Blinkit: Blinkit is now the largest player in major metros except Chennai, Hyderabad: Zomato CFO

Akshant Goyal, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Zomato, said Blinkit has become the largest player in fast trading in major metros except Chennai and Hyderabad. “We are the largest player in all major metros outside Chennai and Hyderabad,” Goyal said during the company’s post-earnings analyst call.

When asked about the geographical breakdown of the new branch, Goyal said: “Our immediate focus in expanding the infrastructure and business continues to be on the eight largest cities because we believe these cities are still underserved from a supplier perspective and they are something lower. “We will see fruition in terms of the opportunities there before we really start to go deep into the smaller cities.”

He also highlighted the company’s strategy to expand its presence in cities outside Delhi-NCR, its largest market. “The share of Delhi-NCR in our business continues to decline. While it was around 47% a few quarters ago, today it has fallen to under 40%. This shift shows that our efforts to expand beyond Delhi-NCR are paying off,” Goyal added.

The company is moving forward with an aggressive expansion plan, targeting 1,000 dark stores by the end of the fiscal year and 2,000 by the end of 2026. As of September 30, Blinkit operated 791 dark stores (micro-warehouses that enable 10-minute delivery service). On June 30th there were still 639 branches. Blinkit is also expanding its services to Tier II and Tier III cities, underscoring its growth ambitions.

In September, brokerage firm CLSA said Blinkit had a 39% market share in the quick commerce segment, followed by Zepto and Instamart with 28% each. BigBasket’s BB Now and new entrant Flipkart Minutes together had a 6% share of India’s 10-minute delivery market.

When asked whether Blinkit’s new dark stores are franchised or company owned, Goyal said: “Our priority is to open franchise stores… but if a franchise partner is not available, we open our own store.”