Step 2, Groceries 291
prostoalex writes "Fortune magazine runs an article on New York - based FreshDirect, provider of high-quality groceries. Unlike Webvan, which failed with $1B of venture capital, FreshDirect seems to make pretty good money off online grocery sales - revenues of $225M are projected by 2004. The minimum order is set at $40, the company also charges $4 for delivery." If you want to check out their store, try zip code 10022.
This sounds much like an advertisement... (Score:3, Insightful)
-dameron
Um, you've never lived in New York, have you? (Score:5, Insightful)
Ingenious (Score:4, Insightful)
Ad Placements^H^H^H^HStories are a little harder to block.
Other news sites do this already, you just likely don't notice it. CNN does it all the time. I know CTV Newsnet in Canada does it on the air more than once per day.
For those of you on the West Coast... (Score:4, Insightful)
I must admit, though, that I'd rather see a startup company doing this than the already-established grocery stores. I was a happy Webvan customer, and I still think the model is quite viable. (Plus, I love the FreshDirect site design.) Here's hoping FreshDirect or a similar company takes a stab at this here in the Bay Area!
Re:This sounds much like an advertisement... (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a Manhattan thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Manhattan is a special case in the US. Food is normally transported in semitrailers, but semitrailers are allowed in Manhattan only under severe restrictions. So stores in Manhattan need a distribution center somewhere nearby, where everything is transferred to smaller trucks.
This outfit avoids that step, by putting their warehousing operation just outside Manhattan and filling customer's orders directly from it. That's a big win. But it doesn't have to compete with big supermarkets where semis pull up to the loading dock at night.
Re:This sounds much like an advertisement... (Score:3, Insightful)
If things posted on
Re:I've tried similar (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong, when I order something like a TV or DVDs or whatever, I can wait the few days/weeks they take to deliver. On the other hand, when I'm ordering *food* I want it here within 2-3 hours, tops.
Nooooo! (Score:1, Insightful)
NO MOUNTAIN DEW! [freshdirect.com]
Re:Car independant (Score:3, Insightful)
Friends? I would never impose on anybody for helping out with things like this, especially when I am able bodied. If I needed a large object moved, found it crucial for someone to assist me taking an arrow out of my arm, etc., then I'd call on friends. But for this, this is only robbing them of their time. What kind of a friend would I be then? And no, I never drive other people cars, especially for my benefit.
Mass transit? "Luckily", there's a bus that travels in a direct route from Kroger to my apartment. Unfortunately it does this only twice a day, during working hours. Not only would I have to take much time, now losing income is factored in. Plus, a bus ride here costs 1/3 of what FreshDirect is charging in NYC. And even if I did take the bus, 2 paper bags (and a backpack's worth) would be my encumbrage limit.
Bicycle? I'd been using my bike for this for 2 years, until just recently someone felt they needed it's rear wheel more than I did (yes, I'll lock that wheel as well next time). Truthfully, I enjoyed the biking, as I could get exercise AND quicky get the food. I've been investigating adding such a basket to my bike.
Buying as I need? That would just rob me of time. It would be more efficient fiscally for me to work more to pay the minor delivery fee than to spend time going back and forth just for sustenance. Not to mention the added cost of buying the smallest portion for items. One example is sugar. I'll buy a 10 lb bag. Now that will take me 3 months to use (I love lemonade).
It's not the effort that is my problem. I'm not slothful. But food gathering should not take 7 hours of my life each week, as one poster above thinks it should. When I had my car, this was an activity that I did monthly, and it took 1 hour, at the most, WHILE waiting for clothes to dry at the laundry. Even then, I'd still ride my bike for the perishables that would not keep for a month and had to be bought fresh.
I've done the logistical math. For my particular situation, a service like FreshDirect would be great for me, not because I'm lazy, but it would cut this chore to a mere fraction of the time it would take me now, given my current vehicle situation and location to the store. And like I said, if it costs $4 in NYC, it'll probably be $3 here in Memphis.
Re:Sounds good, but..... (Score:2, Insightful)
All you have to do is judge the quality of the food you receive from the online place. If it sucks, don't buy there. For many, it's convenient. Several people I know use a similar service here and are very happy with it.
-Kevin
Whats the big deal? (Score:4, Insightful)
Its Koc holdings "migros" grocery (joint venture with swiss migros) and works well, they even deliver stuff 2-3 hours later, WITHOUT any fee.
http://online.migros.com.tr/index_sanal.html (in turkish)
Also they use those cool GSM credit card machines so you don't have to give your CC over the net.
I don't understand the big deal. I mean, if it was a VRML or VR shop you bought stuff by actually walking around on browser (yes a UK company exist), it would be big news, but whats the deal with this one?
JIT for necessities (Score:3, Insightful)
We have here short term fresh foods, medium term storage "normal" grocery foods, and very long term stored food, in addition to our vegetable garden. and I've always had that-more or less-since my late teens,including times of no vehicle and either walking or taking ten speed every where. It's doable. Modern delivery and being able to use the internet for food is a good thing, and you can get excellent quality food delivered to your door, from major urban to out in the boonies, anyplace a fedex or ups or a UPS person can make it.
The deal is you can do both, it doesn't have to be either/or. You can do daily light shopping for fresh, but for sure don't neglect basics and have at least some weeks or a months worth-a realistic month-on hand at all times.
VC and success (Score:2, Insightful)
And companies today that were around before the boom, and are still around today, have nightmares trying to get small reinvestments and loans cuz they're the dreaded "IT COMPANIES".
Way to go on making it work FreshDirect.
Re:Um, you've never lived in New York, have you? (Score:2, Insightful)
Unless the store is literally within 4 blocks
I have been wracking my brain, and I cannot think of a place in Manhattan where you are more than 4 blocks from a grocey store.
More to the point, this service is really not in the best position. I'll use it, but I'm probably atypical. Almost every grocery store in Manhattan will deliver -- You can go, get your cart, wander around, squeeze the canteloupes, make impulse purchases, then when you check out, you just say "deliver this to 234 W 71st St. Apt 1A." Walk home without your 150 pounds of groceries, and still have them in about 60 to 90 minutes. Best of both worlds.
I'm aware that the "people like physicality when purchasing" argument is a pretty tired one, but I think it applies to food, particularly.
Re:This sounds much like an advertisement... (Score:3, Insightful)
I had to look up an "Upper East Side" zip code in the phone book in order to check out their store.
And what percentage of Slashdot readers actually live in the Upper East Side of Manhattan? A hundredth of a percent? I would guess that Fresh Direct lines up most of their customers in the "traditional" NYC manner: littering their delivery area with flyers.
For all the stories that we post, there are so many which better fit the "advertisement" criteria - ones involving technology products that are available nationally, for instance.