Can Amazon Catch Blinkit?

Does Amazon Have A Real Shot At Shaking Up Quick Commerce?

By Pritha Pahari

What?

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is visiting India for the first time since succeeding founder Jeff Bezos in 2021. This comes as Amazon is making an attempt at quick commerce in India through Amazon Now, its 10-to-15-minute delivery service. He is in Mumbai and is expected to meet senior government officials and industry leaders, with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also possible.

The company had tried something similar before with Amazon Food, which it shut down in December 2022 after onboarding around 3,000 restaurant partners, including McDonald's and Domino's, without making a dent in the Zomato-Swiggy duopoly. "Amazon has the capital. Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart still have the execution advantage,” said analyst Sandeep Abhange.

This time, the plan is bigger. Amazon Now started as a small pilot in Whitefield, Bengaluru, in early 2025 with just four dark stores. It has since expanded to Delhi and Mumbai, with plans to cross 300 dark stores across the three cities by the end of 2025, backed by a Rs 2,000 crore investment in fulfilment, sortation, and delivery infrastructure.

It's entering a market that's already crowded. Blinkit has around 2,100 dark stores and roughly 48% market share. Zepto runs more than 1,100 dark stores across 66 cities. Swiggy Instamart has 1,100-1,200 dark stores and holds a 23-25% share. Together, these three control well over 90% of the market.

Why?

Quick commerce isn't restaurant delivery. It's an extension of retail, and that's an area where Amazon already has years of experience in India. It has supplier relationships, warehousing, and last-mile logistics already built for its core marketplace business. Most quick commerce platforms spend their early years convincing FMCG and grocery brands to list with them. Amazon has largely skipped that step.

There's also a defensive angle. Quick commerce has been pulling customers away from Amazon's regular marketplace, especially in long-tail categories. Getting into the space is partly about winning back shoppers it's already lost.

Amazon's biggest asset here is its Prime customer base, a high-income group that already overlaps heavily with quick commerce users.

What's next?

Scaling up will be expensive and slow. Abhange estimates Amazon could need $1.5-2 billion and 3-4 years just to build a network comparable to what Blinkit and Zepto already have. Density matters more than size in this business; a dark store only works if there's enough order volume nearby, and incumbents have spent 4-5 years fine-tuning that at the neighbourhood level.

Amazon also has timing working against it in another way. Blinkit has already reached EBITDA breakeven, and Zepto is moving toward profitability ahead of its IPO. The market it's entering isn't burning cash the way it once was.

A top-four spot looks achievable. Cracking the top three will take longer.

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$3.4 trillion

That's the combined value of India's 500 most valuable companies, according to the 2025 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 list released by Axis Bank's Burgundy Private and Hurun India, now in its fifth year.

By The Numbers: To make the list this year, a company needed a valuation of at least Rs 10,230 crore (about $1.1 billion), up 7% from last year's cutoff. There were 95 new entrants worth Rs18.45 lakh crore combined, the highest number since the list began.

Reliance Industries held on to the No. 1 spot for a fifth straight year. Bharti Airtel moved into the top tier, adding Rs 7.6 lakh crore in value since 2021. Sarvam AI became the first Indian-made large language model company to join the list.

Fast Facts: Cricket got a mention too: five IPL franchises, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, appeared on the list for the first time, a sign that cricket teams are now being valued like regular companies.

The list is also spreading beyond the big metros. Smaller cities like Rajkot, Bikaner, Kumbakonam and Rajnandgaon all had companies featured this year, and the list now spans 50 cities across 18 states. Together, these 500 companies employ 8.9 million people and paid Rs 3.23 lakh crore in taxes.

Oil Tanker Rates Soar

A shortage of available ships in the Persian Gulf has pushed shipping costs to their highest level this year. South Korean company Sinokor has provisionally booked a vessel to carry oil from the Gulf to India at 897% of the freight benchmark, Bloomberg reported. No dates, buyers or ports were specified, though.

