Walmart-owned Flipkart hires Dunzo co-founder Kabeer Biswas to lead Minutes

Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart has roped in Dunzo co-founder Kabeer Biswas to lead the company’s quick commerce business, Minutes. He will collaborate closely with Flipkart's Senior Vice-President, Hemant Badri, and is set to begin on January 13, according to sources. Investors in Dunzo, which is currently facing financial difficulties, were informed by Biswas about his decision to leave the company.

 

“Kabeer is expected to join Flipkart next week. A lot of background work has to be done to ensure there is no conflict of interest,” said a person familiar with the development.

 

Biswas’ appointment is seen as a strategic move by Flipkart to help it compete with quick commerce players such as Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto. These companies are racing to deliver everything from biryani to hot beverages and iPhones to customers' doorsteps in under 10–15 minutes.

   

A spokesperson for Flipkart and Biswas was unavailable for comment.

 

Dunzo, an on-demand hyperlocal delivery app for food and groceries, has raised a total funding of $449 million from investors such as Reliance Retail, Alphabet’s Google, Alteria Capital, Blume Ventures, and Greyhound Capital, according to data platform Tracxn.

 

In 2022, Reliance Retail announced that it led a $240 million funding round for Dunzo, acquiring a 25.8 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based startup. This investment marked the oil-to-tech conglomerate's entry into the ultra-fast commerce market.

 

However, Dunzo has been facing a significant financial crisis, failing to pay staff salaries for more than 18 months. The company experienced the exit of key executives, including co-founders and its finance head, along with mass layoffs in phases.

 

Biswas, who recently left the company, went without receiving his salary for an extended period. Before that, co-founders Mukund Jha, Dalvir Suri, and Ankur Aggarwal also exited. Dunzo has also been facing statutory and vendor dues. In a letter from August of last year, Biswas acknowledged to employees that Dunzo had encountered setbacks in securing promised funding. The funds were expected to settle overdue salaries, outstanding dues to current and former employees, and payments to vendors.

 

Significant investments in dark stores, advertising, and employee costs caused the company's losses to rise 3.8 times to Rs 1,801 crore in FY23 from Rs 464 crore in FY22, according to Entrackr. Its Ebitda margin stood at -677 per cent in FY23. On a unit level, the company spent Rs 9.09 to earn a unit of operating revenue. The failure to control rising expenses resulted in deep losses, despite a fourfold jump in revenue in FY23. Dunzo’s revenue from operations surged 4.1 times to Rs 226 crore in FY23 from Rs 54 crore in FY22.

 

Dunzo will continue its operations; however, it has scaled down significantly. Creditors have taken the company to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for failing to settle its outstanding dues.

 

Biswas, who holds an engineering degree from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, co-founded Dunzo with Ankur Aggarwal, Dalvir Suri, and Mukund Jha in 2015. The company, which started as a small WhatsApp group fulfilling tasks like laundry pick-ups for a fee, evolved into a full-fledged local-commerce firm tapping into offline businesses.

 

E-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart, planning to scale up their quick commerce (qcom) operations, may need to invest at least $1 billion each over the next two–three years to catch up with established platforms such as Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto, according to analysts.

 

Industry sources suggest 15–20 minute deliveries are taking a major share of sales, particularly in grocery and household essentials, away from Flipkart and Amazon. Analysts said it is only a matter of time before these qcom firms expand into premium categories like electronics and fashion, traditionally dominated by Amazon and Flipkart.

 

The qcom market size is projected to reach $40 billion by 2030 from $6.1 billion in 2024, according to the Datum Intelligence report. The rapid acceptance of qcom among consumers highlights a clear willingness to pay for the convenience of immediate, on-demand purchases.

 

Flipkart's quick commerce service, Minutes, is scaling up its offerings. It is expected to set up 150 dark stores this quarter and aims to deliver smartphones, laptops, and other high-value items within 10–15 minutes. The firm has also begun rolling out medicine delivery in select areas of Bengaluru. A recent Jefferies report highlights Flipkart's aggressive pricing strategy, positioning it as a strong competitor to leading players such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto.