Target To Buy Birmingham’s Shipt For $550 Million

By Matthew BoyleBloomberg

Target Corp. will purchase Birmingham-based grocery-delivery startup Shipt Inc. for $550 million, stepping up efforts to challenge Amazon.com Inc. in e-commerce orders.

Target will use the all-cash acquisition to accelerate its rollout of same-day delivery across the country, the retailer said Wednesday. The idea is to let customers order groceries and other goods online, and then have the items sent directly to their doors from nearby Target stores.

“With Shipt’s network of local shoppers and their current market penetration, we will move from days to hours, dramatically accelerating our ability to bring affordable same-day delivery to guests across the country,” said John Mulligan, Target’s chief operating officer.The deal is Target’s latest move to beef up its logistics operations, following the acquisition earlier this year of software company Grand Junction, which manages local and same-day deliveries. The retailer currently offers same-day delivery in New York City and can send online orders from 1,400 of its stores. Competition in this space is growing fiercer, though, as rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co. have started offering same-day service, aiming to keep pace with Amazon.

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