Draft:Picnic (supermarket)
 | |
| Founded | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Number of locations | 70 delivery hubs 10 distribution centers |
Area served | Netherlands, Germany, France |
| Revenue |  €1.25 billion [1] (2023) |
| Owner | Picnic International |
| Website | www |
Picnic is a Dutch online supermarket. The company only delivers to homes and has no physical stores. It operates in the Netherlands (since 2015), Germany (2018), and France (2021).
History
[edit]
The company was founded in 2015 by Michiel Muller, Bas Verheijen, and internet entrepreneurs Joris Beckers and Frederik Nieuwenhuys, former owners of Fredhopper, a webshop software company. Retail entrepreneur Gerard Scheij later joined the team.[2]
Picnic began operations in September 2015 in Amersfoort, expanding to nearby areas and cities like Utrecht, Almere, and The Hague within two years. It started delivering in Amsterdam in 2018.[3][4][5]
By late 2018, Picnic had five distribution centers and served over 60 cities. It increased deliveries in some areas to six days a week, using electric vehicles to minimize environmental impact.[6] By April 2017, Picnic had 100 electric delivery vans.[7]
In 2017, investors injected €100 million to drive expansion, including wealthy families like Fentener van Vlissingen (SHV Holdings) and Hoyer (Heineken).[8] In 2020, they contributed to a €250 million round for a new distribution center,[9] and in 2021, the company raised €600 million, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.[10][11]
By 2021, Picnic operated 1,000 electric vehicles, delivering groceries to over 120 cities from 63 hubs. It expanded into Germany with 20 hubs and entered Valenciennes, France for further growth.[12]
In December 2021, the hub in Roosendaal and in July 2022, the hub in Almelo were destroyed by fires. Although the cause remains unknown,[13] concerns about potential issues with the electric vans led Picnic to pull several delivery vehicles from the road.
In January 2024, Picnic secured an additional €355 million from investors, including Edeka and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, to support its growth.[14]
Controversies
[edit]In 2016, Picnic released a video featuring a lookalike of Max Verstappen as a parody of an advertisement for Jumbo Supermarkten. Verstappen's management deemed this unacceptable and sought €350,000 in damages through legal action.[15] In April 2018, a court ordered Picnic to pay Verstappen €150,000 in compensation.[16] However, in June 2020, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that the video was a parody and did not harm Verstappen’s reputation or business interests, overturning the fine and siding with Picnic.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ Amsterdam’s Picnic gets €355M funding; grows 40% to €1.25B in turnover in 2023 Silicon Canals, January 10, 2024
- ^ "Open dag websuper Picnic in Apeldoorn trekt 400 bezoekers". Apeldoorns Stadsblad. 2019-06-17. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ Hallema, Tys (2016-06-29). "Picnic breidt uit naar Almere". www.distrifood.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Online supermarkt Picnic komt naar Den Haag". ad.nl. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Online supermarkt Picnic komt richting Amsterdam". parool.nl. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Picnic stuurt elektrische wagens naar het westen". duurzaambedrijfsleven.nl. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Honderdste bezorgwagentje van Picnic in Delft de weg op". picnic.nl. Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Onlinesupermarkt Picnic wekt interesse rijke families". volkskrant.nl. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Boodschapbezorger Picnic steekt 250 miljoen in gerobotiseerde distributiehal". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Picnic haalt €600 miljoen op bij stichting Bill Gates". MarketingTribune (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Online supermarkt Picnic haalt 600 miljoen op, Bill Gates stapt in". RTL Nieuws & Entertainment (in Dutch). 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Picnic start officieel in Frankrijk". Emerce (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Brandweer kan oorzaak van verwoesting Picnic-pand in Almelo niet vinden". tubantia.nl. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Amsterdam's Picnic gets €355M funding; grows 40% to €1.25B in turnover in 2023 - Silicon Canals". siliconcanals.com. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Moet deze 'gelijkenis' met Max 350.000 euro kosten?". ad.nl. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Verstappen krijgt 150.000 euro schadevergoeding voor lookalike-filmpje". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Hof: Picnic hoeft geen compensatie te betalen aan Max Verstappen". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2024-10-22.