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Tesco (http://www.tesco.com/ http://www.tesco.com/) has applied the Webvan strategy, except in reverse - start with a chain of stores, and add the online and ho
by patrickk 14y ago
Tesco (http://www.tesco.com/ http://www.tesco.com/) has applied the Webvan strategy, except in reverse - start with a chain of stores, and add the online and home delivery element later. They have the brand loyalty, the consumer attention and the infrastructure - so adding the online element is an obvious next step. Seems to be working out well for them.
(Tesco also tried to expand to the US but failed: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/09/fresh-not-easy-tesco-british-failure-america http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/09/fresh-not-eas...)
- rdl 14y agoI think the "pay a higher per-order cost to have a human pick items from the shelves at the grocery" (which was also the strategy of Safeway) is the best way to enter the market. Webvan could have justified a big warehouse in markets like SFBA once they had demand. I didn't realize Tesco had folded; I thought they were doing a partnership with Safeway or something. I guess I didn't watch US grocery stores much 2003-2010. (I wish I hadn't lost the 30 webvan crates I'd accumulated in the whole Sealand/HavenCo thing. They were awesome. I also bought a few of the Napster servers at auction and used them for a few years.)