Pink Dot
TypeGrocer
IndustryRetail
Founded1987 (Los Angeles, California)
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
ProductsDeli, frozen foods, general grocery, snacks, liquor
Websitepinkdot.com

Pink Dot is a quick delivery prepared-to-order grocery store based on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. The store has appeared in several movies and television shows, including HBO's Entourage.[1]

History

Entrepreneur Bill Toro founded the chain in 1987 with the purchase of a single liquor store. His idea to create a delivery-based operation arose from numerous complaints he observed about the traffic in Los Angeles.[2] Pink Dot is a privately owned corporation with Toro retaining 30% control.[2]

In 1996, Pink Dot was referred to as a rapidly expanding grocery delivery company in a Los Angeles Times story that noted the store guaranteed delivery within 45 minutes for a service charge of $9.99.[3] Orders were filled from five warehouses.[3] Company executives at the time predicted home delivery would become a "big part of the changing face of retail."

As Pink Dot prepared to expand into Orange County, the company phased out its signature polka-dotted, propeller-topped Volkswagen Beetle delivery cars after market tests showed that Orange County residents wanted their purchases delivered in more low-profile vehicles.[4]

Pink Dot partnered with order takers such as the now-defunct Kozmo.com, which went defunct in the bursting of the dot-com bubble, as a way to expand the product line into items such as Compact Discs and pharmaceuticals.[5]

Late 2000s

In 2008, Pink Dot announced a partnership with Ford Motor Company and began using the Ford Transit Connect, a delivery system that Pink Dot president Sol Yamini described as "room service for your home."[1] Later, Pink Dot partnered with Postmates to extend its offerings to app users.

References

  1. 1 2 "Transit connect offers cargo space, reliability to grocery service that caters to customers". Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  2. 1 2 Sarkisian, Nola L. "Lazy people of L.A., rejoice: Pink Dot is expanding". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  3. 1 2 George White SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ENTERPRISE; Convenience Stores; Grocery Deliverers Find a Time-Strapped Audience page 1 August 21, 1996 Los Angeles Times
  4. ↑ Leslie Earnest O.C. Business Plus; HEARD ON THE BEAT / RETAIL; Pink Dot Dumps Its Funky Beetle July 7, 1999 Los Angeles Times
  5. ↑ Sandoval, Greg. "Pink Dot takes grocery Web site national". CNET News. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
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