Even offline rivals seem to be impressed by the growth that’s being demonstrated by companies in the quick-commerce space.
Dmart founder Radhakishan Damani, one of the richest men in India, has picked up a stake in Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit. As per filings, Damani now personally has a 0.39% stake in Eternal, while his wife Shrikantidevi Damani has a 0.09% stake in the company. As such, Radhakishan Damani now has a 0.5% stake in Eternal, and is among the top 200 shareholders in the company.
Interestingly, Dmart has been running its Dmart Ready service which delivers groceries at home to users, much like Blinkit. Dmart Ready, however, can take as much as day to deliver, while Blinkit, thanks of its network of dark stores, makes deliveries in 10-15 minutes.
It is quite telling that Dmart’s founder has decided to back a business that could prove disruptive for his own company. Damani likely has first-hand information on how customer preferences are changing because of the emergence of hyperlocal players, and clearly sees a bright future for them. Eternal has extremely high valuations, with a PE of 1000, but a seasoned stock market investor like Damani — he had initially made his fortune in the stock markets — has still chosen to back it.
Meanwhile, Blinkit is now contributing more and more towards Eternal’s overall value. As per an HSBC report, Blinkit is now more valuable than Zomato, and also appears to be growing much faster than the food delivery parent. Eternal has seen its share price zoom in recent times, and now has a market cap of Rs. 3 lakh crore. And with rivals and stock market veterans like Radhakishan Damani picking up a 0.5% stake in the company, Eternal could see even more upside in the coming quarters.