SoftBank Invests In Grocery Startup Grofers

Online grocery store, Grofers, raised $ 62.5 million in a round of funding led by SoftBank. As a result of this investment, SoftBank now owns around 35 % to 40 % of the Gurgaon based startup. According to several industry reports, this investment round also saw participation from existing investors like Tiger Global and Russian tech billionaire, Yuri Milner.

This funding round came barely a month after Grofers released a statement saying they were expecting a funding round of around $ 65 million from its existing investors. Founded in the year 2013 by two tech developers, Grofers recently shut down the operations in several cities around the country. Reportedly, the online grocery company wants to focus only on the Delhi/NCR region.

Just before it shut down operations across the country, Grofers used to deliver in 26 countries, clocking in nearly 15,000 orders on a daily basis, with an average basket size of $ 18.7 to $ 20.8 (about Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,350.) This move comes in an effort to strengthen Grofers strong market position. In the last year, its biggest competitor, BigBasket secured around $ 300 million in a Series E funding round led by Alibaba with the participation of Abraaj Capital, Sands Capital and IFC.

Grofers currently offers products across categories like grocery, fruits and vegetables, beauty and wellness, household care, baby care, pet care, bakery and meats and seafood, among other things. The company claims to be profitable with day to day based online deliveries in Delhi. As of March 2017, BigBasket holds about 35% in the food delivery sector while Grofers follows behind as a close second.

Flipkart, on the other hand, is reportedly looking to set up a chain of delivery and retail stores all across the country. This is going to happen in partnership with global retail giant, Walmart. With so many competitors popping up in growing numbers, Grofers faces some serious competition. It is going to be interesting to see how the online delivery platform uses this round of funding from SoftBank.