Iceland - comment

The partnership with Uber is high-profile for Iceland and provides incremental revenue to existing stores. The venture is unquestionably positive for Iceland, which is gaining access to Uber’s clientele in this way, but roll-out will be slow at first with initially less than a handful of stores participating. The link-up between a budget operator and a luxurious delivery format strikes us as odd, but in an oligopoly of grocers may represent the best choice to compete with the likes of Deliver, who are all (including Uber) using dark stores (micro fulfilment centres) so far. Any developments will be interesting to observe.