Dutch online-only supermarket Picnic has secured an investment of 600 million euros to speed up its European expansion. Investors include current stakeholders and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.
Expansion in France and Germany
Picnic wants to use the additional funds mainly to speed up its expansion in France and Germany, and will invest especially in robotic fulfilment centres, electric vehicles and a team of software developers. Moreover, the company wants to create a framework to satisfy the growing demand – and to do so more sustainably.
“It was our mission to design a new food distribution centre that is not only sustainable, but also completely transforms the way of doing your groceries. We continue to invest in growth and technology in order to provide our customers with the best service possible”, co-founder Joris Beckers stated in a press release.
Apart from the existing shareholders, a famous new name on the list of investors in Picnic is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which manages the funds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – including capital provided by the likes of billionaire Warren Buffet and Walmart.