TechCrunch reports that Kozmo, the dot-com delivery startup that during the late nineties went through $280 million in investment capital before crashing and burning, is back for another try, albeit with new ownership and management and a different business plan.
“Instead of delivering anything from videos to games to books and more,” TechCrunch writes, “the new Kozmo is focused on bulk delivery of groceries. Kozmo will offer next-day delivery, with the goal of delivering on-demand within two hours, for groceries. Kozmo will initially charge a $5.99 delivery fee for orders costing a minimum of $35. With Kozmo, the company says customers can expect to save between 20-50 percent off retail prices … Kozmo seems to be going after Costco, Jet and Boxed.com, the site for buying food and household items in bulk that similarly does not charge membership fees.”
Kozmo only is delivering in Los Angeles at present, but has plans to expand later this year. It is being positioned as the delivery service for grocery ordering platform Yummy, the ownership of which bought the brand name.
Kozmo CEO Barnaby Montgomery tells TechCrunch that “Kozmo.com is an iconic brand that millions of people remember. In addition, it’s synonymous with convenience so we felt that keeping the name with our updated offering was the perfect fit.”
“Instead of delivering anything from videos to games to books and more,” TechCrunch writes, “the new Kozmo is focused on bulk delivery of groceries. Kozmo will offer next-day delivery, with the goal of delivering on-demand within two hours, for groceries. Kozmo will initially charge a $5.99 delivery fee for orders costing a minimum of $35. With Kozmo, the company says customers can expect to save between 20-50 percent off retail prices … Kozmo seems to be going after Costco, Jet and Boxed.com, the site for buying food and household items in bulk that similarly does not charge membership fees.”
Kozmo only is delivering in Los Angeles at present, but has plans to expand later this year. It is being positioned as the delivery service for grocery ordering platform Yummy, the ownership of which bought the brand name.
Kozmo CEO Barnaby Montgomery tells TechCrunch that “Kozmo.com is an iconic brand that millions of people remember. In addition, it’s synonymous with convenience so we felt that keeping the name with our updated offering was the perfect fit.”
- KC's View:
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If this logic is correct, then I suppose that at some point we’ll see yet another car called the Edsel, a soft drink called New Coke, an e-grocery site called Webvan, and an airline called the Trump Shuttle.
Maybe this makes sense. But to me, reviving failed business names for new concepts is a dubious approach.
