The scene seen in the streets of Buenos Aires is practically similar to what can be seen in other large cities of Latin America: a legion of delivery drivers 4.0, on motorcycles or bicycles, with jackets of different colors and that, cellular in hand, delivered from hamburgers even purchases made at the supermarket.
The possibility of having a fast delivery service, at a low cost and just by opening an app explains the success that the main players that operate in this field are having.
An activity that is not free of controversy, starting with the accusations that fall on these companies for encouraging an alleged job insecurity.
But the reality is that the trend does not stop: in Argentina, according to iProUP, there are about 12,000 distributors and, of that total, Rappi is one of the big players, with a share of 40%.
It should be noted that the company -founded in Bogotá in 2015, became the second "unicorn" of Colombia, to overcome a valuation of US $ 1 billion-already operates in more than 30 cities in seven countries in the region.
In a context in which "rappitenderos" proliferate in all corners of the city, iProUP developed a ranking to establish what position Argentina occupies compared to the rest of the markets, based on the value of the tariff of this service and see in what position was left after the important jump of the greenback that operated in the last weeks in domestic place.
What do the numbers indicate? That the cost of the services offered by Rappi in Argentina is among the cheapest in the region, measured in dollars.
To make the comparison, two basic services were considered: a hamburger order and a "RappiFavor". In addition, the cost of an annual membership, known as Rappi Prime, was taken into account.
When considering the rate charged by this company for the delivery of a hamburger from one of the most popular chains worldwide, the cost of delivery in the domestic market is the second lowest in the list of seven countries.
Specifically, it costs $ 50 which, at the official exchange rate, represents little more than $ 1. Thus, the tariff in Argentina is just above that of Colombia, where it costs less than US $ 0.90.
However, it is very far from Chile, for example, where this same service quotes above 2 dollars and positions that country at the opposite end of the ranking.
When explaining why this service is so cheap in the domestic market, there is a key factor and it is the devaluation that occurred in recent months.
It should be noted that in August of last year, when the dollar averaged $ 30, this same service quoted close to $ 40, so that this rate in Argentina was much more aligned with the regional average.
However, as the currency rose more than the Rappi service (in pesos), this explains why it ended up being cheaper in terms of the greenback.
This also applies to some of the products offered through the application:
- Request a combo of a gourmet burger, with potatoes and soda, in that same chain, end up costing the equivalent of US $ 10.65 in San Pablo, Brazil) delivery included).
- On the other hand, placing the same order in Buenos Aires costs US $ 8.65, almost 20% less.
In the case of the alternative "Rappi Favor", an option that can be requested for simple tasks, such as sending keys or searching for a package, the local service appears as the most economical among the 6 of the 7 countries in which they offer it.
Specifically, the Buenos Aires tariff is currently equivalent to almost US $ 1.20 and it is the lowest in Latin America. At the opposite extreme is Mexico, where you have to pay a value close to US $ 2.35, practically double.
In line with these figures, the annual membership, known as "Rappi Prime" - which discounts shipments and allows not to pay surcharges for orders made during the night or rainy days - is also cheaper in Argentina than in other countries, always speaking in terms of dollar.
A user who subscribes to this annual service, must pay per month about $ 99, which, at the official exchange rate, amount to just over US $ 2.
The next country is Brazil, with a value greater than $ 3; while in the opposite extreme it appears Peru, with a cost that arrives at the 6 dollars, that is to say, three times more than the domestic tariff, as it is possible to be seen in the following graph:
Diversification 4.0
Although it started as a food delivery solution, the Colombian startup drew up a plan to become the "superapp" of the digital economy and concentrate different digital services on a single platform.
First, the possibility of requesting products from other non-gastronomic establishments, such as kiosks, supermarkets, pet stores, butchers, grocers and pharmacy chains, among others. Later, he added the Rappi Favores.
"Since our arrival in the country, we registered increases of 25% per month in orders, the first year of operation was disruptive," Matías Casoy, CEO of the firm in Argentina, told iProUP.
The company also set foot in the fintech segment with RappiCash. The service, launched at the beginning of the year in the country, allows to buy tickets (pesos) with the credit card and receive them at home.
