Birmingham Startup Shipt Acquired By Target

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Shipt, a Birmingham-based online grocery delivery platform, is set to be acquired by Target in an upcoming purchase, according to the Birmingham Business Journal. Target reached an agreement with company for a $550 million deal.

Shipt is one of Birmingham's most well-known startups, and has been one of Birmingham's fastest growing companies since its founding in 2014, expanding to over 70 different cities.

Though Target is acquiring the company, Shipt will continue to operate in Birmingham and San Francisco as a subsidiary of the main company, with Shipt's founder and CEO Bill Smith reporting to Target Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan.

Smith said his company is "very excited" to partner with Target. He said the partnership will allow Shipt to further accelerate its growth and bring its service to more people.

"We'll continue growing our marketplace and membership base, working with a variety of retailers to drive scale and efficiencies," he said. "We look forward to introducing Target guests to the convenience of our same-day delivery services, with the level of personal attention only Shipt can provide."

Shipt will be a wholly owned Target subsidiary, and will continue to run its business independently. The firm said it will continue working with other retailers, including Costco and Meijer. Shipt said it won't share customer data from Target's rivals with its new owner.

Target said in a release it hopes to have same-day delivery services for shoppers at roughly half of its stores by early 2018. Most Target stores in all major markets will offer same-day delivery before the 2018 holiday season, the store said. Target said it expected the deal to be completed before the end of this year.

"We laid out an ambitious strategic agenda in early 2017, which included a focus on giving our guests a number of convenient ways to shop with Target, whether it's ordering online and picking up in one of our stores, driving up to pick up an order, or taking advantage of services like our new Restock program. With Shipt's network of local shoppers and their current market penetration, we will move from days to hours, dramatically accelerating our ability to bring affordable same-day delivery to guests across the country," said John Mulligan.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images/Gustavo Caballero