Grab's just completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Jaya Grocer, one of Malaysia's leading premium supermarket chains.

• Jaya runs 40 stores, mostly in the capital Kuala Lumpur and its richest state, Selangor.

⬇️  Started from the bottom

Grab joined the grocery delivery space in 2018 with GrabFresh through a partnership e-grocery delivery service, Happy Fresh.

• It launched in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, where HappyFresh is active.

Parting ways. While Grab did get a minority stake in HappyFresh in 2018, its partnership ended in May 2021. Grab began a similar model called GrabMart in 2020. The partnership was likely a quick entry into e-groceries. Still, it didn't allow it to scale and limited the range of its products.

• HappyFresh was technically a middleman who had other customers and problems too. Plus, its grocery and retail network was limited to 3 countries.

🏅 Now we're here

GrabMart expanded to eight countries in three months! Plus, it has much more than groceries. Order from pharmacies, convenience stores, bookstores, optical shops and even electronics stores.

😎  Same biz, new plans

Grab's typical move is to focus on partnerships and connecting customers with services. Aka, being asset-light, instead of owning any groceries, restaurants or cars. But snapping up Jaya Grocer might be key to helping it win in the on-demand e-grocery space.

• Online grocery transactions are only 2% of total grocery spending, so Grab has tons of room to grow.
• Foodpanda, Lazada, Shopee, Tokopedia and more are also fighting for a piece of the pie.

Why it works. With Jaya's expertise, 40 retail stores and large supplier network, Grab can lower costs, offer more products, reach more customers and deliver faster.

🏍  Quick, quick

Both foodpanda and Indonesia's ASTRO have already dabbled in quick commerce. Is Grab getting into it soon? It already has a massive, reliable delivery fleet that gives it a leg up.

• Quick-commerce startup, ASTRO promises deliveries in 15 minutes.

Derisking. It might be a safer bet for Grab to own physical groceries like Jaya than burn $$$ opening dark stores if it's prepping to build up its quick-commerce play.