Blinkit To Start UC-Modelled Handyman Service Biz In Few Weeks

SUMMARY

The services and offerings will include plumbing, AC repairing and finding electrician on its platform

By entering the hyperlocal segment, Blinkit will lock horns with Urban Company, where Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal was an independent director until February 15

As per RoC filings, Goyal resigned from Urban Company’s board on February 15th. His resignation is linked to Blinkit’s new vertical, which will be in direct conflict of interest with Urban Company (UC)

Zomato-owned online grocery platform Blinkit is reportedly planning to enter India’s hyperlocal services segment.

Blinkit’s handyman services will include plumbing, AC repairing as well as finding an electrician facility on its platform in the coming weeks. The player has already set up a team, comprising new and existing employees, to launch its hyperlocal services vertical.

The new vertical will ensure providing hyperlocal services within a time frame of 10-15 minutes akin to its grocery services, according to an Entrackr report.

However, when contacted Blinkit declined to comment on the development.

If the move materialises, Blinkit will lock horns with Gurugram-based Urban Company (UC), which last year onboarded Zomato CEO and founder Deepinder Goyal as an independent director to its board.

Importantly, as per RoC filings, Goyal resigned from UC’s board on February 15th.

As per Entrackr report, Goyal’s resignation could be linked with Blinkit’s new hyperlocal vertical. As, Blinkit will be in direct conflict of interest with UC.

A pragmatic approach to this business expansion strategy hints at Zomato imitating the business model of Chinese shopping platform Meituan. The Chinese platform initially was solely in food delivery services and gradually added entertainment, dining, grocery and travel services to its suite.

At the time of reporting, Zomato was trading at INR 54.82 at the Bombay Stock Exchange as on Wednesday (1 March), 2.39 PM.

Currently, Chinese player Meituan is an investor in the foodtech aggregator Swiggy, which also plans to follow Meituan’s legacy.

These developments have come shortly after Blinkit rolled out the Brand Stores platform for direct-to-consumer startups and FMCG brands on its app.

Blinkit’s Brand Stores platform will enable listed brands to display their products on a personalised brand page.

Further, during the earnings call, Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa shared plans of increasing the count of dark stores by about 40% in the coming 12 months.

“Currently, we believe that we can comfortably grow our dark store count by ~30-40% over the next 12 months. This will also depend on our ability to find the best and most cost-effective locations for these stores,” Dhindsa said.

Meanwhile, in the third quarter FY23, Blinkit’s order volume grew by 21% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 3.16 Cr, offsetting the 2.6% slump in average order value (AOV) to INR 533.