Dive Brief:

• Turkish ultrafast delivery firm Getir has made its U.S. debut in Chicago, with plans to expand to the New York and Boston metropolitan regions by the end of 2021, the company announced on Thursday. 
• The initial coverage area in the Windy City includes Rogers Park, Bowmanville, Lake View, Logan Square, Ranch Triangle, East Village and River North, a Getir spokesperson wrote in an email. The company plans to expand throughout Chicago "in the coming weeks," according to the rep.
• The company that helped pioneer 10-minute grocery delivery is entering the increasingly crowded instant-needs space in the U.S., which is dominated by Gopuff but counts a growing number of ultrafast startups as well as traditional grocers offering 30-minute service. 

Dive Insight:

Founded six years ago, Getir is something of an elder statesman in the ultrafast delivery field populated by startups that have come online during the pandemic. It's also one of the largest ultrafast firms and has some of the deepest pockets.

The company, which has raised more than $1 billion in funding this year and is valued at $7.7 billion, has been busy expanding globally this year. In January, it brought its service to the U.K. and made its first acquisition by buying Spanish online grocery startup Blok, which paved the way for its expansion to Spain and Italy in September and to Portugal in October. Getir expanded to the Netherlands in May and then to Germany and France the following month.  

Like other ultrafast firms, Getir offers 10-minute delivery from centrally located dark stores via couriers on e-bikes and e-scooters. The company has seven dark stores, or "gstores" in company parlance, in Chicago, and will offer around 2,000 fast-moving products. Getir is going up against 1520, which arrived in the city a few weeks ago, as well as roughly 30-minute delivery by Gopuff and Go Grocer, a brick-and-mortar food retailer that just launched its own "ultrafast" delivery. 

To encourage adoption, Getir said it will not charge a delivery fee for Chicago customers on their first five orders as part of the launch.

Getir Founder and CEO Nazim Salur told The Twenty Minute VC podcast recently that Getir has been focused on growth in the fiercely competitive market. 

"It's like a little land grab is the name of the game at least for the next few years," Salur said. 

As quick-commerce takes hold in more and more U.S. cities, Coresight Research estimated the growing industry will generate between $20 billion to $25 billion in U.S. retail sales this year.  

Getir is also expanding its U.K. operations, with plans to reach at least 15 total cities there by Christmas. When weighing new markets, Getir considers about 400 factors, like population, population density, buying power and demographics, Salur said. 

Getir's growth in the U.S. will be similar to the U.K. expansion, Salur said, noting it is eyeing at least 300 U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 people or more: "We should be [in] at least 300 cities ASAP in the U.S," he noted. "I don't know how long it will take."