Professional services company Urban Company has jumped on the quick commerce bandwagon. The IPO-bound company has introduced its new service Insta Maids for customers to get maids for household chores within 15 minutes. The new service is available for Rs 49 per hour. “Your maid took an off but your chores won’t! Get a UC Insta Maid in just 15 mins to tackle it all. Starts @ only ₹49/hour!,” the company said in a Facebook post recently.
The new pilot service is currently available in Mumbai, a source aware of the development told FE Online.
An email query sent to the company seeking comments on the new service didn’t elicit an immediate response.
Present in 60 cities across India, Australia, Singapore and the UAE, Urban Company currently allows customers to avail at-home services such as beauty treatments, haircuts, massage therapy, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, appliance repair, painting, etc., within one to two hours.
The quick-commerce initiative, which may further expand to other services as well offered by the company, assumes significance in its expansion plans as it aims for initial public offering (IPO) ahead.
The company had recently converted into a public entity Urbanclap Technologies India Limited from Urbanclap Technologies India Private Limited, according to regulatory filings. It is reportedly looking to raise Rs 3,000 crore in IPO as it plans to file draft red herring prospectus in the next few weeks.
The performance of the company has also improved. For FY24, it reported around 30 per cent YoY growth in consolidated revenues to reach Rs 827 crore while pre-tax losses were cut from Rs 312 crore in FY23 to Rs 93 crore in FY24. For Q1 FY25, Urban Company recorded a consolidated revenue (unaudited) of Rs 281 crore — a 37.3 per cent YoY growth over the same period last year. It reported a pre-tax profit of Rs 12 crore during the quarter.
Quick commerce has already made its presence felt in the grocery delivery segment with Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart among the major players followed by 10-minute food delivery service by Zomato and Zepto; and medicine delivery in 20 minutes by Apollo247.
According to a recent Bain & Company report, quick commerce accounts for 70-75 per cent share of total e-grocery orders in India, up from 35 per cent in 2022 on the back of improving logistics through dark stores, which stock 3,000-4,000 premium high-value items, to meet growing demand.