The quick commerce app Gorillas grows in Europe – where it launches 5 private label product lines, so-called private label – but faces critical issues, also in Italy, leading to 300 layoffs.
Gorillas, start of the private label
On 9.6.22 the Gorillas app debuts in Germany, France, Great Britain and Holland with four own food brands. 50 products in 11 product categories, pasta, Campania buffalo mozzarella PDO, cold cuts, dairy products, pesto, snacks, etc. (1)
The private label are four:
– Gorillas daily, for everyday shopping,
– Gorillas premium, for specialties,
– Hot damn, coffee shop,
– start-up beer, a beer line initially composed of two craft products.
Branded products Gorillas are presented as consistent with policy corporate transparency and sustainability. It's a pity that this propensity is shown in the use of renewable energy and recycled packaging, but not in the selection of organic foods.
Relaunch and layoffs
The initiative is part of the relaunch plan, announced by Gorillas in a press release on 24.5.22, focused on the 5 markets generating 90% of revenues. Germany, France, Great Britain, Holland – where the project faces strong resistance, as we have seen – and the United States.
‘We will work even harder on our assortment, our prices, our order experience and our logistics to offer our customers the best possible shopping experience. At the same time, we will continue to develop the Gorillas brand and position it as a market leader, to further build a bold, authentic, and value-oriented brand'.
The plan However, it also includes 300 layoffs. Work remains the first disposable factor even in app 4.0. The co-founder and CEO of the company, Kagan Sumer, illustrated the contingency that dictated the downsizing. And addressing his former employees, he concluded
‘I know you might feel frustrated above all else. This same frustration led me to build Gorillas after I was also impacted. I encourage you to be frustrated. At me, the markets, the company. And then channel this frustration to create your new legacy’. (2)
Leaving Italy? Meanwhile the surcharge
Of the other countries in which it operates – Italy (31.5.21), Spain, Denmark, and Belgium – the company talks about ‘very attractive standalone markets, we are evaluating all possible strategic options for the Gorillas brand’.
An ‘option’ already applied in Italy is the introduction of a ssurcharge of 2.10 euro for orders under 10 euros, in addition to the fixed delivery fee of 1.80 euros. With a one-euro tip to the delivery person, it reaches 5 euros. A bit too much to still believe that Gorillas is the app that delivers that missing ingredient in 10 minutes while you’re cooking. Too much at least for the exhausted Italian pockets.
Notes
(1) Press release. Gorillas enters the private label market. 7.6.22 https://gorillas.io/en/blog/gorillas-enters-the-private-label-market
(2) Press release. A Message from Co-Founder and CEO Kagan Sumer. 24.5.22 https://gorillas.io/en/blog/a-message-from-co-founder-and-ceo-kagan-sumer
Professional journalist since January 1995, she has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and magazines (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). Author of investigative reports on food, she published the book 'Reading labels to know what we eat'.
