 "Shoes in 10-minutes: Footwear major Bata wants to join quick-commerce race")
Leading footwear maker Bata is in talks with quick commerce companies to offer its products via 10-minute delivery service as the company faces a challenging business environment, The Economic Times reported on Thursday.
The shoemaker has approached quick commerce companies to keep inventory at their dark store, which are essentially mini-warehouses located in proximity to the serviced location to offer quick deliveries.
“...The next thing we will do is a 10-minute delivery. We are already in discussions…and will be activating it very soon,” Gunjan Shah, managing director and chief executive of Bata India Ltd, told The Economic Times.
At present, the company offers 72-hour delivery service for items not available in stores.
Bata Q1FY25 result is out
On Wednesday, Bata reported consolidated net sales at Rs 944.63 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year 2024-25 (FY25), which was 1.41 per cent down compared to the year-ago period.
Its quarterly net profit was recorded at Rs 174.06 crore, up 62.84 per cent year-on-year while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) stood at Rs 201.19 crore in this quarter, down 20.41 per cent (Y-o-Y).
Booming quick commerce industry
Meanwhile, the quick-commerce space is becoming an attractive business opportunity, witnessing increased interest from investors. While leading players Zomato’s Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart and Zepto look to expand their existing footprint in days to come, big guns like Walmart-owned Flipkart and Reliance have also made plans to step into the booming industry soon.
The demand for quick delivery services can be understood by the development that the leading player Blinkit, with a market share of over 40 per cent, plans to increase its dark store count to 2,000 from the current 639 by the end of 2026.
According to the consultancy firm Redseer, the quick-ecommerce industry currently has a gross merchandise value of $2.8 billion.