Brokerages have maintained their ratings and target prices on FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the parent company of Nykaa, after the fashion and beauty online retailer posted in-line numbers during the October-December quarter (Q3) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). They have, however, cut earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) estimates after weak demand weighed across line items in Q3. "While revenue growth was healthy at 22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), gross margins declined 90 basis points (bps), weighed by higher discounting in own brands and lower ad income.
The groups plan to take on well-entrenched players like Amazon, Flipkart, and Paytm by merging their offline businesses with e-commerce initiatives.
E-commerce major Amazon on Wednesday said it will acquire Prione Business Services - its joint venture firm with Catamaran, subject to requisite regulatory approvals. Prione Business Services was formed in 2014 and was coming up for renewal on May 19, 2022. In August this year, Amazon and NR Narayana Murthy's Catamaran announced that they will not continue their JV beyond May 2022. The two parties had not disclosed the reason behind the decision.
Walmart-owned Flipkart on Wednesday said it has set up a new fulfilment centre (warehouse) in West Bengal, its second-largest in the state, that will help in creating nearly 3,500 direct jobs. Spread across an area of over 2.2 lakh sq ft, the new facility in Dankuni will cater to the needs of Flipkart and Myntra customers in the region and bolster the e-commerce major's efforts to ramps up supply chain infrastructure in the eastern part of the country. The facility will also help thousands of sellers offer a wider selection and enable faster deliveries of customer orders within the region and neighbouring states while also helping create national market access, according to a statement.
US retail giant Walmart has said it is "open to an IPO" for its Indian e-commerce arm Flipkart but there is "no specific timeline" for the share sale. Both Flipkart and payment app PhonePe continue to do well, Walmart International president and CEO Judith McKenna said while speaking at the DB Access Global Consumer Conference on June 7. "We always made it clear from the day we made the acquisition or the investment, that we would be open to an IPO," said McKenna. However, she noted that there is no specific timeline for the IPO.
E-commerce companies managed to beat the odds by adopting a flexible approach in terms of transforming their business models and leveraging emerging technologies. They had to constantly align their objectives with evolving customer needs. With companies hiring thousands of temporary workers, expanding to smaller cities, and launching new products, e-commerce giants gird up to celebrate the peak festival season without Covid restrictions after a three-year time-out.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday issued notices over the petition filed by e-commerce major Amazon, challenging a recent order passed by the fair trade regulator CCI that suspended the over-two-year-old approval for its deal with Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL). The appellate tribunal has directed the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and FCPL to file their reply in next 10 days and Amazon to file a rejoinder over it. It has directed to list the matter on February 2, for next hearing.
The Tata group on Thursday launched its super app, Tata Neu, bringing all its brands in one platform as it seeks to play a major role in the Indian ecommerce space currently dominated by the likes of Amazon and Flipkart.
E-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal have to ensure that the country of origin is displayed on imported products sold on their platforms, the Centre told the Delhi high court on Wednesday.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Wednesday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on e-commerce firm Flipkart for allowing sale of substandard domestic pressure cookers on its platform, in violation of mandatory standards. Headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, the CCPA has directed Flipkart to recall all such 598 pressure cookers sold on its platform, reimburse their buyers, and submit a compliance report within 45 days. The central government routinely notifies the Quality Control Orders (QCOs), specifying compulsory conformity to a standard and use of the standard mark for a product to protect consumers from the risk of suffering injury and harm and in the interest of the public at large.
Meesho has emerged as the second-largest player by order share in this year's festive sales till now, surpassing Amazon, while Flipkart Group platforms topped the market in both orders and gross merchandise value (GMV), according to according to a report by consultancy firm Redseer. It said Flipkart Group maintained its leadership position with a 62 per cent market share in terms of GMV during the first week of the festive season, followed by Amazon which had 26 per cent share, while the remaining 12 per cent was distributed among other e-commerce players. In terms of order volume, Flipkart Group again leads the market with about 49 per cent share and SoftBank-backed Meesho ranks second with about 21 per cent order share, according to Redseer.
Adani Enterprises, the flagship firm of billionaire Gautam Adani's group, has bought a close to 30 per cent stake in Start Enterprises Pvt Ltd, which owns the online train ticket booking platform Trainman. Adani Enterprises last month announced that it has signed a pact to acquire 100 per cent of SEPL In a stock exchange filing on Saturday, Adani Enterprises said Adani Digital Labs Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has bought a 29.81 per cent stake in SEPL for Rs 3.56 crore.
