| Type | Grocer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1987 (Los Angeles, California) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
| Products | Deli, frozen foods, general grocery, snacks, liquor |
| Website | pinkdot.com |
Pink Dot is a Los Angeles–based chain of grocery stores that is known for delivering items such as groceries, deli food, cigarettes,[1] and alcohol.[2] The store is open 365 days a year. Pink Dot is best known in Los Angeles and has appeared in several movies and television shows, including HBO's Entourage.[3]
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Entrepreneur Bill Toro founded the chain in 1987 with the purchase of a single liquor store. His idea to create a delivery-based operation arose from numerous complaints he observed about the traffic in Los Angeles.[2] Pink Dot is a privately owned corporation with 70% ownership stake belonging to investors and Toro retaining the remaining 30% control.[2]
In 1996 Pink Dot was referred to as a rapidly expanding grocery delivery company in a Los Angeles Times story that noted the store guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes or less for a service charge of $1.99.[4] Orders were filled from five warehouses, "three of which opened in the last two months" with plans to open six more distribution centers by March including one in Orange County.[4] Company executives predicted home delivery would be a "big part of the changing face of retail".
As Pink Dot prepared to expand into Orange County, it phased out its signature polka-dotted, propeller-topped Volkswagen Beetle delivery cars after market tests showed that Orange County residents wanted their purchases delivered in more low-profile vehicles.[5] Many of the home delivery service companies flamed out after venture capital ran out in 2001.[6]
Pink Dot has partnered with order takers such as the now-defunct Kozmo.com, as a way to expand the product line into items such as Compact Discs and pharmaceuticals.[7] Kozmo.com was popular with party-goers and young families, but was unable to survive the bursting of the dot-com bubble. The brick and mortar business continued to flourish.[7]
In 2008 Pink Dot announced a partnership with Ford Motor Company and began using the Ford Transit Connect, a delivery system that Pink Dot president Sol Yamini said was "room service for your home".[3] Pink Dot's success has been credited to its niche business plan. As one restaurant analyst noted, "They don't have a whole lot of competition. Let's face it, 7-Eleven doesn't deliver."[2]