Gorillas

Founded in 2020, Gorillas is an online retailer which was founded by Kağan Sümer, Ronny Shibley and Jörg Kattner. Its headquarters is based in Berlin, Germany. The company specialises in the fast distribution of groceries across 60 locations in 8 countries such as Denmark, Italy, Spain, France, UK, Netherlands, Germany and the USA. 

Along with its e-commerce platform, a mobile application is managed by Gorillas as well. It is noteworthy that about 900,000 people use Gorillas once a month.  Besides, Gorillas is known for delivering orders within 10 minutes through bikers. 

In the financial year 2021, Gorillas achieved a turnover of € 216 million and currently employs 14,000 people. 

Gorillas gained the “unicorn” title in less than a year, being the first company to achieve so in Europe.

Furthermore, the enterprise offers a wide assortment of products in the following categories (non-exhaustive list):

• Frozen Food: ice cream, pizza, meat, etc. 
• Drinks: juices, water, fizzy drinks, etc. 
• Fresh & Chilled Food: ready-made meals, vegetables, fruits, etc
• Savoury Grocery: pasta, snacks, sauces, etc. 
• Sweet grocery: sweets, snacks, coffee, etc. 

Brands such as Ben & Jerry, Heinz, Haribo, Barilla and many others are endorsed by the firm. Besides, the company also offers a range of organic, vegan and vegetarian products as well. 

The e-retailer launched its private label range in June 2022 which are known as:

• Gorillas Daily: A brand focusing on daily essentials such as cold-cuts, spreads, cheese, etc. 
• Gorillas Premium: A brand focusing on high quality products such as fresh pasta, sweets, snacks, etc. 
• Hot Damn: A brand which includes premium coffee grounds, coffee beans, oat drinks, etc. 
• Start-up: A brand dedicated to beers. 

Pertaining to its logistics solutions, the e-retailer operates over 200 warehouses and a fleet of e-bikes is available to ensure deliveries. 

In 2021, Gorillas made an announcement about renewing its fleet with 1,200 high-quality and latest generation e-bikes. At the same time, the firm will be creating thousands of additional jobs in Germany. 

Furthermore, in 2022, the company announced that it will be developing its business activities with a focus on Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. It is noteworthy that the majority of the group’s revenue comes from these main markets. 

Moreover, Gorillas has decided to shut down its business in Italy after operating for more than a year. The firm has already closed 3 of its warehouses and is planning to close the rest of the warehouses soon. However, the e-retailer will continue to deliver products to its customers until stock lasts. 

Concerning sustainability, Gorillas prevents the use of plastic packaging as much as possible to help the environment. Moreover, the firm sources its products from local farmers as a way to ensure short supply chains.

With regards to community service, the company donated € 41 230 to the World Wildlife Foundation and also rolled out € 820 000 to share as bonuses among its bikers and warehousing employees to show their vital role in the enterprise. Furthermore, Gorillas raised € 244 million in its recent fundraising in March 2021 from Coatue Management, DST Global and Tencent in particular.

In fact, the objective of the company is to reach $ 1 billion in revenue in 2022.