Case Study

Leshop: A success story in the online grocery market

18 pages
October 2010
Reference: IMD-6-0324

LeShop, the first online supermarket in Switzerland, was launched in 1998 at the heart of the internet boom. While many other start-up online grocery businesses did not succeed, LeShop seemed to find a sustainable business model and achieved breakeven in the first quarter of 2006. By 2010, LeShop was established as the biggest online supermarket in Switzerland and one of Europe’s largest pure-play online grocers. Its CEO, Christian Wanner, believed that the potential of the online grocery market was huge and expected his company to continue showing double-digit growth rates for years. In order to capitalize on this potential, LeShop faced a number of challenges. How could it attract more customers and increase the order frequency of existing users? How could it further optimize its operations to better meet consumers’ needs while keeping fulfillment costs to a minimum? Finally, what strategic options did it have for expansion and diversification?

Learning Objective

Challenges faced by online grocery retailers, in particular strategies used for driving growth and improving profitability. Marketing strategies to drive trial and loyalty. Comparison of various online business models, with specific focus on order fulfillment and delivery. Diversification and expansion strategies.

Keywords
Online Supermarket, Online Grocery Retailing, eCommerce, eBusiness, Marketing, Supply Chain, Production Management, Operations Management, Operations
Settings
Switzerland
2010
Type
Published Sources
Copyright
© 2010
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note
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