Jitse Groen founded Just Eat Takeaway and expanded the company from a student idea to a global player in the online delivery market. His journey started with Thuisbezorgd.nl (the original Takeaway.com), founded in a small attic room in Enschede.
In almost twenty-five years he took over the German delivery chain Lieferando and in 2014 it merged with Just Eat in 2020. The company is active in 16 countries with 60 million consumers and 362,000 suppliers and a trade turnover of 19 billion euros.
Former stock exchange gem Just Eat Takeaway is leaving Damrak: ‘Many investors have been left with a hangover’
Groen was involved in the acquisition of the American delivery company GrubHub. That was incorporated in 2021 for approximately $7.3 billion, but integration and growth in the US have been difficult. The company faced stiff competition from players such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, leaving its US operations at a loss. Ultimately, JET had to sell Grubhub in 2023 at a loss of billions, which strongly contributed to the share price drop and loss of investor confidence.
At the beginning of this year, Just Eat Takeaway was acquired for 4.1 billion euros.