The coronavirus pandemic will be a transformational event that for online shopping, according to the founder of the Czech online grocery platform Rohlik.cz Tomáš Čupr. His company has taken full advantage of people’s fear of shopping in supermarkets to launch two new lines, including one that focuses on non-perishable items like pasta, beans and canned goods and another that focuses on quick delivery. But he’s decided that now is the time to invest in expansion into western Europe. His goal is to be operational in Germany, Austria and one other country within two years. “I’m not so naive as to think that I can take Europe all by myself,” he told Ihned.cz. “We need to collect capital, we’re talking €100m to €150m. We’ll take on a partner with deep pockets so that we can run and not have to stop or look around.” Originally, the idea was to begin the process before the summer holidays, but with uncertainties over how markets will react to the coronavirus pandemic this timetable has been pushed back. “I think we’ll probably get it going in September,” he says. In 2019, Rohlik.cz produced revenues of CZK 4bn. This year’s expectations are roughly twice that with profits of around CZK 150m expected.
