Anthony, this item might be overvalued, but your analysis is flawed. Drivers do not get paid anywhere near $30, or even $20/hr. Yes, margin in groceries is razor thin but the overhead is alot less than B&M. Deliveries are not ten miles apart either.
Ever since PPOD went public I have thought that the only way a web-based grocer could make any money was if the warehouse was a virtual giant vending machine--to keep labor costs to a minimum. After all, what good is it to take the shoppers away only to replace them with employees. Well, lo and behold, the WBVN warehouse is a virtual vending machine, with products continuously moving on conveyors, orders filled by a guy with a scanner mounted on his wrist, orders entered on a console, items scanned and pulled as they come by.
The Oakland facility is filling 3000 orders per day. Huge new facilities opening in Baltimore, DC area, Atlanta and Texas before February.
Go figure! |
