Shadowfax To Add 85 Dark Stores, Expand Network To 100 In FY27

Logistics major Shadowfax plans to scale its dark store network to 100 stores from the current 15 in FY27 as it eyes the next phase of growth from same-day delivery, D2C brands, and hyperlocal commerce.

In its Q4 earnings call, the company’s management noted that vertical marketplaces, around 6-7 of which it services, are providing good profitability due to their dependence on third-party logistics (3PL).

“We have learned from our pilots that vertical quick commerce platforms offer significantly higher value per engagement than horizontal fulfillment. Capital is also very limited for these… We believe vertical quick commerce is going to have 3PL as the natural answer,” the company said.

Shadowfax will target a 7 km radius for its dark stores in metro cities with delivery timelines of around 30 minutes. It plans to invest around 10% of its ₹180-190 Cr capex target this year on dark store expansion.

Earlier in the day, Shadowfax reported a consolidated net profit of ₹55.8 Cr in Q4 FY26 as against a net loss of ₹9.9 Cr in the year-ago period. Sequentially, profit increased 59.9% from ₹34.9 Cr.

Revenue from operations increased 73.6% to ₹1,237 Cr from ₹712.4 Cr in the same period last year. On a QoQ basis, it increased 6.7% from ₹1,159.7 Cr.

The company is also scaling its reliance on AI, increasingly automating slotting, picking & demand forecasting through the technology. It noted that automation of its sorting centres will lead to faster breakeven, while overheads from scaling to new pincodes will also be curtailed through AI. Shadowfax is aiming to increase its pincode count to 15,166 in Q4, up 3.2% QoQ.

As per Shadowfax, its share in the 3PL market has grown to 27-29% from 8% over the last four years, as it cannibalised the market previously dominated by traditional and “inefficient” players.

Going forward, the company doesn’t expect major roadblocks from the ongoing geopolitical crisis, especially if fuel prices are increased as it only accounts for around 10% of its overall expenses. It further noted that its fuel surcharge clause will allow it to pass on all such increased costs directly to its customers.

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