Eternal and Swiggy got the 10-minute delivery party going in India. Now, e-commerce titans Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart are looking to crash it.
Eternal, whose Blinkit does doorstep delivery of everything from eggs to electronics within minutes, has slipped 28% from its October all-time high as of Thursday’s close, while rival Instamart’s owner Swiggy has plunged about 47% from its recent peak in September. That adds up to a selloff of more than $15 billion (Rs 1.4 lakh crore) for the duo as investors get spooked by the onslaught of competition.
Amazon and Flipkart are doubling down on India’s booming $11 billion rapid-commerce segment, building out their network of last-mile warehouses, called dark stores, to push into smaller cities. Meanwhile, Zepto Ltd. plans to raise as much as $1 billion via an initial public offering, amassing a war chest to take on market leader Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart.
