Glovo

Headquartered in Spain, Glovo operates an on-demand delivery app, connecting customers to independent local couriers to send or purchase a range of  goods including food, pharmaceutical items, groceries, and gifts. The company uses a hybrid business model for its quick commerce (q-commerce) operations, involving a mix of merchant partnerships and its own network of 18 dark stores as at January 2021 (with plans to expand to 200 dark stores by the end of 2021). The company  also launched a portfolio of eight virtual/delivery-only food brands in July 2021, under which Glovo provides the menu, ingredients, brand name and recipes to restaurants, who operate under the selected brand using their existing facilities and staff. According to Glovo, the program, titled Glovo Concepts, was designed to assist restaurants impacted by the pandemic to launch fresh brands rapidly with minimum investment costs, while using Glovo’s delivery service. The company aims to sign on over 1,000 restaurants for Glovo Concepts by the end of 2021 (vs. ~300 restaurants as of June 2021), while doubling the number of brands offered.

Glovo operates in over 26 countries, including Portugal, Italy, Poland, Romania and Kenya, servicing 3.8 million active customers via a network of 58,000 couriers as of September 2021, with established ties to 89,000 local shops and restaurants. The company claims to be a market leader in 80% of the countries where it has operations. Glovo divested its Latin American operations in September 2020, exiting eight countries and selling its assets to rival Delivery Hero, in a deal worth up to EUR 230 million (~USD 274 million). The company had previously exited its Middle Eastern operations in Turkey and Egypt, in January 2020, which management attributed to the Middle East being too competitive for Glovo to pursue further expansion. Following the successive divestments, the company announced plans to focus on strengthening its presence in core markets while expanding across Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe. As part of its geographical realignment, Glovo launched operations in Moldova, Uganda and Kyrgyzstan in October 2020, and subsequently acquired Ehrana (one of Slovenia’s largest food delivery companies) in May 2021. The company also acquired Delivery Hero’s Balkan peninsula operations in May 2021, for a transaction value of around EUR 170 million (~USD 202 million). In September 2021, it announced plans to invest an additional EUR 50 million (USD 60 million) over the next 12 months, to fund its expansion in Africa, focusing on countries such as Tunisia. Africa accounted for around 30% of Glovo’s geographical footprint, as at Sep 2021, with grocery sales reportedly contributing roughly 50% of the company’s business in some countries. According to Glovo, the fresh investment will make its platform available to 6.5 million consumers in Africa.

Glovo is also bullish on the on-demand grocery delivery space. The company expects its Q-Commerce division to hit an annual Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of over EUR 300 million (USD 354 million) in 2021 and exceed EUR one billion by end 2022.  In September 2021, it announced plans to acquire two regional on-demand grocery delivery companies, Lola Market and Mercadão. Lola Market operates across 14 cities in Spain and provides delivery from large retailers such as Carrefour, Lidl, and Dia, as well as from specialized shops and traditional markets. Mercadão was launched in Portugal in 2018 and offers consumers two-hour free delivery on big baskets from retailers such as Decathlon and Pingo Doce. The two companies collectively hold a portfolio of over 30 merchant partners across the two countries. Glovo believes the acquisitions will enable it to build stronger retailer partnerships and offer consumers big-basket purchases. 

Glovo charges its merchant/restaurant partners a commission on products sold through its platform, while customers pay a delivery fee.  Restaurants are not required to pay a joining fee for the use of Glovo Concepts, but are subject to commission charges.

In March 2021, Glovo raised USD 528 million (EUR 450 million) from a series F funding round, led by investors Lugard Road Capital and the Luxor Capital Group, with plans to utilize the funds to expand its “q-commerce” service. The company also announced plans to hire 200 engineers to work in its Barcelona, Madrid and Warsaw bases. The funding round followed a strategic partnership with Stoneweg, a Swiss real estate firm, in January 2021, with Stoneweg contributing USD 100 million to co-develop q-commerce, by improving the distribution network in areas where Glovo has operations.

Glovo had an estimated value of USD 1.7 billion, as of March 2021. According to the company, it is the second privately held company in Spain to pass the USD 1 billion valuation mark.