The battle of the three players in the e-delivery market

By George Lampiris

The e-delivery market in Greece is evolving in a highly competitive landscape, with significant growth prospects and continuous developments as a whole. The most characteristic of these developments was the acquisition of the companies Alfa Distributions, INKAT (Kiosky’s), delivery.gr and e-table by the German group Delivery Hero – owner of e-food in Greece – in September 2021 by the Mouchalis group.

As far as Wolt is concerned, in November 2021 the parent company was acquired by DoorDash at a price of 7 billion euros, a fact which, as recently reported to Capital.gr by company sources, does not significantly differentiate the operating model in our country. .

At the same time, the OTE group is investing in emerging digital market channels, such as food distribution through BOX, as well as in other sectors where it has already entered or is about to enter.

Efood: Turnover in 2021 over 100 million euros

According to efood, in 2021 it moved further upwards in terms of sales. As pointed out by efood sources at the same time, last year growth was recorded at multiple levels. The company recorded a double expansion, geographical, with the addition of more cities to its platform, as well as at the level of partner companies, as well as categories of companies, with the integration of the efood market in the services it provides.

To date, efood counts partnerships with more than 20,000 restaurants, as well as stores in 100 cities in Greece.

Within 2021, its sales increased by 56.7%, as a result of the significant expansion of its operations and its clientele. We remind you that the turnover of efood in 2020 was 64.48 million euros, from 43.17 million euros in 2019. Based on these data, its turnover for 2021 exceeds 100 million euros, amounting to 101 million . euro.

Food market: The goal is to expand into small retail

Regarding the efood market, the company informs us that at the moment the service is provided 7 days a week, from 8.30 in the morning until 10.30 in the evening. In this context, it has invested in a wide network of dark stores, logistics and last-mile delivery. The efood market category started in Attica and is currently active in 7 cities in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina, Larissa, Heraklion, Crete, Volos), having at its disposal more than 40 storage and distribution hubs at key points, with more than 2,000 product codes for distribution. The first goal is the further development of the service, apart from restaurants and shops, in the field of small retail.

Wolt: 3.5 times the turnover of 2021

Wolt, for its part, is investing in the Greek market, creating at the end of last year its fourth darkstore in Attica, specifically in Glyfada, which was added to those of Neos Kosmos, Maroussi and Peristeri, with the aim of the servicing of orders and the distribution of supermarket products through the Wolt Market, which also comes to be an autonomous entity with the aforementioned object in relation to Wolt’s previous activity in food distribution.

Sources close to Wolt report that it has managed to increase its turnover by 3.5 times. Its network currently includes 4,500 cooperating companies in 7 cities: Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos, Patras, Heraklion and Chania. It is estimated that Wolt closed in 2021 with a turnover of over 27 million euros, from 7.3 million euros in 2019, given the growth of the food delivery market and e-retail, in which Wolt is also active in from the Wolt Market platform.

OTE’s strategy for growth in emerging digital markets

For its part, the BOX of the OTE group entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Skroutz Food as early as 2020, integrating the distribution service and the database of the platform created by Skroutz, further strengthening its presence in the market. Sources close to the company state that in the Greek market BOX, which is the online food ordering platform of Cosmote SA, is currently cooperating with 9,000 stores in 60 cities in Greece. As they also report, the turnover and the users of BOX more than doubled during 2021.

At the same time, it provides the possibility of ordering fresh food, in collaboration with butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers, delicatessens and confectioneries, as well as haberdashery.

It should be noted that the development of the OTE group in this market is part of the strategy for its expansion into emerging digital activities beyond the traditional ones, part of which is the development of the insurance services platform Cosmote Insurance, Cosmote e-Payments and the internet bet.

It is noted that as a whole the platforms began to cooperate during the pandemic with large supermarket chains. For example, efood collaborates with Sklavenitis, Wolt with My Market and BOX with the Masoutis and Kritikos chains, which is another aspect of their activities.