Getir and Gorillas to exit UK putting 1,500 jobs at risk

The Turkish business said in a statement that it generates just 7% of its revenue from the markets it is exiting and plans to instead focus all of its financial resources on its operation in Türkiye.

Fellow grocery delivery service Gorillas, which was acquired by Getir in 2022, will also cease to operate in the UK.

According to Sky News, Getir currently employs 1,500 people in the UK in various capacities, but those jobs now look set to be lost.

Until their exit from the UK, users could order food, drinks and other groceries from the Getir and Gorillas apps, which would then be delivered directly to their door "in minutes"​.

Commenting on the decision, a spokesperson for Getir told Food Manufacture: “Getir expresses its sincere appreciation for the dedication and hard work of all its employees in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the US.”​

Getir also confirmed that its has completed a new investment round, led by Mubadala and G Squared, and will use that money to bolster its competitive position in its core food and grocery delivery businesses in Türkiye.

In response to the announcement, F&B industry analyst and corporate finance director at solicitors firm Rollits, Julian Wild, told Food Manufacture that while the rapid grocery model introduced by players such as Getir and Gorillas expanded quickly during Covid, it proved not to be sustainable.

"They incurred huge costs and, post-pandemic, there was not enough demand for this type of grocery provider,"​ Wild added.

"I don’t believe that its problems were unique to the UK as the model has not worked elsewhere in Europe. ​It shows the dangers of throwing so much capital so quickly at an unproven provider. Lots of fingers get burnt."​

Meanwhile, Nick Ryan, co-CEO and co-founder of revenue management consultancy Acumen, said that "​market consolidation and shakeout was inevitable" ​within the rapid retail sector.

"Small order and drop sizes picked from dark stores in urban locations was never going to be a sustainable standalone business model," ​he told Food Manufacture.

"UK grocery is a low margin business dominated by some extremely efficient retailers, and the economics of quick commerce was never going to deliver a profit.​

"Existing platforms like Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat were much better placed to move into the rapid grocery market, pulling from local convenience stores and supermarkets. As in many cases of market disruption the established players have moved into the space created by the disruptors and taken the market."​

In other news, a drinks company has been fined £14k after an employee had to have his finger amputated following an incident involving a bottling machine.​​