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DoorDash (DASH-Q) is partnering with Empire (EMP-A-T) to deliver groceries from its stable of 12 grocery banners.
The expansion, announced Monday morning, will add grocery banners from Empire’s family of brands — which includes Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland, IGA, FreshCo, Farm Boy and Longo’s — to DoorDash’s offerings.
This move will add more than 1,000 stores across 10 provinces into the San Francisco-based food delivery company’s marketplace.
“Home to over a dozen banners spanning coast to coast, Empire is one of the most trusted names in Canadian grocery and retail. As Canadians increasingly face time pressure, DoorDash is proud to help give some time back through on-demand grocery delivery, whether it’s a full weekly shop or just for tonight’s dinner,” Mike Goldblatt, vice-president of enterprise business development and partnerships at DoorDash said in a press release.
DoorDash now delivers for four top grocers
With Empire joining the platform, DoorDash now partners with four of the largest five grocery companies in Canada, based on reported sales figures, the company said.
Consumers can access almost 10,000 items on DoorDash on average per store from Empire’s family of brands, including fresh produce, pantry staples, household essentials and pharmacy items.
Grocery orders via DoorDash are delivered in less than 60 minutes on average from order to drop-off in Canada’s five largest cities, according to the company.
“As digital grocery adoption continues to grow, partnerships with local commerce platforms like DoorDash allow us to extend the reach of our banners and better serve evolving consumer expectations,” Mohit Grover, senior vice-president of ecommerce at Empire, said in the same release.
Stellarton, N.S.-based Empire’s businesses are food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., and related real estate. With approximately $32 billion in annual sales and $17 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 129,000 people.
Changes to online delivery service
Earlier this year, the company announced it is scaling back its Voilà delivery service, by closing a centre in Alberta and pausing a planned expansion into Vancouver.
“Customers in Ontario and Quebec love Voilà and, while difficult, the decisions we have made related to our customer fulfillment centre network in Western Canada will help ensure the long-term growth and profitability of our e-commerce business. This is just the beginning of the next chapter in reshaping our e-commerce strategy as we respond to the evolving needs and expectations of our customers,” Pierre St-Laurent, president and chief executive officer, said in January.
With this and other ecommerce moves, the company said it expected an additional $95 million in annualized operating income in fiscal 2027.
However, Empire reported a loss of $385 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31 as it recorded an e-commerce impairment charge of $746 million.
Since its founding in 2013, DoorDash has expanded to more than 40 countries, that now includes Deliveroo and Wolt.
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