Skip navigation

High Costs, Slowing Sales Force SimonDelivers to Shut Down

SimonDelivers, the Internet grocer that survived the dot-com bust, succumbed this week to rising gasoline costs and changing consumer habits in a weakening economy.

MINNEAPOLIS — SimonDelivers, the Internet grocer here that survived the dot-com bust, succumbed this week to rising gasoline costs and changing consumer habits in a weakening economy. The nine-year-old company, which reportedly generated about $55 million in annual sales while delivering to 19,000 customers in a 3,200-mile radius of the Twin Cities, said Tuesday it would continue to fulfill customer orders only while its current supplies lasted. Simon Fuller, the company’s namesake, founder and former chairman and chief executive officer, told SN in an interview that rising costs for gas and commodities, along with slowing sales as the result of customers seeking less-expensive shopping options, were the main culprits in the retailer’s demise. He said the privately held company sought to secure new financing or a strategic partnership to ride out the economic downturn, but that those efforts were unsuccessful.

Read More of Today's Headlines