Question

Case - Instashop

When John Tsioris moved to Dubai in 2013 with a well-paid job working for a lighting subsidiary of the Dutch consumer electronics group Philips, he did not feel entirely satisfied by his career move.

"I had a very strong desire to create something of my own and make the calls and give myself the chance to actually prove if something meaningful could be created on my own," says Mr Tsioris, the co-founder and chief executive of Instashop.

Two years later, at the age of 28, he quit his job as a marketing intelligence manager and started Instashop, an on-demand online grocery delivery company. The app-based service allows customers to order groceries for delivery on-demand from a wide selection of supermarkets and local neighbourhood retailers. Users can choose for their shopping to be delivered in scheduled time slots or within 60 minutes from some vendors.

"On the one hand it [was about] avoiding the limitations that naturally exist in large corporations and on the other [it was about] the strong desire to create something of my own," says Mr Tsioris, from Greece.

Today, Instashop has expanded to five countries, with more than 350,000 users and one of the highest retention rates for a mobile app.

In less than four years, InstaShop has expanded from the UAE to Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon and Bahrain. From 2016 to 2018, the app was nominated one of the region’s most promising start-ups to watch by Forbes Middle East. With a fast-growing monthly active user base of more than 350,000 people and over 150 employees, InstaShop aims to fulfil customer orders in under an hour. The platform lists several well-established supermarket names, including Union Co-op, Choithrams, Al Maya, Zoom, Aswaaq and Bluemart.

Reading resource

• The National: https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/generation-start-up-instashop-eyes-global-expansion-for-its-grocery-delivery-app-1.979277
• The Gulf News: https://gulfnews.com/business/how-did-instashop-win-over-350000-monthly-active-users-1.1572357945304

Answer 1

Introduction

The goal of the company is to offer people or buyers the opportunity to get or reach the necessary groceries without hassle in the real market place. The Instashop focuses on the goal to bring the supermarket choices and options right at every home more efficiently or conveniently. The company and the head operations are based in Dubai and are under the entity of Jabbar Internet Group. The platform is completely online and the digital space enables the user to buy, and stock the necessities at a reasonable market price.

Summary

When the co-founder and chief executive of the company John Tsioris moved to Dubai in 2013 with a well-paid existing job. The very strong desire and interest to create something of their own and the importance to make the calls and give the chance to create a space.

Two long years later, at the age of 28, the founder of the company quit his old job as a marketing intelligence manager and started the own Instashop, an on-demand online grocery item delivery company. The business operations are completely app-based services, and it allows the customers to order groceries for delivery on-demand from a wide spectrum selection of supermarkets and pool of local neighborhood retailers in the countries with the delivery time of 60 minutes from most of the vendors. Today, the Instashop has expanded to more than four countries, with more than 350,000 users on a daily basis and one of the highest retention rates for a mobile app in this segment.

In less than four years’ timeline, the InstaShop has expanded from the markets in UAE to Qatar, then to Egypt, Lebanon, and to Bahrain. From 2016 to 2018 timeline, the company app was nominated as one of the region’s most promising start-ups to reach by Forbes Middle East title. With a fast-growing user base or the monthly active buyer’s base of more than 350,000 people and over the human resource of 150 employees, InstaShop focuses to fulfil the delivery interests of customer orders in under an hour. The Instashop platform lists over several well-established supermarket names, including the Union Co-op, Al Maya, Zoom, Choithrams, Aswaaq, and Bluemart in the country.

Analysis

On the basis of articles from the National and the Gulf News, the Instashop achieved a major milestone in the five countries, especially in the Middle East markets with the wide spectrum of product choices, local vendors, best pricing policies, and easy delivery across the markets with less than one hour time. Based on the booming e-commerce sector in UAE, the Instashop gain momentum and attract the youth population who utilize the online space for convenience buying and save time. Also, the company collaborates with the supermarkets and local vendors in the market by providing better incentives, and business models to share the financials effectively. In the recent year’s trend, the company added few categories apart from groceries like pharmacies, butchery, pet shops, organic products, and even maid services across the markets.

At the recent analysis, the company focus to enter into more foreign countries to sell their model and acquire the opportunity in the markets. The company recently acquired more than 200 employees in the system. The present headquarters is in UAE and the service-oriented culture makes the business more effective and smooth in collaborations. In the recent takeover, the venture capitalist Jabbar Internet Group acquire some shares of the company and these investments help the Instashop to expand the business.