Picnic also wants to become active in other countries. Now it is also located in Germany in addition to the Netherlands. CEO Michiel Muller thinks of France, the UK, Spain and Poland, but only wants to go to one country at a time.
The five-year-old online store Picnic is also growing fast in Germany. Because the concept works so well there too, this will undoubtedly also be the case in other countries, thinks CEO Michiel Muller.
In almost all other European countries, the market share of online supermarkets is still small, says Muller. He therefore sees sufficient growth opportunities.
Third country
In the Netherlands, Picnic now delivers to 100 cities and in Germany to 30 cities. The German Mönchengladbach is now even the fastest growing city for Picnic, says Muller.
In recent years, sales have doubled every year, he says. That is why Muller sees sufficient perspective to continue to grow in the Netherlands and Germany, with room for a third country as well.
Big markets
He does not yet know in which country Picnic will start. This is still being studied. “We know what it means to start in a new country, a third country is a little easier”, Muller thinks.
By extension, he does not think of Belgium, although it is close by and therefore seems logical. He prefers to focus on larger markets. However, it takes several months or half a year to figure out where the tail is happening, says Muller.
For example, a building must be found for a distribution center, the range must be looked at and people must be hired. That expansion will be in one country at a time.
Focus on growth, not profit
He has no concrete targets for turnover and results. In any case, he expects to achieve a turnover of 500 million euros this year. How much that can grow further will depend in part on how successful Picnic is when it enters a third market, he says.
Picnic is still making a loss, because a lot of money is still invested in growth. If that were to be stopped, Picnic would be profitable, says Muller.
No new capital needed
No new capital is now required for expansion. Last year, Picnic raised 250 million euros from existing investors and from house bank ABN Amro. That was partly to be able to build a distribution center of 42,000 square meters.
When Picnic enters another country, a distribution center will also be built. This involves millions. Once that distribution center is in place, expanding to other cities will require an investment of only a few hundred thousand, says Muller. Until the existing distribution center is at its ceiling and a second one has to be built.
Purchase with German Edeka
For purchasing for other countries, Picnic will work together with the German supermarket group Edeka. That is the largest player in the field of supermarkets in Germany. Picnic in Germany has been working with Edeka since it started there two years ago.
Edeka had a turnover of 55 billion euros last year and it has 300 buyers worldwide. That is a very strong basis for moving further into Europe, says Muller.
