Peapod, Inc. has increased its $20 million credit facility with Ahold to $50 million. The Company said that with the approximately $14.7 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand at the beginning of the year, the $50 million credit facility provides Peapod with over $60 million in cash resources for operations. Peapod said its top priority is reaching profitability in two markets, Chicago and an East Coast market, by mid-2001 and that it is on track to meet this goal.
Peapod is now fully aligned with Ahold, an international food provider, in all of Peapod's markets. This relationship gives Peapod a lower cost of entry into these markets and provides it with stronger buying power. Given this improved buying power, Peapod's gross margin is expected to be near 30% in Q1 2001 compared with 26% recorded in the Q4 2000. Peapod had sales of about $93 million in 2000.
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