Flink, the German quick trade specialist, announced on Monday May 16 the acquisition of Cajoo. This French start-up, also dedicated to the rapid delivery of groceries at home, was born in early 2021 and has been collaborating with Carrefour since September. The retail giant has just invested in this merger to guarantee the operation of its delivery service.
Flink will become the leader in fast grocery deliveries in France
Driven by the health crisis, fast home shopping delivery, or quick commerce, has been an explosive success. Flink, present in Germany since 2020, is one of the leaders in European FoodTech. It received unicorn status in 2021. Last year the company was already present in more than ten German cities and had expanded to the Netherlands and France.
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A source close to the company told TechCrunch that the acquisition of Cajoo by Flink would have cost between 90 and 100 million dollars. As for Carrefour, the French retail chain would have invested between 60 and 70 million dollars in this merger. This fundraiser allows the delivery company to be valued at $5 billion. This represents a significant increase in the value of Flink which was estimated at $2.85 billion in December 2021.
Flink will thus become the leading player in quick commerce in France, overtaking the current leader Getir, which was valued at 2.6 billion dollars in 2021. The German is also solidifying its position on a European scale against its main competitors. like Gorillas who bought the French Frichti, Delivery Hero or the American Gopuff who settled in the United Kingdom in 2021.
Carrefour wants to position itself as a strong player in delivery
With Cajoo as reinforcement, Flink will be able to make deliveries in more than 9 major French cities, including Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux by recovering all the “dark stores” of the French start-up. These stores, located at strategic locations in the cities, allow delivery within very short deadlines.
Cajoo already having 400,000 customers, this would allow Flink to reach 6 million people in France. ” Cajoo has done an incredible job of guiding a rapid business revolution in France and building a loyal customer base. Flink co-founder Olivier Merkel said in a statement. published by Carrefour.
For his part, the CEO of Cajoo, Henri Capoul, spoke about the dazzling success of his young start-up whose ” the story is amazing. “He says to himself” very proud of the whole team for the value we have been able to create over the past 15 months “. Carrefour had contributed to a fundraiser for Cajoo in 2021, which had reached $40 million. Since 2021, Carrefour has been using Cajoo to carry out shopping orders that are made from the UberEats application.
Investing in fast home delivery is now a must for large retailers. Carrefour is acquiring the expertise of start-ups in terms of quick commerce to solidify its position in a sector where France is lagging behind.
Eventually, Flink could also offer its deliveries in the United Kingdom. The country is a good market for delivery services, especially in London.