



BigBasket’s quick-commerce rethink: profit trumps scale
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For BigBasket co-founder Vipul Parekh, profitability matters more than market share, even as competition intensifies in quick commerce.“It is very easy to have market share and never make money,” he told Mint in an interview. The Tata group-backed company is willing to “surrender market share” if required to improve profitability, he said, adding: “It is not important to be in the top three, four or five.
It is important to be profitable.”However, the comments show a change in the online grocery platform's approach after it failed to achieve its target of seizing market share from new-age rivals such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.About a year ago, its employees had received an email from co-founder and chief executive Hari Menon urging them to gear up as it planned to expand across categories and become the number two player in quick commerce.The email was sent as the platform, which primarily offered slotted delivery services since its inception in 2011, shifted its focus to BB Now, its 10-minute delivery service.Cut to today, the platform is not even in the top three in terms of market share in the quick-commerce sector. According to industry estimates, Zomato’s Blinkit leads with a 46% market share by gross merchandise value (GMV).
Swiggy’s Instamart has a 27% share, Zepto 21%, and BigBasket’s BB Now just 7%.The company's revenue declined 1.9% year-on-year to ₹9,866.7 crore, while its net loss widened 41.8% to ₹2,006.8 crore in 2024-25.According to Parekh, one of the biggest reasons for Big Basket’s relatively slower scale-up in quick commerce was the challenge of transforming an already established business model. Unlike newer entrants built entirely around instant
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