On competition in the quick commerce space, the chief executive said that competitive intensity remains high but has become more predictable
Blinkit is expecting the rollout of Gourmet stores in select locations in top eight cities to contribute to assortment expansion and strengthen the premiumisation push by the company. Albinder Dhindsa, Chief Executive Officer, Eternal, said that these stores aim to offer consumers the ability to buy curated premium brands across categories.
“We continue to focus our efforts on our three pillars of long-term growth, assortment expansion, geographical expansion, and demand densification. This quarter, we continued to make progress on assortment expansion in the top eight cities and geographic expansion in the next 30,” Dhindsa said in the company’s letter to shareholders.
On competition in the quick commerce space, the chief executive said that competitive intensity remains high but has become more predictable. He explained that the company is simultaneously investing in assortment depth, geographic expansion, and supply chain infrastructure while competitors generally remain focused primarily on pricing.
“Pricing-led growth requires sustained cash burn, and leads QC companies into a systemic trap they can’t easily walk out of – that is visible in multiple QC players struggling to balance both growth and profitability. This is different from traditional ecommerce, where discounting can be weaned off gradually, without hurting the business (much),” he emphasised.
Blinkit’s Network Expansion
Blinkit added 200 net stores during the quarter, taking the total to 2,443. Adjusted Ebitda improved for the fifth consecutive quarter to 0.6 per cent of NOV, resulting in Rs 102 crore profit as compared to Rs 162 crore loss last year.
The management said that the quick commerce business operates about 19 million square feet of store and warehousing space across over 300 cities. The company has invested around Rs 3,000 crore capital expenditure (capex) over the past four years to build this network and will continue to expand.
When it comes to food delivery business, the management said that Toing and Ownly’ impact has been limited. The company added that these platforms are offering the same restaurants, similar or longer delivery times and lower menu prices funded by lower commissions and delivery fee, making the revenue gap even more unsustainable.
