Zomato confirms Blinkit's Urban Company-like home service is in the works
CEO Deepinder Goyal said during the Q4 FY23 results announcement that it was right to step back from Urban Company's board in case Zomato decides to compete on a large scale.
Blinkit is experimenting with a home services vertical—similar to 's core business—its parent confirmed in a letter to shareholders revealing the Q4 FY23 financial results.
The vertical will offer neighbourhood services, including plumbing and carpentry, with the aim of making them more accessible to users, the company said.
However, CEO Albinder Dhindsa said the company isn't placing a lot of focus on this vertical at the moment and it isn't a big decision for the firm.
The quick commerce firm was looking to foray into the segment early this year, Entrackr said in its report in March.
It has set up a new team from the group's existing employees as well as hired workforce from other companies to launch the new vertical. It will also attempt to fulfil the service within 10-15 minutes—similar to its grocery vertical, according to the report.
Goyal—who was on the Board of Tiger Global-backed Urban Company—stepped back from his role as an independent director earlier this year to avoid a potential conflict of interest. "If at all we end up competing with Urban Company at a large scale, we know we are up against a formidable team and a very high-quality business," he said in the statement.
The food and grocery delivery firm has been trying several pivots in the last few quarters. Recently, a Moneycontrol report stated that Zomato has been piloting a business-to-business (B2B) logistics service to deliver food, pharma products, and consumer goods for other ecommerce players.
In January, the company rebranded Zomato Instant—its 10-minute food delivery segment—to another service with the aim to deliver home-style meals at affordable prices.
Blinkit's delivery partners based in Delhi-NCR staged a fortnight-long protest last month, after the quick commerce firm revised its payout structure, resulting in the closure of a few dark stores in the region. The aggrieved workers also met Gurugram Deputy Labour Commissioner Dinesh Kumar to submit their demands.
However, Blinkit said the closure of some dark stores was temporary and had no material impact on Zomato's operations and financial performance.
The company announced its fourth-quarter financial results on Friday, posting a 70% increase in revenue compared to the year-ago period. It crossed 1.8 million Zomato Gold sign-ups. Blinkit posted a revenue of Rs 362 crore last quarter.
Edited by Akanksha Sarma