Ride-hailing app Ola is likely to enter the competitive grocery delivery and hyperlocal segment soon, sources aware of the matter told CNBC-TV18 on Tuesday.

Share Market Live

NSE

This, however, is not the first time the firm will attempt to venture into the category. Earlier in 2015, Ola had launched its grocery delivery business called Ola Store as a separate app in several cities, starting from Bengaluru.

However, the segment did not take off then mainly due to poor demand and increasing costs, sources said.

Ola has not commented on the development yet.

Vinay Bhopatkar, who joined the firm in August this year, is heading Ola’s delivery business. He has earlier been associated with Cafe Coffee Day, Aditya Birla Fashion, and Asian Paints.

Also Read: IPO-bound Ola's COO and CFO to exit the company

On Tuesday, Bhopatkar was also made in-charge of Ola’s driver and supply ecosystem, according to an internal company communication seen by CNBC-TV18. The riding-hailing company’s CEO Bhavish Agarwal, in the internal letter, cited synergies between the two verticals and improvement in driver utilisation.

Agarwal recently said that Ola has seen a recovery in the ride-hailing business to pre-COVID-19 levels.

The company has been entering new verticals as it recently launched Ola Cars as a marketplace for new and used cars. The Bengaluru-based firm is also looking at scaling the reach of the platform Ola Cars to 100 cities by the next year.

Ola Cars offers a bouquet of services to customers, beginning with purchase, vehicle finance, and insurance, registration, maintenance, including vehicle health diagnostics and service, accessories, and also resale of the vehicle back to Ola Cars, according to the company’s statement.

Ola's core ride-hailing unit is also planning to list on stock exchanges soon, for which it raised $500 million from Warburg Pincus and Temasek, giving early backers Tiger and Matrix a part exit from their stake in the company. While the company has hired bankers for its IPO, it hasn't disclosed by when it plans to go public.

(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)

First Published:Oct 19, 2021 8:00 PM IST