as we embark on our quest to bring our unique flavor of on-demand groceries from incredible retail partners to many more countries around the world,” added Oskar Hjertonsson, Co-Founder of Cornershop.
This isn’t the first time this year that Uber has captured headlines with its grocery delivery plans. In August, the company revealed that it was seeking alternatives to bolster its profit margin, namely in the way of grocery delivery. Even earlier this year, Uber doubled down on Toronto, Canada, as the home for its grocery hub, with a search for a Head of Grocery Product underway. All of this forward momentum has lit a fire under a few of Uber’s competitors, as well; Postmates and DoorDash are rumored to be pushing for more grocery delivery business as we head into 2020.
What will come from this tangled web of partnerships, parent companies, and fresh acquisitions? AndNowUKnow will continue to be a fly on the wall for the grocery retail market.
