PEAPOD: NEXT PROFITABLE MARKETS IN N.Y. SUBURBS

NANCY BRUMBACK

SKOKIE, Ill. (FNS) -- Peapod expects to add its two smaller markets on the East Coast -- southern Connecticut and Long Island -- to its list of profitable operations by mid-2001, Marc van Gelder, president and chief executive officer, told a standing-room-only crowd at the Internet grocer's annual meeting here last week.

Chicago, the firm's original market, achieved operating profitability "within the four walls," that is, before marketing and corporate overhead expenses, earlier this year, three months ahead of schedule. Peapod projects the entire company will turn a profit by the end of 2003.

Van Gelder also indicated after the meeting that the next market Peapod is likely to enter will be adjacent to its existing East Coast market, "for example, Westchester" in New York, rather than in separate markets currently served by Ahold, the Dutch-based retailer that owns a majority stake in the Internet grocer.