Eternal's Blinkit dark stores ate up half of its revenue
Eternal Ltd—the company behind Blinkit and District—more than doubled its team in FY25, thanks to big investments and rapid expansion.
Most new hires went to Blinkit, Bistro, and District for delivery jobs and running dark stores.
Blinkit alone managed 1,007 dark stores by the end of 2024 and brought in nearly ₹10,000 crore—about half of Eternal's total order value last year.
Hiring costs skyrocketed in FY25
All this hiring came at a price: employee expenses jumped 54% to ₹2,558 crore while average salaries actually dropped by up to 32%.
Even with revenues up 67% in FY25, profits for Q1 FY26 fell sharply—down 90% from last year—as inventory and expansion costs piled up.
The pay for independent directors also shot up over 300%, showing how spending priorities are shifting as the company grows fast.