Just Eat strikes first British grocery deal with Asda

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Just Eat Takeaway.com said on Friday it had struck a deal with British supermarket group Asda to sell groceries through its delivery platform.

The deal, Just Eat's first with a major British supermarket chain, comes after the company has faced criticism it has been slow to respond to similar moves by competitors: Deliveroo has partnerships with Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Morrisons, while Uber has worked with Shell, Asda and Sainsbury's.

The past year has also seen a flurry of new entrants to European food delivery, including fast grocery delivery firms such as Gorillas, Getir, Weezy and Fancy. Meanwhile, U.S. companies are coming to Europe, as DoorDash bought Finland-based deliverer Wolt for $8 billion in November and privately held U.S. firm GoPuff has bought both Dija & Fancy.

Takeaway said the move was "a significant step."

"With over 60,000 restaurant partners on the Just Eat platform, across 95% of the UK, the partnership with Asda marks the next stage in Just Eat’s commitment to delivering the best service and range of options for its consumers."

Takeaway, which also owns the Grubhub brand in the United States, also has a delivery partnership with 7-Eleven.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Mark Potter)