With a disruptive retail concept, online supermarket Rohlik moves into Europe

One of the most notable players in the European online grocery sector is Czech Rohlik, founded in 2014 and now operating in 13 cities in the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany. Its planned expansion into Spain and Italy was postponed due to the difficult economic situation, but procrastination is not a reprieve: by 2030, the company aims to operate in 30 European cities.

Noteworthy is Rohlik’s choice to enter each market under a different name: in Hungary they are called Kifli.hu, in Austria it is Gurkerl.at, in Germany it will be Knuspr.de. That country gets top priority, as it is a huge market. Get big there first, then expand to the rest of Europe, is the plan. Knuspr is already the market leader in Munich and Frankfurt. It recently took over Berlin delivery service Bringmeister from Edeka. Hamburg and possibly another German city will follow in the coming year.

In an interview with the website Sifted.eu, top executive Čupr tells: “We’re not serving one shopping mission like a supermarket, we’re serving five or six.” “And we are profitable.” The online supermarket also maintains competitive prices.

Rohlik does have a complete range for weekly shopping, from dry food over local delicacies to household products, toiletries, pet food and more. 17,000 items in total, compared to flash delivery companies’ mere 1,500 to 4,000.

Orders may not be delivered within ten minutes, but if necessary they are delivered within the hour, thanks to an efficient logistics system. Delivery is made from automated distribution centres for which the company has developed its own software. The robots work three times faster than humans could.

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