Naspers-owned Takealot Group and Pick n Pay announced today that their two companies have signed a commercial services agreement which will enable customers across South Africa to buy Pick n Pay food, groceries, and liquor on a new platform on the Mr D app.
This new service brings together the strengths of Pick n Pay and the Takealot Group. Pick n Pay will bring its tremendous expertise in running fresh food and grocery, its nationwide store network, and its leading Smart Shopper loyalty programme.
The Takealot Group will bring its proven ability to satisfy online, its technical expertise, and its unrivalled delivery network.
“This is a great day for customers. Pick n Pay already offers an excellent on-demand grocery service through asap!. By working with the Takealot Group, customers will now be able to benefit from a bigger, better, faster, and more exciting offer. It will be the best of Pick n Pay now on Mr D, and benefiting from Takealot Group’s industry-leading platforms and service standards,” Pick n Pay CEO Pieter Boone said.
“Alongside other initiatives we are announcing today, this is a new era for Pick n Pay and for its customers. There is huge potential for omnichannel retail in this country. Through this agreement with Takealot, we intend to regain market leadership in online grocery, and to do so in a sustainable and profitable way. We plan to increase our online revenue eight-fold by FY26.”
Under the agreement, when a customer opens the Mr D app, he or she will be offered the choice either to “buy groceries” or “buy food from restaurants”. By clicking on “buy groceries”, customers will enter a dedicated Pick n Pay food and grocery experience. Customers will be able to browse and select the items they want to buy, and conveniently create their baskets. Once the order is submitted and paid, Pick n Pay will pick and pack the order from the closest Pick n Pay store. It will then be collected by a member of the Takealot delivery fleet, and delivered to the customer.
The Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty program will be embedded in the Mr D app so that customers will be able to earn points when buying Pick n Pay groceries on the Mr D app.
“We are hugely excited to be partnering with the brand and the people at Pick n Pay, who share our values at the Takealot Group. Mr D’s 2.5 million customers will be delighted to see a Pick n Pay grocery offer on the platform,” Takealot’s Executive Chairman, Kim Reid, said.
“The combination of Pick n Pay’s reach, quality, and pricing together with Takealot Group’s leading technology and scalable delivery network is a recipe for success. Scalability will be a huge advantage. Takealot Group, at peak, currently delivers over 5 million packages per month, with the ability and ambition to serve many more customers as demand for this offer grows.”
The two parties intend to launch the service on a trial basis in the in the Cape Town area in August 2022 and to roll it out rapidly across the country. The service will available nationwide by the end of FY23.
