Quench - Afrikan Heroes

South African Delivery Startup, Quench, Acquired By The Foschini Group

December 3, 2021

TFG, better known as The Foschini Group, has acquired Quench, an ecommerce and last-mile delivery service, through its Labs section. The acquisition’s value has not been revealed.

“It forms part of TFGLabs’ ambition to become South Africa’s next e-commerce powerhouse by attracting not only the best in tech talent but e-commerce capabilities, too,” TFG said in a statement.

Quench delivery acquired — *TFGLabs head Claude Hannan*

Why The Acquisition

TFGLabs’ latest acquisition is part of the company’s plan to become South Africa’s next e-commerce behemoth.

“With this acquisition, we gain access to fast, reliable delivery across South Africa, while achieving superior delivery unit economics,” said TFGLabs head Claude Hannan.

“Quench’s network of micro-carriers will become an essential enabler for our ‘ship-from-store’ strategy. All international market data shows that delivery price, reliability and speed is highly correlated to e-commerce penetration and purchase frequency,” Hannan said.

Foschini, Markham, @home, and Totalsports are among TFG’s brands.

TFG’s store outlets currently fulfill about three-quarters of its orders.

TFG claims that the transaction will improve its fulfillment capabilities by providing “proprietary software and engineering, as well as a scientific approach to planning, least-cost routing, and asset utilization.”

TFG also intends to use the acquisition to tactically enhance total stock turn and store density, according to the company’s statement.

Quench’s existing partners and customers will continue to be serviced by TFG. Woolworths and Dis-Chem, as well as a slew of other smaller businesses, are among them, according to Quench’s website.

Quench, which launched in 2016, received funding from Imvelo Ventures, a venture capital business created by Capitec Bank and Empowerment Capital Investment Partners, earlier this year.

Quench delivery acquired Quench delivery acquired

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
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Quench Secures Funding to Expand its Services Across Southern Africa

March 17, 2021

Fast rising South African-based deliveries startup, Quench that deploys app-based platforms to link customers has taken a bold step in its expansionary ambition across the region. This follows the raising of an undisclosed amount of funding to help it build brand awareness and establish more partnerships across the country.

Quench was founded five years ago to provide same-day delivery of groceries, food, medication and alcohol to customers in major centres across South Africa. The startup has seen significant growth over the last year given the effects of COVID-19, expanding from being an alcohol delivery platform to also delivering other items.

The startup recently secured funding from Imvelo Ventures, a South African venture capital firm founded by Capitec Bank and Empowerment Capital Investment Partners. Imvelo Ventures identifies and funds promising South African small and medium enterprises in the broad spectrum of financial technology, and its investment will help Quench continue to grow.

Quench founder Liam McCreedy was quoted as saying that the investment will assist Quench in growing brand awareness and expanding partnerships throughout the country.

“Our long-term focus remains to ensure growth with our current retail partners, Woolworths, Dis-Chem and Ultra Liquor, along with expanding our restaurant delivery footprint through delivery platform Mr Yum South Africa. More immediately, our attention will be focused on escalating our offering across multiple industries.”

In April, Quench will launch a fully-integrated back-end system with a new consumer-facing app for “Quench Marketplace”, a new B2C channel created to empower suppliers, manufacturers, wine farms, produce farms and many more to sell, advertise and distribute off Quench’s infrastructure.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry