 "Zepto's sales could surpass DMart in next 18-24 months: CEO Aadit Palicha")
Quick-commerce unicorn Zepto’s sales could potentially surpass those of offline retail major DMart in the next 18-24 months, while the former’s top line could scale to over Rs 2.4 trillion in the next 5-10 years, said co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Aadit Palicha on Saturday.
"DMart is a $30-billion company, and we are only 4.5 times our size in sales. If we are able to execute well, we will continue to grow 2-3 times every year and potentially surpass it in the next 18-24 months,” said Palicha, while speaking at the seventh JIIF Foundation Day event in New Delhi.
"If we execute well, we can realistically take this business from Rs 10,000-plus crore in top line today to potentially Rs 2.5 trillion in top line over the next 5-10 years," he added.
The company’s focus, Palicha said, would remain on the top 50-75 million households in the country's top 40 cities, which contribute to the bulk of grocery and daily essential purchases in the country.
He estimates the Indian grocery market to be worth $850 billion by FY29, of which these households would account for $400 billion.
"Grocery is bigger than all the other categories that Amazon and Flipkart serve combined. If you look at electronics, apparel, furniture, you combine everything, and you double it, it's still not as large as grocery and household essentials," he said.
He added that the quick-commerce firm has gone from zero to Rs 10,000 crore in sales in less than three years, ahead of Flipkart, which did it in four years.
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The 21-year-old founder’s comments come hot on the heels of Zepto’s massive $665-million Series F funding round at a $3.6 billion valuation, Business Standard had reported earlier.
The round was co-led by existing investors StepStone Group, Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, Goodwater and Lachy Groom. Meanwhile, new investors, Avenir Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Avra, have also joined the list.
The fundraise happens as Zepto is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) in around 12-15 months and is looking to turn profitable before its public listing.
The firm is currently operating around 350 dark stores across the top 10 cities in India and has plans to expand to another 10 cities and increase its store count to 700.
This was Zepto's second big-ticket fundraise within the span of 10 months.
In August last year, Zepto raised $235 million in a Series E funding round at a $1.4-billion valuation to become a unicorn, ending an extended dry spell. The round was led by the StepStone Group, a Baltimore-based institutional asset manager, which is also a Limited Partner (LP) of existing investor Nexus Venture Partners.