Ahold Delhaize USA selling FreshDirect to Getir

Ahold Delhaize USA announced Wednesday that it plans to sell its FreshDirect online grocery service to rapid delivery firm Getir. Ahold Delhaize executives indicated that they had concluded that the company needed to step up its focus on both in-store and digital experiences — and that FreshDirect was standing in the way of strengthening its position as an omnichannel retailer.

The grocery company did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Ahold Delhaize said it is offloading the grocery e-commerce service, which serves the greater New York tri-state region, to focus on omnichannel — an area that the company sees as its “biggest growth opportunity,” Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman said in a statement.

FreshDirect’s customers will not see any disruption as a result of the company’s sale to Getir, according to the announcement. All shoppers will receive their orders from the same delivery personnel, and services like FreshDirect’s DeliveryPass subscription offering will continue to operate as normal, Ahold Delhaize said.

While Ahold Delhaize is staking its future on an omnichannel strategy with firm physical store roots, Getir is focused squarely on the digital space. Still, Getir’s plans to acquire FreshDirect represent a shift for the Turkey-based company, which built its name as an ultrafast delivery company but is now moving into a more conventional grocery delivery business that offers everything from next-day to express delivery.

Grocery Dive