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Target buys same-day delivery startup Shipt

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images

Target on Wednesday announced that it will acquire Shipt, an Alabama-based same-day delivery startup, for $550 million in cash.

Bottom line: This is about playing defense against Amazon.

Target says that it expects to offer same-day delivery services at around half of its stores by early 2018 and at a majority of its stores by the 2018 holiday season. Full deployment across all major product categories would come by the end of 2019.

Shipt had raised around $65 million in venture capital funding from firms like Greycroft Partners, e.ventures, and Harbert Venture Partners. The Birmingham, Ala.-based company currently has a network of more than 20,000 personal shoppers in 72 markets, and will continue to run independently.

Some additional color from Ian Sigalow, a Greycroft partner and Shipt director:

  • Target CEO Brian Cornell flew down to Birmingham and did a test drive with a Shipt delivery person.
  • Expect Target to particularly leverage Shipt when it comes to fresh food offerings, as Shipt currently focuses on grocery.
  • The original conversations between Target and Shipt were about a business partnership.

[Note: Greycroft Partners is an investor in Axios]

Go deeper

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
24 mins ago - Economy & Business

Trump blocks banks from limiting loans to gun and oil companies

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Big banks are no longer allowed to reject business loan applicants because of the industry in which they operate, according to a new rule finalized on Thursday by the Trump administration.

Why it matters: Wall Street has curtailed its exposure to industries like guns, oil and private prisons, driven by both public and shareholder pressures. This new rule could reverse that trend.

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Ursula Perano
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Former FDA commissioner: "Reliable drug supply is absolutely critical"

Axios' Caitlin Owens and former FDA commissioner Mark McClellan. Photo courtesy of Axios Events

Having a reliable supply of pharmaceutical drugs throughout America will be "absolutely critical" to boosting affordability in health care during the Biden administration, former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Mark McClellan said at a virtual Axios Event on Friday.

The big picture: McClellan, who served under President George W. Bush, says drugs having limited supply and limited competition leads to elevated pricing. He considers drug supply to be a national security and public health issue.

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Felix Salmon, author of Capital
3 hours ago - Economy & Business

Americans are still spending money

Source: Census Bureau; Chart: Axios Visuals

Americans spent more money at stores and restaurants in 2020 than they did in 2019 — even in the face of a devastating global pandemic that shut down broad sectors of the economy.

Why it matters: The monthly retail sales report this morning came in well below expectations, and showed consumer spending falling on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Total expenditures were still higher in December 2020 than they were a year previously, however.

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