Pick n Pay buys Bottles – an online grocery service

Retailer Pick n Pay has concluded an agreement to purchase on-demand, online grocery service Bottles.

Bottles was launched in 2016 as an alcohol on-demand delivery app, and partnered with Pick n Pay in 2018.

Pick n Pay Online covers all major centres across South Africa with 800,000 registered users.

Following the prohibition on the sale of alcohol in March, Bottles re-purposed its app to deliver on-demand grocery essentials to customers.

Since its move to groceries at the end of March, the app has reached more than 700,000 downloads, and 350,000 registered users.  The service offers over 7,000 products at store prices, with an average delivery time of 90 minutes, Pick n Pay said.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by November this year. Founding members Enrico Ferigolli and Vincent Viviers, key managers and staff will move across to Pick n Pay following the conclusion of the agreement.

“The past seven months have seen a surge in demand for online groceries in South Africa.  Together with our franchise partners, we have responded by expanding the number of stores which deliver or offer click and collect services.

“Our sales growth has more than doubled, and we have seen a 200% increase in active customers,” said Pick n Pay chief executive, Richard Brasher.

Brasher said that through Pick n Pay’s partnership with Bottles, the retailer was able to introduce an on-demand grocery delivery service less than a week after the start of the lockdown.

“Our aim is to have a business which customers can access anytime, anywhere and from any place. We already have two large online depots, and a home-delivery and click-and-collect network comprising over 150 stores,” he said.

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