‘Ghost’ stores competing with traditional supermarkets with ultra-fast deliveries Stopped their expansion a year after landing in Valencia and in major Spanish cities. Bring and Gorillas are closing blind supermarkets, and Gopuff is leaving Spain and preparing to lay off nearly two hundred workers as its business model collapses, which challenges companies in the industry like Mercadona or Consum with home deliveries at a low price within ten minutes. price. The slowdown of so-called ‘blind supermarkets’ coincided with the tech companies’ financing crisis, the withdrawal of large venture capital funds, and the Spanish culture of buying food from physical stores. Getir and the Gorillas assured their workers in Valencia of the centers they closed. “was hibernated” This is due to the decrease in consumption in big cities.
in Valencia operating in the ultra-fast deliveries segment Gorillas, Bring and Glovo. The pioneer in Túria’s capital was the Gorillas, and they were the first to return. The German company announced in May that it was withdrawing from four European markets, including Spain. Gorillas assured that they will focus on profitability in their five key markets, where 90% of their revenue comes from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States. The firm operates “to a minimum” of one of its three warehouses in Valencia and the other two (located in the Mestalla and Russafa districts), according to workers. A former employee assured Levante-EMV yesterday that he has fewer and fewer orders. “We had 250 orders a day in my warehouse, but they went down to a minimum. We were pretty good until Getir entered Valencia (in November 2021). It’s a very strong investment and they came with a lot of offers. In the winter, orders were already down,” he complained. The same source added that this was a business model that was doomed from the start, as Spaniards love going to supermarkets.
Getir saw Valencia as one of the important regional markets. With the firm’s app, consumers have access to nearly 2,000 products such as snacks, soft drinks, meat, fish, alcohol, fruit, vegetables or bread. The rate varies with demand (although the cost is very low) and the order limit is the amount that the deliverer (moving by bicycle or electric motorcycle) can safely carry.
temporary shutdowns
A Getir employee in Valencia announced that the company is also closing closed warehouses. “temporary shutdowns” Due to the decrease in demand during the summer months. The official version of the company is the same, although he avoids specifying the closing number.
Getir confirmed at the end of May that it will cut 14% in its workforce globally, delaying its expansion as a company. In March this year, the company (of Turkish origin) achieved a valuation of 10,676m euros after receiving a capital injection of 694m euros in a funding round led by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the entry from Abu Dhabi. Growth Fund, Alpha Wabe Global, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global. With the investment, he planned to accelerate expansion, a move that soon stalled.
The latest ultra-fast delivery company to divest in Spain is American GoPuff. The technology firm, which does not operate in Valencia, reported 186 layoffs and closings of five ‘ghost’ supermarkets it owned in Madrid. The company started operations in Spain in February after the acquisition of Dija company at the end of 2021.
The collapse of ultra-fast supermarket food delivery technology companies follows a decline in venture capital investments in start-ups amid economic uncertainty.
Enrique Penichet, a specialist in start-up investment and director of the Draper B1 fund, explained to this newspaper that investment in U.S. emerging companies has plummeted after the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) commitment to raise interest rates. The decision caused tech companies to crash in the stock market and frightened institutional investors.