INVESTORS FLOCK TO FLINK IN LATEST FUNDRAISING ROUND

Flink, the European on-demand online grocery retailer that launched six months ago, has attracted nearly €200m euros in its latest round of fundraising.

Investors in the $240m (€197.3m) fundraising round include Mubadala Capital, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, while an agreement has been reached with REWE, the German supermarket group, that will see them partner on supplying some orders.

Based in Berlin, Flink uses its own warehouse-style “dark stores” to fulfil orders, with customers promised delivery times of 10 minutes or less.

Operating in 24 Dutch, French and German cities, the company, founded in December, has a more modest range than some other players, with customers able to choose from around 2,400 items.

In a statement, Flink’s CEO and Co-Founder, Oliver Merkel, said the aim was to make Flink “the top destination for [customers’] day-to-day goods at great prices and with instant delivery by our amazing riders”.

“The order growth we have seen over the past few weeks has been explosive and we attribute that to the excellent service we are providing to our customers,” he said.

Flink’s fundraising round is the latest example of investors putting large sums into online grocery retailers, with rivals such as Gorillas, Kolonial, Glovo, Getir and Rohlik also raising vast amounts.

Analysts have forecasted that, in a crowded marketplace, consolidation is likely, with some regional players likely to buy up rivals as they attempt to become global, at which level more mergers and acquisitions could happen.

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