Mumbai: Last-mile mobility electric scooter services Zypp Electric, ties up with Franchise India to facilitate their expansion vision into the metros and tier-1 Indian cities. Through this association, Franchise India will act as an advisor in Zypp’s expansion journey. The brand is set to penetrate into cities where demand for home deliveries and e-commerce is high but outsourced delivery vendors are limited. The channel partners through Zypp’s franchise will cater to customers from various segments such as- grocery, fashion, e-retail, food & beverage, pharmacy, and offline to online.
Incepted in 2017, Zypp is an efficient, eco-friendly, and economical alternative for delivery-based businesses. The start-up works closely with 350 business-to-business (B2B) merchants who aid in last-mile deliveries for them. To provide a seamless customer experience, Zypp has sourced about 1,000 electric scooters for its platform. For Zypp, grocery deliveries are the biggest segment, followed by e-commerce and hyperlocal (food, medicine etc). Usually, they deliver more than 2 lakh shipments a month which had spiked to 7.5 lakh amid the pandemic.
The pandemic has given the home delivery market in India a push which in any case was expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 23% during the forecast period 2019–2025. The Indian e-commerce industry is expected to surpass $108 billion in revenue by 2022. These factors will therefore create more scope for mobility partners in the months to come. With India moving towards e-vehicles and fuel pricing surging, the electric vehicle market is set to expand.
To ride on the expanding delivery market wave, Zypp will be growing their customer base by tying up with unit franchisees. The unit franchisee will operate through the support of Zypp’s vehicles and brand-trained staff. Zypp’s channel partners would work on inbuilt software for streamlined delivery services. The brand will also facilitate unit franchisees with pool of established corporate clientele and assurance of sustainable returns. In return, a unit franchisee would be responsible for bringing new retail brands and business on board to outsource their delivery function to Zypp. They will not only take care of the vehicle inventory, but also initiate local city marketing and overlook the sales & business development teams to on-board local clients.
For a unit franchisee partner, three different set of individuals are qualified to apply. One should either be open to conversion or be a property owner or a new investor. Conversion franchise would depend on whether the applicant is already associated as a delivery partner with an e-commerce aggregator such as zomato, swiggy, amazon, and others. They need to be two-wheeler deals in the non-e-vehicle segment. New investors should be young visionaries who would like to grow and evolve with a reputed global brand and have the time to invest in day-to-day operations at a unit level.
Gross unit cost for a unit franchise would roughly be around 24 lakhs with a required carpet area of 600 sqft. The franchise fee that one would have to incur is Rs. 2,50,000 at an ROI for 3 years. In return, Zypp will give their franchisees unlimited access to the brand’s growing network of nationwide clients and technology support. Zypp will also strategize and implement digital and social media campaigns for regional franchisee units.
Akash Gupta, Co-founder and CEO commented, “E-retail industry can’t grow without nationalized home delivery players. An e-retail brand can only deliver an exceptional consumer experience if its delivery partners are professional and technology-enabled. We have been bridging the gap between these two and making sure that it’s a sustainable choice. Our cutting-edge technology and staying ahead of the electric logistics curve has helped us to sustain in this competitive market. We are extremely thrilled to be associated with the pioneers in franchising to help us in our next leg of expansion. Through this association, we are aiming to open 50 franchisees in 2 years across various tier-2, tier-3 towns too. “
On the collaboration, Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India Group said, “We are aligned with Zypp’s vision and mission to take it a notch higher. We are glad to be on Zypp’s expansion journey and to have had to work with Akash. E-vehicle mobility is an exciting segment and we are certain of taking it to other Indian cities in a phased and swift manner.”
Zypp plans to expand its fleet to 10,000 e-scooters over the next 12-18 months and onboard more riders, including women, to meet the surge in demand for its services.
