Monday, January 14

 
Tesco Debuts Safeway Online-Shopping Service

The British grocery chain Tesco plans to do what Webvan and other online grocery services could not - stay in business. The chain, which was once known as a bargain-basement chain until executives upgraded it a decade or more ago, bought a $35 million stake in the American chain Safeway's online GroceryWorks last year and rolled out the new version today (Monday, January 14). It claims it will succeed where Webvan failed because of its "store pick" model, in which employees fill orders from existing stores instead of a warehouse. That's not such a unique concept; it's what Peapod started out doing. I used to see the Peapod workers in their pretty spring-green aprons working the aisles at Chicago-area supermarkets. Webvan's warehouse system was legendary for its cash consumption and bad design. In Tesco's favor is its claim that it turned a profit last year, a most remarkable feat.
posted by Unknown 4:40 PM