Rafael Ilishayev on U.S. expansion
From Instant Delivery Wars in Europe & Why GoPuff Left the Market · · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
“We opened up New York ... we own 70% of the instant needs market in New York right now; it's not even close to the number two player even though we're the last player to come in.”
On , Rafael Ilishayev, CEO & Co-Founder at Gopuff, spoke about U.S. expansion during Instant Delivery Wars in Europe & Why GoPuff Left the Market on 20VC with Harry Stebbings.
About Rafael Ilishayev
Rafael Ilishayev, co-founder and co-CEO of Gopuff, has been discussing the company's strategy and financial position in several media appearances in late 2022. He stated that Gopuff has $2 billion in cash and the flexibility to wait for public markets to rebound before pursuing an IPO, describing the current market as "destroyed" with significant volatility. Ilishayev said the company is focused on profitability, noting that markets launched before 2018 are producing 15% EBITDA margins and that on a consolidated basis the company makes $5 in profit per order. He also announced the launch of 100 private label SKUs across home essentials, snacks, and drinks, citing internal data that 80% of Gopuff customers wanted an affordable private label assortment. Ilishayev addressed the company's international expansion, saying Gopuff entered Spain through the Dija acquisition and "probably should have pulled out immediately" rather than waiting. He stated the company's European strategy should have been to dominate the UK market first before expanding further, noting Gopuff now has 25% market share in the UK instant needs category. Ilishayev also discussed the company's suburban expansion plans, including testing operations in towns with populations of 15,000 to 20,000, and noted that Gopuff holds 73% market share in the U.S. instant needs category according to third-party data. He described the vertically integrated model as key to the company's approach, contrasting it with third-party marketplace models.