Ahold Delhaize has announced that bol.com, an online retailer in the Benelux, has entered into a strategic alliance with delivery expert Cycloon. The parties intend to jointly accelerate the growth of Cycloon and share the ambition to make delivery more sustainable and social. The current management of Cycloon will be continued and the existing shareholders of Cycloon will remain involved as shareholders. The transaction, in which bol.com acquires a majority stake, is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022 and is subject to advice from the relevant works council and customary approvals.
With the growth of the e-commerce and related logistics sector, challenges are increasing in terms of delivery capacity and impact on the environment and infrastructure. The partnership with bol.com allows Cycloon to substantially accelerate its mission of green and social delivery, creating a future-proof position with strong growth opportunities in a competitive market. For bol.com, the partnership ensures that a greater proportion of packages can be delivered by bicycle and that the online retail platform can offer customers the best service in delivery.
“The partnership with bol.com gives us the opportunity to make an impact on a much larger scale. We will continue to invest in our people, network and partners and this will enable us to improve and further expand the services we provide to our current and new customers. In doing so, we discussed at length the principles we stand for and continue to stand for as organizations.”
– Marieke Snoek, Managing Director Cycloon
A green partnership
With its national network of bicycle couriers and postal delivery staff, Cycloon sends mail and packages to thousands of customers throughout the Netherlands. The company already saves 1600 tons of CO2 annually and currently employs 600 people with a physical, mental or psychological distance to the labor market who receive additional guidance from a job coach.