He also introduced RappiPay, a virtual wallet to pay with QR in 400 stores in Buenos Aires and receive a gift in return. For example, when buying a coffee you can receive a pastry product to accompany it.
The company also explores another vertical of the digital economy: personal mobility. In this way, in Mexico it was allied with Grin, an app for renting electric skateboards, with which it hopes to expand in the region.
As iProUP exclusively announced, the company has already begun its "operational deployment" in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo. Last month, the company's commercial staff visited cafes, restaurants, bookstores, kiosks and offices to associate them as points of withdrawal and return of the shots.
Undoubtedly, the most controversial plan will be related to health services. In addition to the transportation of medicines, which is already available in Argentina despite the demand of medical and pharmaceutical associations, Rappi plans to offer the service of medical consultations at home.
Legal conflict
The so-called "economy of the apps" provoked a cimbronazo the several countries whose legislation does not include these new labor figures.
In order to avoid the payment of employer charges, the apps request delivery drivers who are enrolled in the Monotributo to bill for their services. That is, a "commercial" link, not "labor".
To demand better conditions, in Rappi came APP, the Platform Staff Association, which seeks trade union registration to represent workers in the sector because they believe they work in a "covert dependency relationship".
After that OrdenYa dismissed 450 messengers that had "blank", entered the scene the Association of Motorcyclists Messengers and Services (ASSIM), a union with strong ties with the trucker leader Hugo Moyano.
Among the labor lawyers, there is no single vision on the legality (or not) of these services. For Solana de Diego, from the Julián de Diego y Asociados studio, "the whole environment of the claim" of the delivery drivers is ill-defined.
"These platforms move within a context that is called 'collaborative work', in which the app is a mere intermediary between the riders, who are self-employed, and the merchants, who through these platforms sell to a greater number of customers, "he says.
"That does not exist in Argentine legislation, it is collaborative when it does not represent normal or regular work and, in addition, it is not done for the same company," labor expert Juan Carlos Cerutti tells iProup.
In this sense, the lawyer emphasizes that "we must analyze what to do with this model", because currently "it is an unregistered work relationship" and these companies "are in fraud with the current law".
De Diego emphasizes that it is not "workers in a relationship of dependency but self-employed who set their own hours, choose when to connect, what to take or reject and do not receive any type of disciplinary sanction." Although Cerutti believes that the apps "make a unilateral control of the relationship, in which not only can cyclists be accepted or not, but also terminate the link."
What is agreed by the lawyers is the need for new labor regulations to replace the current Labor Contract Law, which dates back to 1975.
"It is a standard according to a factory era in which a worker entered a company, worked 30 years in the same place and retired, you need legislation that protects the employee and takes into account the employer," says lawyer Juan Martín Gallo.
Plans and investments
Far from the controversy, Rappi's focus is on getting more investments and expanding in the region. Recently, he raised US $ 1 billion from the Japanese giant Softbank. That is, 20% of the fund of US $ 5,000 million created by the Japanese holding company to accelerate Latin American companies with a future on Wall Street. This ended up quoting the Colombian startup at US $ 3.5 billion.
"It has the potential to expand far beyond its current business and become one of the most important technology companies in Latin America," said Jeffrey Housenbold, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers.
In this way, he showed that the diversification, unification of the services of the digital economy and the arrival to more markets are the cornerstones of his strategy.
"SoftBank's vision of accelerating the technological revolution fits with our mission to improve how people live through digital payments and a superapp for everything users need," said Sebastian Mejía, co-founder and president of Rappi.
At this point, the executive remarked that the focus will continue on "creating innovations for Rappitenderos, restaurants, retailers and new start-ups so that they become new sources of growth".
Some of these innovations could be created in Argentina. According to Matías Cassoy, number one of the local subsidiary, during 2019 they will "increase the development team by at least 50%" in the country.
The results of this index will surely feed these plans. With the talent "for export" of the Argentine IT professionals, the wide adoption of digital services and a competitive exchange rate, the next characteristics of the "superapp" could be delineated from the local headquarters of Villa Crespo.
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