Zepto Is Nearing $4 Bn Annualised GOV: CEO Aadit Palicha

SUMMARY

Zepto is getting close to $4 Bn in annualised GOV, which represents around 300% year-on-year growth

This is about 30% growth since his last update of $3 Bn in January

Palicha also claimed that the startup’s newly launched dark stores are also on the track to achieve breakeven in EBITDA

Quick commerce major Zepto has reduced cash burn and is nearing $4 Bn in annualised gross order value (GOV), cofounder and chief executive Aadit Palicha has claimed.

“Zepto is getting close to $4Bn in annualised GOV, which represents around 300% year-on-year growth, and about 30% growth since my last update in January,” Palicha said in a LinkedIn post.

“We have reduced EBITDA (excluding ESOPs) and operating cash flow (OCF) burn by 50% even as we grew meaningfully during the last three months,” he added.

Earlier in January, Palicha said, “In April 2024, we shared with Goldman Sachs in a research note that Zepto had crossed $1 Bn in annualised GOV. Eight months later, in January, we are approximately at $3 Bn in annualised GOV.”

The startup’s newly launched dark stores are also on the track to achieve breakeven in EBITDA.

Zepto doubled its dark store count to 700 in 2024.

In February, the company expanded its presence in Tamil Nadu by launching more than 20 dark stores across several districts, including Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Vellore and Salem.

Meanwhile, its competitors have been investing heavily in expanding their dark stores across the country, where Blinkit added 216 new locations in Q3 FY25, with its plan to reach 2,000 stores by December this year, and Swiggy Instamart added 96 new dark stores in Q3 FY25.

With the quick commerce players competing on grounds of dark store expansion, JP Morgan recently noted that Zepto has been moderating the number of additions, implying lower marketing for new user acquisition.

The brokerage further noted that this move would possibly help the company keep its quick commerce burn contained in the March quarter of the ongoing fiscal year (Q4 FY25).

In terms of the quick commerce sector’s quarterly cash burn of around INR 5,000 Cr, Palicha rejected the statement of Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal that more than half of this burn would be accounted for by Zepto.

Zepto’s consolidated revenue more than doubled to INR 4,454.52 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), jumping 120% from INR 2,025.70 Cr in FY23. The quick commerce unicorn’s net loss saw a marginal decline of 2% to INR 1,248.64 Cr in FY24 compared to INR 1,271.84 Cr from a year earlier.