The era of free money is over, and the first victims appear. In Germany, the acquisition of the delivery company Gorillas by its Turkish competitor Getir, announced on Friday December 9, is a decisive sign of a decline in investment and an acceleration of concentration in the sector of fast delivery of races, or quick- business, which has never yet demonstrated its profitability.
The value of Gorillas is now estimated by financial circles at 1.2 billion dollars (1.33 billion euros), the new Getir set at 10 billion dollars. For both companies, this is a big discount from their last fundraising.
Gorillas is emblematic of the emergence of an activity with a loss-making economic model, whose players are maintained on the market only thanks to the injections of venture capital funds. The Berlin-based company, founded in early 2020, took off thanks to the confinements linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aggressive growth
Its principle: to deliver everyday consumer products, in ten minutes, thanks to bicycle messengers equipped with a backpack. An aggressive growth strategy has allowed Gorillas to conquer the most promising streets of German and European metropolises, but also of London and New York, in a few months.
To the point of creating an investment fever among investors. In 2021, less than two years after its launch, Gorillas acquired “unicorn” status, a once-rare title for companies valued at more than $1 billion. In the spring of 2022, it even bought out its French competitor Frichti.
It is one of the first unicorns to suffer the economic downturn linked to the rise in interest rates
This growth ended as quickly as it began. A European pioneer, Gorillas was also very early on confronted with the contradictions of ultra-fast delivery: the start-up, specializing in an activity with already low margins, burned several million euros of capital each month to maintain its position. The one who presented herself as a ” community ” was trying to limit losses by saving on personnel costs… and very early on had to deal with major social unrest among its delivery people, who were complaining about working conditions.
Dependent on fundraising that has become haphazard, the Gorillas star has definitely lost its brilliance with the onset of the crisis. It is one of the first unicorns to suffer from the economic downturn linked to the rise in interest rates, the increase in food prices, logistics costs and the scarcity of personnel.
You have 27.25% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.