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Quick commerce unicorn Zepto on Wednesday announced that it recorded its highest-ever order volume on its third anniversary on July 15 with 750,000 orders—a 25 per cent increase over the daily average of 600,000 orders in the past month.
As part of a special marketing campaign, Zepto partnered with several brands for giveaways to as many as 800,000 consumers. Hence, the company did not incur any cash burn due to the campaign.
On the occasion, over 200 Zepto employees, including the founders and leadership team, hit the roads to deliver orders themselves during the company’s birthday weekend.
This comes shortly after Zepto co-founder and chief executive officer Aadit Palicha said that the quick commerce firm’s sales could potentially surpass those of offline retail major DMart in the next 18-24 months, while the company’s topline could scale to over Rs 2.4 lakh crore over the next five to ten years.
The company’s focus, Palicha said, would remain on the top 50-75 million households in the country’s top 40 cities, which contribute to the bulk of grocery and daily essential purchases in the country.
Zepto recently raised $665 million in Series F funding, valuing the company at $3.6 billion. The company is now preparing for its initial public offering in the next 12-15 months.
Furthermore, the company has reportedly drawn investor interest for an additional $250 million in a fresh round that values the company at about $4.6 billion.
Ahead of its public listing, Zepto plans to ramp up hiring, aiming to add between 400 and 500 employees, focusing on engineering, product, category, growth, and marketing roles. The company currently boasts a team of 1,600 people.
The firm is currently operating around 350 dark stores across the top ten cities in India and has plans to expand into another ten cities and increase its store count to 700.
The Mumbai-based firm has been steadily increasing its market share in the quick commerce space. While Blinkit remains the market leader with a 40 per cent share, Zepto’s market share has risen from 15 per cent in March 2022 to 22 per cent in January 2024, according to a recent report by HSBC Global.
Zepto’s revenue from operations increased 14-fold to Rs 2,024 crore in FY23 compared to Rs 140.7 crore in the previous year. The startup’s losses widened threefold to Rs 1,272 crore for the period, as against Rs 390.3 crore a year ago, according to filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
First Published: Jul 17 2024 | 7:52 PM IST
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