Can quick delivery thwart DMart's old-school legacy

The Indian retail market is undergoing a seismic shift. Quick commerce, delivering groceries and daily essentials within minutes, has taken off driven by players like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart. Blinkit alone reported a remarkable 93 per cent growth in gross order value (GOV) in FY24, a sharp contrast to brick-and-mortar giant DMart's more modest 19 per cent growth. And yet, DMart is unfazed. "We don't intend to do any quick commerce. Our model is pretty robust," said its CEO Neville Noronha in a recent earnings call. Noronha's confidence might seem stubborn, perhaps even outdated, at first. But if we look at the evidence, he's absolutely right.