Synopsis
Delhivery is entering its next phase of growth, with CEO Sahil Barua betting on high-growth segments while continuing to push hard to expand margins. Four years after its listing and a year after acquiring Ecom Express, Barua says India’s logistics sector is headed for consolidation, arguing that the market can support only a handful of large players.Listen to this article in summarized format
“You already have Blue Dart, Delhivery, and Shadowfax, all of which have strong, competitive positions in their respective segments. It’s very difficult for another independent, third-party ecommerce logistics company to survive, whether that’s Xpressbees or anyone else,” Barua said in an exclusive interview with ET.
“The problem is that there simply isn't enough incremental volume left to capture because the rest of us have already established strong positions. At the same time, costs are rising (fuel and labour)”. Xpressbees spun off from the now listed baby and mother care etailer FirstCry a decade ago, and has struggled amid mounting losses. For the financial year ending March 31, 2025, its losses grew 85% to Rs 370 crore.
Delhivery acquired the Warburg Pincus-backed logistics firm Ecom Express in a fire sale for Rs 1,407 crore last April amid declining market share and mounting costs. Barua said there was still room for one or two players to exit the market "gracefully".
Currently the country's largest third-party logistics provider, Delhivery’s stock came under pressure as ecommerce growth tapered. On Friday, Delhivery's shares closed at Rs 465.20 on the BSE as the stock has gained 21% over the past year. “There are short-term reasons for it (the stock price) to go up or down that are beyond our control. One example is that we had a very strong end to the last financial year. It was the first time in the 15 years I've been here that Q4 was better than Q3. Normally, in our industry, Q3 is the strongest quarter,” Barua said.
