Localbanya Temporarily Suspends Operations, Has No Defined Timeline for Relaunch

Mumbai-based online convenience store Localbanya has temporarily suspended operations to upgrade its technology and services.

"Your banya is upgrading his technology and services. We will be back shortly with more exciting features and a far better delivery experience. We can't wait for you to experience the new and improved Localbanya," a statement posted on their website says.

Localbanya's Facebook page hasn't been updated since the first of October. On its Twitter page, a social media representative said that the firm has no defined timeline for when the operations will resume.

Founded in 2012 by Karan Mehrotra, Rashi Choudhary, and Amit Naik, Localbanya raised $5 million (roughly Rs. 32 crores) in its Series A funding in January 2014.

Localbanya's operations cover Mumbai (including Thane & Navi Mumbai), Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurgaon.

According to news reports, the company is likely to downsize, and employee salaries have not been paid for two months.

Emails sent by Gadgets360 to the founders to confirm or deny the allegations went unanswered. A spokesperson for Localbanya did not comment on the development, but offered the same boilerplate statement posted on the website.

According to startup data tracker Tracxn, Around 25 grocery delivery companies in India have cumulatively raised over $160 million (roughly Rs. 1037 crores) in the last 10 months.

The biggest funded players in the grocery space include Bengaluru-based BigBasket, which raised $50 million (roughly Rs. 325 crores) in a Series C funding round in August, Delhi-based Grofers, which raised $35 million (roughly Rs. 226 crores), and Peppertap, which closed a Series B funding round of $36 million (roughly Rs. 233 crores).