Gopher Grocery

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Type Private
Industry Online Groceries
Founded February 2006
Headquarters Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, USA
Key people William Orkin
Products Groceries
Services Grocery delivery
Website www.GopherGrocery.com

Gopher Grocery is an online grocer serving the Twin Cities Metropolitan area of Minnesota. Founded in December of 2005 by William Orkin, it was based on the belief that grocery delivery needen't be expensive. Gopher Grocery focused on two key selling points: a $2 delivery fee, and grocery prices that compare to the supermarket.[1] Initially, the company focused on delivering to two zip codes on the University of Minnesota campus, an area with no major grocery stores within walking distance.[2] Gopher Grocery now services over 10,000 residential customers, as well as businesses, childcare facilities, schools, and group homes across 103 zip codes in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area with surrounding suburbs. The company's annual revenue was over $1 million as of 2010.

Gopher Grocery’s main competitor was SimonDelivers which eventually shut down and was bought by Coborn’s Incorporated in 2008. SimonDelivers reopened as CobornsDelivers that same year and became one of Gopher Grocery’s main competitors along with Lunds/Byerly’s. Gopher Grocery began with a similar business model to SimonDelivers and CobornDelivers, keeping grocery inventory in a warehouse and delivering within an hour of ordering. In 2006, Gopher Grocery changed their model to operate just-in-time (business), thus eliminating the need for a warehouse and inventory. This model is what makes Gopher Grocery unique in the online grocer business.[3] This lack of inventory[4] has helped it survive and experience successful growth by avoiding the pitfalls of other online grocery businesses including SimonDelivers and Webvan[5]

Gopher Grocery sources products from local wholesalers and distributors. Groceries are kept cold and fresh for delivery in insulated containers using dry ice. The company uses fuel-efficient vans, painted yellow emblazoned with the company logo.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tcbmag.com/peoplecompanies/spotlight/99812p1.aspx
  2. ↑ http://www.mndaily.com/2008/07/30/gopher-grocery-sees-increase-customers
  3. ↑ http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/10/12/smallb1.html
  4. ↑ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_66/s0906023658729.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2009/02/grocers.html
  6. ↑ http://supermarketnews.com/viewpoints/simon_delivered_bad/

External links

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