Indian quick-commerce startup Zepto has surpassed the annualised sales milestone of $1 billion within just 29 months of its inception, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note Thursday, citing the Zepto management.
The startup, which competes with Zomato-owned Blinkit and SoftBank-backed Swiggy Instamart, is also gaining market share, now standing “close to that of the number 2 player,” the report added. Zepto, which became a unicorn last year, counts YC Continuity, StepStone Group, Glade Brook Capital and Lachy Groom among its backers.
Zepto operates in seven Indian cities and uses a network of over 300 dark stores, or micro-fulfillment centers, to offer customers delivery of items from a range of categories including grocery and electronics. The startup, which promises to deliver items to customers within 10 minutes of placing an order, currently processes approximately 550,000 orders daily, its management told the investment bank.
“Zepto believes quick-commerce platforms are well-positioned vs Kiranas (traditional grocery retailers) due to (1) sourcing advantage which results in better pricing; (2) product assortment (5x higher of SKUs); (3) quality control; (4) delivery time (ability to deliver in under 15 mins). Zepto believes it can expand into 40-50 cities over time,” the report added.
This is a developing story. More to follow.