Please stop ordering from the delivery service!

Gorillas did it: in just one year, the star student became a whipping boy. The 10-minute delivery service is not doing well. Therefore my urgent appeal: Please stop ordering there. A comment.

In 20 years we’ll be saying: we friggin’ built the new Nike. We will have an impact of comparable magnitude.

It was with this statement that Kagan Sumer tried to motivate his employees at the beginning of this year. Because one thing was already certain at this point: Gorillas, the 10-minute delivery service whose CEO Sumer is (still) the CEO, is deep in the crisis.

Gorillas: Over 50 million euros lost – every month

At that time – i.e. in January 2022 – the hyped start-up burned 52 million euros a month. In February of this year it was even 57 million euros. Since then, the head of the company has at least managed to significantly reduce the losses.

According to exclusive research from NDR and Suddeutscher Zeitung the loss in July was only 25 million euros. The reason for this, however, are also radical austerity measures that go hand in hand with massive layoffs and site closures.

Of course, only very few employees simply put up with that. That’s why there have been several major protests and arguments, especially at the headquarters in Berlin.

5.30 euros loss – with every Gorillas order

In fact, Kagan Sumer’s steps actually make sense from an economic point of view. They are the last solution – at least if the founder and CEO still wants to present his company as an attractive object for sale.

Because the numbers alone are not particularly attractive. Leaked internal documents show that in July 2022 (reminder: loss of 25 million euros), Gorillas made a loss of 5.30 euros on every single order.

According to internal information, the average shopping basket at the time was EUR 27.20. After deducting the purchase price and VAT (18.40 euros), driver’s wages (7.50 euros) and other, unspecified costs (6.60 euros), there is a loss of 5.30 euros per trip (!) in the book.

And this value is good: the loss per order in September 2021 was loud ARD still at 25 euros.

Is there a solution to the problem? Yes, we are the solution!

It is now becoming very clear that the Gorillas business model is not really profitable – or at least not yet. So hyper-expansion and burning money at the highest level does nothing to build a profitable business model.

This is also shown by the competition from Getir. The Turkish delivery start-up is apparently a hot takeover candidate for the Gorillas business. The problem with this: Getir is still a long way from being profitable.

Since the economic situation of gorillas only gets better if the employees suffer from poor working conditions or are even dismissed without notice, the responsibility lies with each individual.

What I mean by that: Only we as users and customers can put an end to the sometimes degrading hustle and bustle of gorillas and other 10-minute delivery services. How it works? By simply not ordering there anymore.

Gorillas: Convenience is not an excuse!

Because of course we all contribute to aggravating the situation of the employees with every new Gorillas order. Because one thing is clear: the company’s tough austerity measures are certainly not over yet. And it is usually the smallest cogs in the engine that suffer when savings are made.

That is why we must finally face up to our responsibility. We must stop supporting exploitative systems. We need to stop ordering from gorillas.

Note: This is a comment. This is not a neutral article, but the personal opinion of an author. Learn more about the comment here.

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