Swiggy acquires retail distribution company LYNK

Swiggy has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire retail distribution company LYNK Logistics Limited. This is the third major investment by the foodtech major since 2022.

Post acquisition, LYNK will continue to operate as an independent business led by Co-founder and CEO, Shekhar Bhende, Swiggy said in a press release. The company did not disclose details of the transaction.

Eight-year-old LYNK enables leading FMCG brands to grow their retail presence through its network of more than 100,000 retail stores across the top 8 cities of India. The company leverages a proprietary, integrated technology platform to power the entire retail distribution value chain across warehousing, inventory management and logistics operations.

As per the company, it offers faster order to delivery turnaround and improved on-the-shelf availability through better fill rates to retail stores enabling them to increase sales and serve their customers better.

While LYNK will leverage Swiggy’s strength in technology and logistics to rapidly scale their existing platform, Swiggy enters India’s food and grocery retail market which is estimated to be more than $570 billion in size and expected to grow at 8% year-on-year. 

LYNK has also demonstrated strong financial growth during FY22 as it recorded a 2.5X jump in operating revenue to Rs 209.48 crore in FY22, as per the company’s annual financial statement with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). With a sharp spike in scale, Lynk’s losses also increased 74.8% to Rs 36 crore in FY22 from Rs 20.6 crore in FY21. The company claims to have grown 2.5X year-on-year with improved profitability. The firm is yet to file its FY23 financials.

LYNK directly or indirectly competes with the likes of Udaan, IK Kirana Bazaar, Jumbotail, ElasticRun and several others. 

Last year, Swiggy took over Times Internet-backed Dinout for an undisclosed sum. The Bengaluru-based firm also led a $180 million funding round in bike taxi platform Rapido.