Overview: Sinokor, which has expanded aggressively in the tanker market, has remained active through the war and recently offered very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to load Iraqi crude, signalling confidence in passage through the Strait of Hormuz despite constrained traffic.

Setup: Following an interim Iran-US deal, shipowners are sending more vessels back to the Gulf, as roughly 65 empty VLCCs could reach the region within a week.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report said three tankers carrying 5 million barrels of oil were already leaving the strait on Wednesday, with two headed to Asia. The easing of tensions is freeing up oil that had been stuck in the region.

No Deal in Sight

Talks between India and the US concluded in New Delhi, but with no clear word on whether a trade deal is any closer. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said discussions with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had wrapped up, without saying if the two sides had closed the gaps still blocking an interim agreement.

Both governments said they want a "balanced" agreement with real gains for businesses, farmers, workers and consumers, covering market access, digital trade, supply chains and non-tariff barriers.

Context: Greer's trip came days after US President Trump told Prime Minister Modi at the G7 summit that a deal was "very close." India has been more cautious, wanting better terms than rival countries before signing, and assurances that it won't face Section 301 investigations once the deal is signed.

How We Got Here: In February, India and the US agreed to cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. But the US Supreme Court then ruled that Trump's broad tariff powers, the same ones used to set those rates, were illegal, leaving it unclear if the deal could actually be enforced. Around the same time, the US opened separate Section 301 investigations into India and other countries over issues like forced labour and excess capacity, which India wants dropped through negotiation, not one-sided action.

India Weighs New Pilot Licence

An Indian government panel has proposed a new pilot licence that would shift more training to simulators, cutting real aircraft flying time to 100-120 hours from the current 200-hour minimum, Reuters reported.

The Multi-Crew Pilot Licence, used globally by carriers like Qatar Airways and easyJet, aims to build a steadier pipeline of junior pilots as airlines expand fleets amid shortages.

Catch Up Quick: The draft, prepared by a committee including IndiGo and Air India representatives, says greater simulator use could lower operational risk without compromising rigor. IndiGo has backed the proposal; the airline has just 7.6 pilots per narrowbody jet, below the global average of 10.

Last year, The Core reported how this pilot training overhaul may not solve India’s pilot crunch.

Setup: Flight-training organisations have pushed back, urging a 150-hour minimum, warning reduced real-flying time could weaken cadets' hands-on skills in emergencies, a concern the draft itself acknowledges.

China's EV Tech Sneaks In

Though India has largely barred Chinese automakers since the 2020 border clash, their EV technology is gaining ground through supply deals. Tata Motors will use Chery's platform to build premium EVs, structured as a tech-free supply arrangement to navigate political sensitivities, while Uno Minda has a powertrain joint venture with China's Inovance.

Analysts told Reuters that the partnership is "inevitable" if India wants a bigger manufacturing role.

Setting: JSW Motor has a similar Chery tie-up, reportedly paying roughly $209 million upfront plus royalties to adapt its platforms, targeting 300,000 vehicle sales by 2030.

Critical Moment: However, not all deals survive. Beijing's 2025 export curbs forced Amara Raja to scrap its battery-technology licensing pact with Gotion, pushing it toward in-house R&D instead.

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Oil Prices Fall Below Pre War Levels As Optimism Rises

On Episode 910 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Jitendra Gohil, CIO - Listed Equities at Bajaj Alternate Investment Management Limited as well as Soumya Mohanty, MD & Chief Client & Solutions Officer, South Asia at Kantar.

• Oil Prices Fall Below Pre War Levels As Optimism Rises

• How South Korean Supertankers Are Ruling The Persian Gulf

• Shaping Market Strategies Based On Geopolitical Moves

• India’s Most Creatively Effective Brands Include Oldies Taj Mahal Tea And Tata Salt

• India Is Using More Domestic Coal Instead Of Imported