Glovo pioneered European dark stores
Former head of strategy at a global on-demand giant on the economics of grocery delivery
Glovo mattered less because it proved dark stores were profitable, and more because it showed European delivery apps that owning nearby inventory could make grocery much faster than store pickup and marketplace delivery. Early food delivery platforms mostly sent couriers to Tesco or Waitrose style partners, which was easy to launch but weak on habit formation, basket predictability, and retention. Glovo then moved one step upstream by stocking goods in its own delivery only sites, and Deliveroo followed by using some Editions kitchen space as grocery inventory.
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A dark store is a small local warehouse, usually around 3,000 square feet, stocked with roughly 1,000 to 2,000 items. Orders are picked from shelves by staff, then handed to bike or scooter couriers for a short radius drop. That setup is what enables 10 to 15 minute delivery.
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The strategic jump from marketplace to dark store is control. Instead of depending on a grocer's shelves, substitutions, and store staff, the app controls inventory, picking, and dispatch. That can improve speed and reliability, but it also adds rent, labor, spoilage, and working capital costs.
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Glovo's early move helped open the door, but the real funding wave came later with Getir, Gorillas, Dija, and others during the pandemic. By mid 2021, Glovo had already announced plans to scale dark stores across Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Romania, while newer entrants were racing to flood cities with sites.
The market then shifts from proving speed to proving density. The winners are the operators that turn each neighborhood warehouse into a busy convenience hub, with enough repeat orders to spread courier and picker costs across the day. That favors companies that can pair fast delivery with tight assortment, local demand generation, and disciplined store rollout.