Kogan targets online grocery market

Damon Kitney
JANUARY 30, 2015
THE AUSTRALIAN
THE booming online retail business run by Melbourne entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has moved into the multi-billion dollar grocery market, launching a service to allow consumers to have shopping delivered to their door.
Kogan Pantry is launching offering more than 600 products from leading brands including Dove, Colgate, Palmolive, Pringles, Powerade, and Gillette at discounted prices.
David Shafer, Executive Director of kogan.com, claimed that by shopping on the site consumers would save more than 50 per cent when compared with Coles or Woolworths on a basket of 20 standard items.
The move pits Kogan against rivals such as the James Packer-backed groceryrun, the grocery arm of the daily deals website catchoftheday owned by the Catch Group, and the online offerings of the major retailers.
“Kogan.com is famous for quality products at massive discounts and our aim is to bring those same savings to a core range of everyday household items and non-perishable groceries,’’ Mr Shafer said.
“The Aussie supermarket duopoly has double or triple the margins of international peers like Tesco, Costco and Carrefour. Through smart sourcing and efficient online retailing, Kogan.com wants to provide a better offer for Aussies, ultimately saving them money.’’
It comes after Kogan launched four new private label brands last year, further expanding the firm from its consumer electronics base into new markets that Mr Kogan said earlier this year would grow to represent a “significant chunk’’ of revenues.
Kogan now has brands in the pet supplies, men’s grooming, health and wellbeing and baby and toddlerwear categories. The brands are respectively named Scharfen, Pawever Pets, Nutrivance and Bubbli.
The firm has also moved into the $3 billion sporting goods market with a new brand called Fortis, as well as launching brands in the outdoor and camping, hardware and homewares, and personal care for women categories.
The addition of Kogan Pantry takes the number of brands in Kogan’s retail stable to 12.
Ruslan Kogan said earlier this year that the new range of private label brands was “the fastest growing area of the business”.