Can you have your ear to the ground from up in the air? Well we’ve got some fresh takeaways on Wonder and Zipline’s aerial expansion in Texas. Meanwhile, Uber’s making nice with regulators (and competitors?) by slowing its roll into new European markets. Kroger’s found a new regional grocer to swallow, and there’s some fresh data on Amazon’s dominance. Let’s dig in…
Today:
Nein! Uber Slows Austria, Norway and Greece Expansion
Kroger Gobbles Up Giant Eagle
Chart Time | Who Won Deal Days?
Zipline & Wonder Fly Into Dallas
M&A | Uber Eats Pauses Expansion in Three European Markets
Uber Eats is slowing down its organic expansion plans in the EU, as it continues its pursuit of Delivery Hero. Uber no longer plans to expand into Austria, Norway and Greece this year; this comes just five months after Dara & Co announced their expansion plans, alongside a push into Romania and Czechia, as well as Finland and Denmark. At the time, Uber projected the new markets would add $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years.
The Big Picture: Uber Eats has since launched in Denmark and Finland, calling the expansion a “huge success.” While a company spox claims the pause is to “focus on continuing the momentum” in current markets, this delay is clearly meant to smooth the feathers of regulators, as the company continues with its multi-billion dollar bid for Delivery Hero. DH operates as Foodora in Austria, Norway and Czechia; as efood in Greece; and as Glovo in Romania. Uber not only needs to contend with regulators, but its multinational rivals; Prosus, which had been selling off its Delivery Hero stake as it looks to back Just Eat Takeaway, may temporarily up its DH stake as it seeks to block Uber or extract a higher price. The Dutch investment group saw its ecosystem revenue pop 57% YoY to $9.7 billion, as iFood revenue climbed 28%, JET adjusted EBITDA improved 4% and Delivery Hero’s loss lessened.
GROCERY WARS | Kroger Buying Giant Eagle
Supermarket heavyweight Kroger is purchasing regional market Giant Eagle, looking to add 197 supermarkets and 11 pharmacies to its existing base of ~2,700 storefronts. The deal would see Kroger pay $1.25B in cash, and assume $400M in debt, with the deal expected to close next year. Giant Eagle, which is privately owned and did over $9B in sales last year, has stores concentrated in Appalachia: western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western Maryland. Divestitures are expected in the Columbus, Ohio area.
The Big Picture: This deal comes less than two years after Kroger’s attempt to merge with Albertsons fell apart under FTC scrutiny. While Giant Eagle is a much smaller player than Albertsons, it gives Kroger (which operates the Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Home Chef, King Soopers, Mariano’s, QFC, Ralphs, Roundy’s, JayC and Smith’s banners) improved scale as it continues to fend off competition from Amazon and Walmart. Kroger may of course improve its leverage with the 3PDs as well: Kroger and Giant Eagle both have partnerships with Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats and Shipt (sorry Grubhub), and both offer their own first-party delivery options as well.
CHART TIME | Amazon Wins Week of Deals & Discounts
Once upon a time, Amazon Prime Day was just a single, humble day. Then it expanded to be basically a week long, and every other mega-retailer felt they had to get in on the action. You’d think Amazon’s ubiquity would mean market saturation at this point, but new data from Roth and Sensor Tower shows that the Everything Store was able to actually improve its relative download rankings in the app stores (moving from 7.7 to 5.75) during the promo period. Target (Deal Days) did well too, while Costco (Member Appreciation Week) and Walmart (Deals Week) stumbled.
AVs | Wonder & Zipline Bring Drone Delivery to Dallas
Food technology platform Wonder is teaming up with aerial logistics platform Zipline, bringing on-demand drone delivery to Texas. Starting in January 2027, customers will be able to order meals, delivered via drone, from select Dallas-area locations. By the end of 2027, Wonder hopes to make drone delivery available from the majority of the 100+ locations its building across Texas. "Every restaurant has menu items they hesitate to put in a delivery bag. Zipline changes that. By taking traffic out of the equation, Wonder can now offer customers their menu with confidence that every meal will arrive exactly as their chefs intended," said Chris Kenney, Head of National Partnerships for Zipline.
The Big Picture: This is very much a Lone Star state Story… as Texas has emerged as the star of Zipline’s burgeoning operations. Zipline has now completed 2.5 million+ autonomous deliveries worldwide, with Texans able to order from mall favorites like Walmart, Crumbl Cookies, Little Caesars Pizza, Popeyes and Blaze Pizza. Wonder is in the process of launching in Dallas-Fort Worth, followed by the Houston, Austin, and San Antonio regions. Modern Delivery was the first to break this news, way back in June 2024. As Wonder is in the process of building out its new storefronts, this presents the company with a unique opportunity to integrate elements like the Zipline Dropbox into initial construction. Wonder just ended another drone project, a pilot in New Jersey, coordinated between Grubhub and Dexa. Catching up with Wonder’s Head of Customer Delivery Opeartions, PJ Poykayil, he noted that the earlier project taught Wonder the importance of boosting delivery radius; the Dexa pilot was limited to a rather scant 2.5 mile radius.
Scoop: Wonder Readies for Texas Expansion
Modern Delivery is kicking off the week with an exclusive scoop: delivery super app Wonder is readying an expansion to the South; we get into the details and implications below. Plus, DoorDash adds regional grocers, Walmart gets into dark stores, and more gig workers turn to multi-apping.
A Few Good Links
JET talks automation. DoorDash driver charged with shooting Amazon worker. First fatal Tesla Semi crash recorded. Jersey Mike’s files for IPO. China hits 10k+ autonomous delivery vans. Tesla tests robotaxis near Miami. Neolix expands to Malaysia. Zomato launches corporate reimbursements, targeting office lunches. Niantic Spatial launches USDZ exports in Scaniverse. Uber adds AI assistance to grocery lists. World Cup boosts resto sales. QSR foot traffic falls in May. Moe’s Southwest Grill launches build-your-own meal kit, for pickup or delivery. FL, CO expand truck parking. Maersk launches dedicated lithium ion battery deliveries. USPS wants to improve visibility. NJ bans surveillance pricing. Deliveroo launches initiative to rethink delivery packaging. Delivery Hero shares World Cup sales stats. Gopuff and Polymarket give away 250 gram gold bars for semisesquicentennial. China expands worker injury program for gig laborers.
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