As quick commerce gains ground, emerging direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are betting big on digital channels to drive growth. According to Aman Gupta, co-founder of wearables brand BoAt, new-age brands in India have been expanding at a much faster pace than expected, driven by digital channels like quick-commerce. "Investors doubted the potential of D2C brands when we started, but today there are multiple brands in the startup market that are growing on the shoulders of these digital channels," Gupta said while addressing a session at Razorpay's D2C and Retail Summit recently.
Several food and grocery delivery firms witnessed their highest ever single-day orders on New Year eve, December 31. Zomato achieved a record-breaking number of orders on its app. The company carried out nearly as many orders on December 31 as the total for the equivalent day in the period from 2015 to 2020.
The latest acquisitions are a strategic move to establish Zomato's presence in central and eastern Europe.
Food delivery and quick-commerce major Swiggy, which is coming out with its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, is seeking a valuation of about $11.3 billion. The Bengaluru-based company is aiming to garner Rs 11,327 crore from the IPO, which will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 4,499 crore along with an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 6,828 crore. Swiggy has set a price band of Rs 371 to Rs 390 per share for its maiden public issue.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato surged over 7 per cent. Maruti, ITC Hotels, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Titan and IndusInd Bank were among the biggest gainers. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
At a time when Flipkart has entered the quick-commerce race with a service called "Minutes", executives at rival players said they are in a wait-and-watch mode. They said they would be concerned only once the e-commerce firm is able to succeed in this space. The Walmart-owned firm's quick-commerce service has gone live in some parts of Bengaluru, putting it in competition with firms such as Zepto, Swiggy's Instamart, and Zomato's Blinkit.
There's an average aggregator premium of Rs 46 per dish (in hidden costs) compared to delivery orders placed on restaurants' own channels. Conservatively, this translates into an additional annual financial burden of at least Rs 12,000 for the average Indian household in major metro/Tier-I cities.
... catch up with Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto...
It has once again returned to strong growth after a brief hiatus, spurred by the return of investors' confidence (and cash) in India's online food ordering sector.
'If you are watching cricket and don't want to leave the screen, you could check the menu and order through Zomato (or any other app) from a small part of your screen. That is what we are working towards.'
Company's revenue rises 3-fold to touch $206 million while total cost jumps over 6 times to $500 million
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal's recent comments on large e-commerce players have reignited the debate about their impact on smaller offline retailers. On Wednesday, Goyal said that the rapid growth of e-commerce in India is a "cause for concern" and is diminishing the market share of small, mom-and-pop stores by offering high-margin products such as consumer electronics and apparel at discounted rates.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have infused a record Rs 4.6 trillion into Indian equities over the course of Samvat 2080, marking the highest net annual investment in any Samvat to date. This robust domestic inflow has effectively counterbalanced the comparatively subdued investments from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who contributed a net Rs 90,956 crore within the same timeframe. Against this backdrop, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex indices are on track to achieve their best performance in three Samvat years, despite recent market corrections.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has granted approval to Paytm to onboard new UPI users, subject to the adherence to all procedural guidelines and circulars, according to the company. The move is expected to come as a relief to Paytm, which had suffered a blow following the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions earlier this year on associate company Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) in onboarding new UPI users on the Paytm app. In March, the NPCI gave approval to Paytm to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP).
The third quarter (Q3) of 2023-24 (FY24) has proven to be pivotal, witnessing some startups turning profitable and others enhancing their performance as their businesses finally begin to deliver. Startups like Delhivery, Zomato, PolicyBazaar, Mamaearth, and Nykaa have either become profitable or improved their profit margins in Q3FY24. A renewed focus on profitability, supported by operational efficiencies, expense rein-in, and robust demand during the festival season, has empowered companies to strengthen their performance.
'Consider 40% to 50% in equities, 10% in gold as a hedge, and the remaining 30% to 40% split between multi-asset funds and hybrid funds.'
'The race is now on for Indian IT firms to develop their AI prowess and focus on a software-first approach to services as the people element becomes more complicated with Trump's expected new regulations.'
Ramping up globally, the Indian restaurant search service is going as local as possible in its markets to improve its brand's stickiness.
In February, Zomato had said that it had become profitable in six regions, including India, after achieving operational break-even of its businesses.
The latest update is on Zomato's fourth acquisition overseas this year.
Companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Meesho as well as quick commerce ones like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart may create hundreds of thousands of seasonal jobs for the coming festival season.
Quick commerce is proving to be a solid business proposition, with companies like Zomato's Blinkit and Y Combinator-backed Zepto recently registering growth, charting paths to profitability. Blinkit logged its highest gross order value (GOV) and customer transactions in June and July, showing a positive contribution for the first time in the quarter ended June 2023. Deepinder Goyal, Zomato's co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), predicted that Blinkit would deliver more value to shareholders than the core food delivery business in the next decade.
'Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand.'
Leading up to Valentine's Day on February 14, quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart have witnessed a phenomenal uptick in the sales of products related to the occasion, such as roses and chocolates. Meanwhile, e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart have gone live with their respective Valentine's Day sale events, offering generous discounts on products. Sales of chocolates and roses on Zomato-owned Blinkit shattered previous records at the beginning of this year's Valentine's Day week, on February 7, which is celebrated as Rose Day.
Housing.com CEO takes a dig at Vishal Sikka.
Quick commerce startups hope to race towards better days. Can they crack the execution code?
Unacademy may see a funding dry spell for at least next 12-18 months and even last till 24 months and will cut costs to weather the lean period, said the chief executive of the education technology unicorn that recently laid off more than 600 employees. "This is a test for all of us. We must learn to work under constraints and focus on profitability at all costs. We must survive the winter," said Unacademy's co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal in a letter to the employees. "Winter is here. We are looking at a time when the funding will dry up for at least 12-18 months.
'The focus on easier access and faster delivery is creating a new consumption pattern that allows consumers to satisfy their last-minute cravings and restock essentials at the click of a button.'
Women account for 35 per cent of the 860,000 people employed in startups in 2022, compared to 19 per cent in the corporate sector.
'We went from zero to about 10 million users in three months. Paytm came out with the wallet play and we came out with the UPI play.'
Byju Classes' founder Byju Raveendran, Zomato co-founder Gaurav Gupta, CEO of Antara Senior Living, Tara Singh Vachani, Vinati Organics' MD & CEO Vinati Mutreja and Swapan Mehra, CEO of Iora Ecological Solutions are among 115 young leaders.
American writer HP Lovecraft famously said that the oldest and strongest of fears is the fear of the unknown. For present-day advertisers and celebrities, this fear is showing up in the response they receive from social media to their brand communication. This is something AU Small Finance Bank and online food delivery platform Zomato recently experienced with their advertisements.
If you have seen Zwigato, Param Kumar's story will sound familiar. Laid off from his job as a repairman at a Gurugram-based water purifier provider, he now delivers groceries and food for a mobile-based delivery app, in Delhi. Kumar, who started making deliveries last August, told Business Standard that he is working longer hours than his older salaried job as an RO repairman, and has no paid leaves or health insurance. Kumar is part of India's estimated 7.7 million-strong force of gig workers.
'If Threads doesn't become a distinct identity, and just a text version in the shadows of Instagram, then it may fizzle out.'
The funding marks the first investment in the Indian food delivery category by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from the company's long-term investor, Prosus, and other existing investors Accel Partners and Wellington Management, Swiggy said in a statement. In addition, new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Investments and Carmignac participated in the round, it stated. This latest fundraise was heavily oversubscribed following strong interest from investors, and comes on the back of Swiggy's rapid recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 and subsequent growth in 2020-21, Swiggy said.
Modi will get the maximum chunk of the session time.
Amid oxygen shortage and a faltering health system in the country, India is seeing over 300,000 cases daily.
Hospitality firm OYO is planning to raise up to $1.2 billion (around Rs 8,000 crore) through an initial public offering and is expected to file the draft red herring prospectus with Sebi next week, sources told PTI on Thursday. OYO has appointed investment banks like JPMorgan, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Capital to manage its public issue, they added. Comments from OYO could not be obtained at the time of filing the story. The proposed initial public offer (IPO) plan of the hospitality firm follows the spectacular success of Zomato's IPO that ended with a bumper oversubscription on July 16, and was biggest since March 2020.
A slew of Indian firms, including Flipkart, Byju's and Zomato, is building a path to profitability and diversifying into newer business segments ahead of mega-IPO plans.
Swiggy is shoring up capital to defend its position as India's largest food-ordering app as rivals Zomato and FoodPanda focus on growth after receiving funds
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