Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities

Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities

Gurgaon-based on-demand delivery startup, Grofers, has shut down operations in 9 cities – Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Kochi, Ludhiana, Mysuru, Nashik, Rajkot and Visakhapatnam.

The employees stationed in these cities have been offered positions in other cities.

In an exclusive conversation with Inc42, Kshitij Torka VP Marketing at Grofers confirmed the development and said, “We did not see these cities grow at the pace we expected, so we are investing in areas where we are seeing great uptake.”

Grofers in currently operational in 17 cities – Agra, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi – NCR, Nagpur, Pune, Surat and Vadodara.

In October 2015, the company halted operations in certain parts of Delhi NCR due to operational issues after employees in Noida stopped working based on layoff speculations. The operations were resumed after a few days.

In November 2015, the company raised about $120 Mn (INR 780 Cr) in a funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank Corp. The round also saw participation from its existing investors Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital. Apoletto Managers, a personal fund managed by DST Global’s partners, also participated in this round.

This was the startup’s third round of funding, which had previously  raised $10 Mn (INR 62 Cr) in venture capital funding led by investment firm Tiger Global Management and existing backer Sequoia Capital India in February. In April, it grabbed another $35 Mn in a funding round led by Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital. At that time, it was doing more than a 1,000 orders every day.

Founded in 2013 by IIT graduates Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar, the startup’s valuation has now risen from $33 Mn in February 2015 to more than $300 Mn after the latest round in November. The company has now raised more than $160 Mn in funding.

Recently, in December 2015, Varun Khurana resigned from his post as the company’s CTO. He spent less than a year with the company.

(Hat Tip: Aditya Upadhyay)

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become An Inc42 Plus Member

Become a Startup Insider in 2024 with Inc42 Plus. Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in India’s startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
Unlock 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
Unlock 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities-Inc42 Media
Exclusive: Grofers Shuts Down Operations In 9 Cities-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company