According to the latest Q2 FY27 earnings call, Eternal has significantly accelerated its store targets for Blinkit, now expecting to cross 3,500 stores by FY27-end, up from the earlier target of 3,000 stores. The company has raised its capital spending estimate per store to ₹2.5 crore from ₹1 crore and shifted to larger stores, with paybacks remaining extremely good in smaller cities due to lower competition and better market dynamics. CEO Albinder Dhindsa noted that competition has become more predictable now, providing an opportunity for aggressive infrastructure expansion. The company has raised its capital spending estimate per store to ₹2.5 crore from ₹1 crore and shifted to larger stores, with paybacks remaining extremely good in smaller cities due to lower competition and better market dynamics.
According to reports from Eternal's Q2 FY27 earnings call, Blinkit has decided to avoid private labels as it doesn't believe this segment aligns with the company's core expertise. Albinder Dhindsa, the Blinkit founder who succeeded Deepinder Goyal as CEO of Eternal earlier this year, stated that the company must play to its strengths and focus on areas where it has the capabilities and insights to build a successful operation. Dhindsa explained the rationale behind this decision, writing "We don't want to become both the platform and a competitor to the brands on the platform." This strategic decision contrasts with the approach taken by competitors in India's increasingly crowded quick-commerce market, as the company prioritizes its core quick-commerce model rather than venturing into private-label products which can offer platforms greater control over pricing, product differentiation and margins.
Eternal delivered exceptional financial results with net revenue of ₹24,100 crore in Q2 FY27, up 19.4% quarter-on-quarter and 77.6% year-on-year. The company's FD net order value (NOV) was ₹11,450 crore, with Blinkit NOV at ₹20,900 crore, up 79.3% YoY. Blinkit's performance demonstrates strong unit economics with contribution margin of 5.3% and adjusted EBITDA margin of 0.9%, while the company earned net profit of ₹125 crore, up 92.3% YoY. The FD margin ratio of adjusted EBITDA to NOV decreased 10 basis points QoQ to 5.5%, with the company maintaining its long-term target of over 20% annual NOV growth despite competitive intensity. CEO Dhindsa highlighted that new stores in smaller cities reach 1,000 orders a day in similar timeframes as metro stores, with average order values there at 85-90% of metro levels.
According to the latest earnings call, Blinkit's product range in smaller cities is described as a subset of what it offers in metros, though customer preferences and product mix vary significantly across different markets. The company's catalogue in Delhi NCR grew from about 80,000 products in March to about 1,00,000 and now includes air conditioners. Dhindsa emphasized that much of what Blinkit sells in smaller cities "is either not available locally or takes days to arrive through alternative channels like e-commerce." The company wants "to bring most of what a household buys within 10 minutes" in these markets. As reported by Eternal, Blinkit is expanding its assortment particularly in larger cities while pushing into smaller markets, with the economics of expansion into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities remaining robust.
In April, Goyal dismissed the risk of AI disruption, writing that "AI will not move food through traffic or stock shelves," while Zomato built infrastructure for agentic commerce. Eternal expanded its partnership with OpenAI in February, with the latest quarter's letter setting out which businesses could be disrupted by AI agents. The company's District business lost ₹64 crore in the quarter but remains on track to break even within four to six quarters, despite being in the medium-to-high risk zone for AI disruption. CEO Akshant Goyal noted that "competition is more predictable now" and the company is building with agentic commerce in mind, while the board approved transferring the going-out business to subsidiary Zomato Entertainment Private Limited in October. Management expects Zomato and Blinkit to remain relatively resilient to agentic commerce, given their integrated delivery and inventory networks.
