Irish e-tailor Buy4Now has signed a major contract valued at more than €4m to provide an e- commerce solution for the US$11bn US retailer The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Group. The deal was revealed following the opening of a new A&P online grocery known as the Food Emporium in New York yesterday using Buy4Now’s technology.
A&P is one of the largest food retailers in the US, operating on the east coast and in Canada with 628 supermarkets and 11 retail brands. The initial contract will see Buy4Now provide software and specialist consultancy services for two of the A&P retail banners.
The first A&P brand to launch its new e-grocery offering is The Food Emporium (]bold[ www.thefoodemporium.com ]bold[), which operates 39 stores in Manhattan, New York and nearby suburbs, and offers a full online delivery service within Manhattan from a number of their stores.
The contract was awarded to Buy4Now following an extensive worldwide search by A&P for a partner company.
Buy4Now will supply A&P the same software package that has proved so popular in Ireland with Superquinn customers, the Shop4Now and OFS4Now application suite, the latest version of which has involved eight man years of additional development and has been supported by Enterprise Ireland through the Research Technology and Innovation grant scheme. The new versions of the software are currently being rolled out with Superquinn in Ireland.
Commenting on the deal, Buy4Now’s CEO, Ali Murdoch, said: “Since establishing Buy4Now four years ago, it has always been an objective of the board to expand our business model into international markets. The agreement with A&P firmly puts Buy4Now on the international stage and is testament to our successful business model. It is fantastic to see the next step of our business development, the replication of our core software technology, finally taking place and it signals a big step forward for our business.”
Murdoch added: “Buy4Now as a company has a duel mandate. We will continue to be the home of Ireland’s online shopping, but we are also a good example of the new breed of Irish technology companies that can take their skills and expertise and win business on a bigger stage. The past few months have seen huge developments both in Ireland and abroad with our e-tail solution business. We will continue to build on our successful model, enhance our offerings in Ireland and develop our presence on the international stage.”
By John Kennedy
