Why Edeka increases stake in Picnic

Dutch online supermarket Picnic is trying to raise half a billion euros in growth capital. Half of that amount comes from Edeka, which is increasing its stake to 25 %. That is no coincidence, as the Dutch startup plays a key role in the German market leader’s online strategy.

1.2 billion in turnover

To realise its ambitious expansion plans in the Netherlands, Germany and France, Picnic needs a lot of new capital. According to information from German trade magazine Lebensmittel Zeitung, the online supermarket is now on the verge of raising half a billion. Edeka would invest half of that amount to raise its stake to 25 %. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would come up with an additional 50 million euros to maintain its stake of almost 10 %.

Earlier this year, the startup said it still had 375 million euros in its account, but that money is being rapidly invested in additional distribution centres, electric vans and recruitment. The company is by no means profitable: on every euro of turnover, Picnic loses almost 23 cents. This year, turnover will reach 1.2 billion euros.

Edeka has been a Picnic shareholder since early 2018. The two companies have also grouped their purchases, through the retail alliances Everest and Epic Partners. The German food retailer relies entirely on Picnic for its online strategy: it would be cheaper than setting up its own e-commerce operation.