Flink is expanding in Montpellier to deliver even more groceries to your home

Passage de relais entre Luc, qui a rempli les sacs, et Nicolas, qui part les livrer. ML – GR

All that remains is a warehouse used for rapid home delivery of groceries, in the city center of Montpellier, but it displays its ambitions… which could be thwarted by the City.

In 2022, ten companies shared the quick commerce market in France. All that remains is Flink today, established in nine of the largest cities in France, including Montpellier.

The German company was nevertheless placed in receivership last September. But Guillaume Luscan, general director of the company, bought – with associates – the license allowing the brand to be used in France.

A stone's throw from the entrance to the Comédie tunnel, rue Joffre, the brand has been operating a warehouse for more than a year and a half. Inside, hundreds of products, mostly food. They are delivered to homes by Flink employees, temporary workers or external delivery people.

"I have an extraordinary team of around ten employees, all very invested", explains Florian Julien, hub manager of Montpellier since September 2022. This they are the ones who created the counter, fixed between two trolleys, on which the delivery men take possession of the orders.

Flink's strong point is first and foremost its speed. On Luc's manual box, which travels the shelves equipped with bags placed on a trolley, the products ordered by the customer are displayed in the order in which they are stored. Which saves valuable time. A few minutes later, a bicycle delivery man takes possession of the bags, before driving off with them.

"We do everything very quickly, with an error rate of 1% in orders, or twenty times less than the competition, underlines Guillaume Luscan. I believe very strongly in express grocery delivery, which shows an increase of 15 to 20% per year. Especially since it is the youngest who consume the most."

The City is “not in favor”

"The City is not in favor of the development of this type of establishment, with a view to protecting city center and local businesses but also to protect local residents who suffer from the nuisance, the City of Montpellier informed us this Thursday in a press release. In addition, the current establishment on rue Joffre uses polluting vehicles contrary to our policy aimed at promoting gentle delivery methods."

"Work is also underway in the PLUi (Local Intercommunal Urban Planning Plan) in order to constrain these activities. A reflection is also underway in the context of the Sud Comédie pedestrianization and should in fact limit the unwelcome activity of this type of establishment in this sector."

In Montpellier, the company has great ambitions, to the point of currently carrying out expansion work. "This will allow us to offer more references, and therefore to further increase the average basket which has increased by more than a third in one year", specifies Guillaume Luscan.

"We already offer products delivered by Carrefour, with very active distributor brands, and we are in contact with many brands who are ready to pay to have maximum visibility on our application& ;quot;.

If it is possible to pick up the products ordered on the site from the warehouse, after creating an account, everyone will soon be welcome there. At the entrance to the premises, a screen for the future click & collect is already waiting for customers. 

Right next door, another new thing is in preparation: parcel drop-off instructions. This will be another way to introduce the places to the many Montpellier residents who do not know it.

Less nuisance

In September 2022, dark stores were especially noted for their nuisances of all kinds. From deliveries by trucks at dawn, to the noisy closing of the Iron Curtain at midnight, to the sidewalks squatted by delivery men all day long, local residents sometimes lived through hell.

Especially rue Rigaud, in Figuerolles, where the Turkish brand Getyr has finally packed up. A little less so on rue Joffre, where Flink still had some neighborhood problems. "People have expressed their dissatisfaction but there have been no complaints", replies the hub manager.

Today, the relationship seems more peaceful. Delivery people no longer wait on site, as before. Progress that will have to be reconciled with the expected increase in activity on an enlarged site, open from 7:45 a.m. to midnight.

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