Getir Could Buy Ultrafast Grocery Rival Flink

Ultrafast grocery provider Getir is reportedly in discussions to snap up German competitor Flink.

The talks, reported Monday (May 1) by the Financial Times (FT), come at a time when many ultrafast delivery firms are struggling. Discussions are ongoing, and there is no guarantee of a deal, per the report, which cited unnamed sources.

PYMNTS has contacted Getir for comment but has not yet received a reply. A spokesperson for Flink declined to comment.

Flink is one of the last independent grocery delivery firms standing in Europe following a series of recent consolidations as startups struggle to find funding, the report noted.

Among those consolidations was Istanbul-based Getir’s acquisition late last year of another German firm, Gorillas, in a $1.2 billion deal.

And while Getir expands, other companies in the space have fallen by the wayside. Among them is Food Rocket, which shut down last month after exhausting its capital and being unable to dig up additional funding.

“We believe that the rapid delivery industry has disrupted the retail market and changed consumer behaviors,” CEO and founder Vitaly Alexandrov said at the time. “Unfortunately, current economic conditions reshuffled the tech market and presented significant challenges in the venture capital market. The decision to cease operations was incredibly hard, and we put in 100% up until the very last day, trying to stay afloat for our customers and team members.”

In April, Australian 10-minute grocery delivery service MilkRun announced its closure, also due to a lack of capital.

These companies’ troubles coincide with the pressure consumers are feeling as inflation continues to outpace their paychecks, forcing them to cut back on luxuries such as on-demand grocery deliveries.

Research from PYMNTS’ Consumer Inflation Sentiment study, “Consumer Inflation Sentiment: The False Appeal of Deal-Chasing Consumers,” found that three-quarters of consumers have cut back on nonessential retail purchases.

Even Getir isn’t immune to the current economic downturn.

The company’s latest fundraise, amounting to $500 million, sliced Getir’s valuation nearly in half, from $12 billion last year down to $6.5 billion.