Aug. 14 (UPI) — Big box retailer Target announced Monday it will acquire software startup Grand Junction to better compete with Amazon and Walmart in local deliveries — including same day.
San Francisco-based Grand Junction connects retailers and other distributors to more than 700 carriers across North America, and currently handles same-day delivery service for Target’s store in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, Target said in a release.
“Target will have immediate access to Grand Junction’s technology and carrier network, which will accelerate the work we’re doing to improve our speed of delivery,” Arthur Valdez, Target’s chief supply chain and logistics officer and a former Amazon executive, said in a blog post. “It will also boost our ability to offer new services – like same-day delivery, and even assembly and installation — to our guests.”
The retailer did not disclose terms to acquire Grand Junction, which has 13 employees and was founded in 2014.
Grand Junction coordinates about 6 million local deliveries a month but will drop service to CVS and Office Depot.
Target recently launched next-day delivery of household items, called Target Restock, in its home market of Minneapolis. It also has worked with Instacart for same-day grocery delivery in some markets.
Target’s online sales grew 22 percent in the first quarter this year. Walmart’s growth was 63 percent in the first quarter this year after acquiring bulk retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion.
Amazon’s Prime service already lets members in about 30 metropolitan areas receive orders as quickly as an hour.
“There’s clearly an arms race going on from the mass merchants, recognizing that getting everyday essentials in the hands of customers is critical,” Michael Lasser, an analyst at UBS Group AG, said in a note published by Bloomberg. “The purchase of Grand Junction should help Target compete on these terms in a more economical fashion.”
Target acquired mattress seller Casper Sleep Inc. for $75 million in another e-commerce transaction this year.
Target was founded in 1902 as Goodfellow Dry Goods. The first Target store opened in Roseville, Minnesota, in 1962 and the parent company was renamed the Dayton Corporation in 1967. It became Target Corporation in 2000.
The company had $2.7 billion net income in 2016, according to a financial filing.
