Brazil: Cencosud and iFood sign agreement to acquire dark stores and operate super-fast deliveries

• Convenience store brand Spid will now operate iFood's Express format in Rio de Janeiro.
• iFood is a Brazilian technology company that connects customers, restaurants and delivery drivers in a simple and fast way.

November 13, 2023 - Through an agreement signed between Cencosud and iFood, which includes the acquisition of dark stores, Cencosud's convenience store brand, Spid, has agreed to jointly operate iFood Express in Rio de Janeiro for super-fast deliveries in several neighborhoods of the Rio de Janeiro capital. The first stores are already serving customers in the neighborhoods of Ipanema, Tijuca and Centro and, gradually, other locations will be available for orders through the iFood app.

The partnership aims to combine the knowledge of the Rio de Janeiro market, Cencosud's operational capacity and offer with iFood's e-commerce penetration, platform, technology and delivery benchmark.

"We believe in the synergies and complementarity of the companies to serve the online supermarket segment with super-fast deliveries, efficiency and an excellent level of customer service," commented Cencosud Brazil Country Manager Sebastian Los.

"At iFood we strongly believe in growth through strategic alliances. Together, Cencosud/Spid and iFood have the experience, offering, operational capacity and efficiency to serve the online marketplace quickly," says Renata Torres, iFood's Director of Strategic Alliances.

Launched in 2021, Spid was born under the Digitally Native Brand concept, that is, a brand that is born using exclusively digital channels for its commercialization. Currently, the chain also operates 10 physical stores, in addition to the dark store model in several neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, aiming to offer more convenience and comfort to customers in their daily lives.

With this partnership, Spid and iFood intend to collaboratively and strategically develop the business on an even more relevant scale in Rio de Janeiro.