One of Europe’s last surviving speedy grocery companies, Berlin-based player Flink, has raised $150m — $115m of which is equity, and the rest debt.
The round includes investment from existing backers Bond, Mubadala, Northzone and German supermarket Rewe, as well as new investors which the company declined to name.
It last raised funding of €100m five months ago, in April, to extend its runway, reported Bloomberg. Flink declined to comment on its current valuation.
Across 2021, VCs invested a whopping $5.5bn into European speedy grocery companies, according to Dealroom data, but as consumer sentiment shifted and market conditions soured, many underwent steep valuation cuts, got acquired or had to shut their doors completely.
One of the biggest European players, Turkey-based Getir — which acquired German competitor Gorillas in 2022 — had its valuation chopped to $2.5bn last year from a previous high of $11.8bn. Earlier in 2024, Getir exited Europe entirely and, in June, had to agree to a restructuring on orders of its investor Mubadala, reported the Financial Times.
Flink is currently active in Germany and the Netherlands. It used to have operations in Austria but exited the market in December 2022 after filing for bankruptcy; it also departed the French market earlier this year after filing for bankruptcy in June 2023.
Profitability by 2025
Industry experts have often been skeptical about whether quick grocery companies can achieve profitability: some blame the tough unit economics that comes with getting orders to customers within minutes, a promise that Flink still upholds, while others say the cost of customer acquisition is too high.
Flink, however, says it has already achieved profitability on a country-by-country basis and is aiming for full profitability by Q2 of 2025.
It’s also on track to achieve gross revenues of $600m in 2024, which reflects a growth rate of 20% year on year — minus the costs of exiting France — the company said.
Its average basket size is $40.
Flink is currently active in 80 cities in Germany and the Netherlands and plans to open 30 new locations in these countries over the next 12 months.
Since September, Flink delivers grocery items for Rewe to Lieferando customers (part of the Just Eat Takeaway.com group) as part of a new partnership between the two companies.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/flink-raises-150m-news/
