Turkish rapid grocery delivery startup Getir has posted heavy losses in 2022 for its UK business, a month after exiting the market.
According to its accounts, the company lost £168m in 2022, 45% more than the year prior. The filing revealed turnover increased by more than 200%, reaching £80m. However, as is so often the case for rapid grocery delivery companies, the high cost of sales – reaching £120.3m in 2022 – outstripped revenue growth.
Getir is not the only on-demand commerce startup that has been struggling. The entire market has been rocked by a sharp increase in operational costs, rising interest rates and inflation, along with dwindling availability of venture capital funding.
London-based competitor Zapp posted widened losses of £92.5m for 2022, while the UK business of US grocery delivery app GoPuff posted a loss of £93.8m.
Getir entered the UK in 2021 amid a frenetic growth period for rapid delivery startups. By the end of the year, Getir was valued at $7.5bn.
The UK arm of the business became one of Britain’s biggest names in grocery delivery, solidified by high-profile sponsorship deals with Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and acquisitions of rivals Weezy and Gorillas.
The company, however, couldn’t keep up with the cost of its own growth and announced at the end of April it would be leaving the UK and all markets outside of Turkey.
A spokesperson for Getir said the company’s international businesses only accounted for 7% of total revenue.