Gorillas (company)

Gorillas is a German on-demand grocery delivery company with the promise of delivering groceries within 10 minutes of ordering by using dark stores.[2] The users can order and receive the grocery products through the Gorillas application. As of the year 2022, it has been serving in over 60 cities across over 200 warehouses in nine countries.[3]

Gorillas bikes outside one of their dark stores
For the virtual band, see Gorillaz.
Gorillas
IndustryOnline platform for convenience delivery
FoundedMay 2020 (2020-05) in Berlin, Germany
FounderJörg Kattner, Kağan Sümer, Ronny Shibley (co-founder)
Headquarters
Berlin
,
Germany
Areas served
Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Denmark, Spain, United States
Number of employees
~14,000 (2022)[1]
Websitegorillas.io/en

History

The company was founded in May 2020 by Kağan Sümer, Jörg Kattner, Jeff Hester, and Ronny Shibley in Berlin. They promised to deliver groceries and other supermarket goods ordered through its app via bike courier at the same prices as they charge in the supermarket. Although, it initially started in Berlin, in a short time it spread over numerous European cities and began to give delivery service. Today, Gorillas operates in numerous European cities including Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Munich, in addition to New York, USA.[4] In December 2020 the company raised $44 million in Series A funding, followed by $290 million in Series B funding in March 2021 and almost $1 Billion in Series C funding in October 2021.[5][6][7] After the last investment round, the startup is valued at 1 billion, thus reaching unicorn status as the fastest startup ever in Germany (after only 9 months).[8]

Sümer has stated the aim to raise $700 million dollars of new financing this year to scale-up the company and turn it into a profitable business.[9][10]

Business model

Gorillas uses the slogan faster than you to emphasize the speed of delivery.[5]

The business model is based on the American model goPuff, which was founded in Philadelphia in 2013.[11]

Gorillas delivers a selection of over 2000 products including fresh fruits and vegetables, drinks as well as favorite household items, by employed bicycle couriers. Exhibiting an environmentalist attitude by minimizing the traffic and exhaust gas emissions with its concept of delivery by bicycle, Gorillas prioritizes one of its corporate responsibilities by supporting the concept of grocery shopping with sufficient and fresh products when necessary: prevention of food stocking and waste.[4]

Controversies

Gorillas has been the subject of criticism by its workers for its terrible working conditions, including inadequate equipment, high pressure to deliver within a short time span, and deliveries weighing too much, causing many to complain of back pain. Additionally, riders report not being paid correctly or on time for their work.[12]

In October 2021 Gorillas fired at least dozens of its employees for participating in a wildcat strike.[13] According to the Gorillas Workers Collective, which "represents the company's non-unionised delivery workers", the amount of fired worked amounted to 350.[14]


Investments

Gorillas, which has been the focus of high-value investments since the day it was founded, has become one of the companies with the fastest rising value and has become a leader in Europe. Gorillas, which rose in value in the Series A funds by $44 million in December 2020, in the Series B financing by $290 million in March 2021, and in the Series C funds by approximately $1 billion in October 2021, has added a new one to its investment and business partners. Gorillas is tightening its grip on the European flash delivery market: the Berlin-based company has acquired French competitor Frichti and concluded a remarkable alliance with Just Eat.[15][16][17]

Locations

As of September 2021, Gorillas delivers in 60 cities in 9 countries.[18]

Locations as of 29 September 2021[18]
Country Cities
Germany Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Fürth, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Munich, Münster, Nuremberg, Offenbach, Stuttgart
Netherlands Amsterdam, Arnhem, Eindhoven,The Hague, Groningen, Haarlem, Leiden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Utrecht
United Kingdom London, Manchester, Nottingham, Reading, Southampton
France Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nice, Paris
Belgium Antwerp, Brussels
Italy Bergamo, Milan, Rome, Turin
Denmark Copenhagen
Spain Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, Marbella, Malaga, Valencia
USA New York City

See also

References
  1. "Celebrate Earth Day with Gorillas".
  2. Darmody, Jenny (March 26, 2021). "Grocery delivery start-up Gorillas hits unicorn status". Silicon Republic.
  3. "Groupe Casino: Casino Group and Gorillas announce the signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding". Bloomberg.
  4. "Gorillas is carbon neutral in all own operations". Gorillas Blog.
  5. "Gorillas, the on-demand grocery delivery startup taking Berlin by storm, has raised $44M Series A".
  6. "Gorillas, the on-demand grocery delivery startup, raises $290M and 'surpasses' $1B valuation".
  7. "Gorillas grabs 'close to' $1BN, Series C values the on-demand grocery delivery biz at $2.1BN".
  8. Mrz 2021, Lisa Ksienrzyk 31 (March 31, 2021). "Exklusiv: Gorillas steigt mit 245-Millionen-Runde zum Unicorn auf". Business Insider.
  9. "Startup Gorillas Planning to Raise $700 Million of New Funding". Bloomberg.
  10. PYMNTS (2022-02-27). "Delivery Startup Gorillas Looks to Raise $700M". www.pymnts.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  11. "Der rollende Supermarkt: Gorillas verspricht die 10-Minuten-Lebensmittel-Lieferung in Berlin". Supermarktblog (in German). 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  12. Geiger, Gabriel. "Riders for Europe's Delivery 'Unicorn' Report Grueling Delivery Times and Back Pain". vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  13. Geiger, Gabriel. "Gorillas Delivery App Fires Workers for Striking". vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  14. Bateman, Tom (8 October 2021). "Gorillas delivery app fires hundreds of Berlin workers for strikes over pay and working conditions". euronews.com. Euronews. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  15. "Gorillas to acquire Frichti in latest instant grocery consolidation". TechCrunch.
  16. "Gorillas finalises Frichti acquisition". Charged.
  17. "Gorillas acquires Frichti, joins Just Eat collaboration". RetailDetail.
  18. "Delivery areas". gorillas.io.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.