FreshDirect Sees Financial Gains: Report

NEW YORK — Online grocer FreshDirect here is “solidly profitable for the first time in its six-year history,” according to a report in Crain’s New York Business.

The company, which delivers to a limited area here from a warehouse in Queens, estimates sales will reach $240 million this year, up from $215 million last year.

“We are running the business better, in a more sophisticated way,” Richard Braddock, chairman and chief executive officer, told Crain’s.

Braddock, the former CEO of priceline.com, became CEO of FreshDirect in 2005, at which time he told SN the business was generating positive EBITDA on “more than $150 million” in annual sales.

In the Crain’s article, the company said it has cut down on delivery errors and increased the average spend by $5 per customer using up-selling techniques. The company also said it planned to expand to another major city in the second half of this year as a test — possibly Boston or Philadelphia, according to Crain’s.

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