Online grocery delivery service PepperTap, which raised $51.2 million in funding since inception, has shut down its grocery delivery operations across the country, reports YourStory. An ET report states that of PepperTap’s 200 employees, the company will retain 50 for its logistics business, while let go of the remaining 150, offering compensation of up to 3 months’ salary. The company cited three reasons for the shutdown: - Its integration with partner stores was ‘not that great’ and it brought too many stores online too quickly - Lots of resources spent on devising sales and discounts, which PepperTap thought would be in the cost of doing business - Building buffer capacity in every city where it operated + discounts leading to increased cash burn for every order PepperTap has apparently pitched alternative ways of using the money it has raised so far, but further details on the matter are scant. YourStory reports that it plans to become a “full stack e-commerce logistics company.” Operations scaled down: PepperTap had tried to curb its spending and realign its focus on “depth rather than breadth” by closing operations in 6 cities in February this year. It also laid off 400 delivery personnel at this time. In September 2015, according to this Mint report, PepperTap also shut down operations in Agra and Meerut after a month long pilot. It claimed to deliver 40,000 orders in a single day in 2015, and said that it was delivering 7,000-8,000 orders daily. Previous funding, acquisition and GMV -…