The Centre on Friday said it will sell 'Bharat Rice' in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has also directed traders to disclose rice/paddy stock, as part of its efforts to control prices that have risen by around 15 per cent in the last one year. In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra exuded confidence that these two measures along with the various restrictions of exports will help in cooling down the prices. Seeking to dispel market rumours, he categorically said the government has no plans to lift restrictions on rice exports any time soon.
Aditya Birla Group has announced its foray into the branded jewellery space with an investment of around Rs 5,000 crore and will battle it out with Titan's Tanishq and Reliance Industries- Reliance Jewel. The business will be housed in a new venture, "Novel Jewel", and will open large-format exclusive stores across the country with its in-house jewellery brands, the company said in its release. "The new venture will seek to transform customer experience by creating an aspirational national brand with unique designs and a strong regional flavour.
The 47th GST Council meeting that is currently underway is slated to discuss a host of issues, including a mechanism for compensating states for revenue loss, tax rate tweaks in some items and relaxed registration norms for small online suppliers. Further, the meeting of the Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, will also clear levying the highest tax of 28 per cent on online games, casinos and horse racing, besides, measures to curb tax evasion, especially devising ways to tackle high-risk taxpayers in GST. "The meeting is being chaired by Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance @nsitharaman and many important decisions are expected to be taken at the meet," PIB Chandigarh tweeted.
On Saturday, an online marijuana sale racket was busted by Bhind police in Madhya Pradesh, leading to the arrest of two persons and seizure of 20 kilograms of the contraband, according to an official. The accused were operating the racket through a leading e-commerce firm, which received two-thirds of the profits generated, as per the official.
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.
The proposed e-commerce rule book issued recently by the ministry of consumer affairs does not mention foreign companies or foreign direct investment (FDI) at any place, unlike most other government guidelines for the sector so far. That is a heartening development since the latest proposals could be fine-tuned as e-commerce policy.
Food delivery aggregator Swiggy's losses widened 2.24 times to Rs 3,628.9 crore during last financial year, as its expenses surged 227 per cent in a year. This is even as the decacorn's revenue jumped more than twofold to Rs 5,704.9 crore in FY22, according to details from company research platform Tofler. While the company's losses surged from a base of Rs 1,616.9 crore in FY21, its total expense in FY22 touched Rs 9,748.7 crore, from Rs 4,292.8 crore a year ago.
Shares of Bajaj Finance sprinted 4.7 per cent to Rs 7,732 per share on the BSE in Thursday's (January 4) intra-day trade as the non-bank finance company's (NBFC's) December quarter business update reflected minimal impact of the Reserve Bank of India's ban on two of its lending products. The shares, eventually, ended 4.4 per cent higher at Rs 7,710 per share as against 0.69 per cent gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. The NBFC's asset under management (AUM) topped the Rs 3-trillion-mark at the end of December 2023, swelling by roughly Rs 20,700 crore (35 per cent year-on-year) to hit Rs 3.11 trillion-mark.
JM Financial, Axis Bank, and Bank of America have been roped in as the bankers to run the mandate, say sources.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has reserved its order on Amazon's plea challenging the decision of regulator CCI to suspend approval for the e-commerce major's deal with Future Coupons. In December last year, Competition Commission of India (CCI) suspended the approval given by it in 2019 for Amazon's deal to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL). The regulator had said that Amazon suppressed information while seeking clearances for the transaction back then and also slapped a fine of Rs 202 crore on the company.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, which operates online beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa, on Monday said it has fixed a price band of Rs 1,085-1,125 per share for its initial public offer (IPO) that opens for subscription later this week. The IPO will open for subscription on October 28 and conclude on November 1. IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 630 crore (fresh issue) and an offer for sale of up to 41,972,660 equity shares being offered by the selling shareholders (offer for sale or OFS), a statement said.
With a potential for a 10x growth in pre-tax profit from the business over the next decade, retail including e-commerce will be the next growth engine for Reliance Industries Ltd, Goldman Sachs said in a report. After growing 5x over FY16-FY20, RIL's core retail revenue growth has taken a pause in FY21 (April 2020 to March 2021) due to Covid related macro headwinds including lower footfalls. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani used the period to build strong digital capabilities of the retail business while continuing to expand its physical reach.
'In India, the GenAI startup ecosystem is unfolding with remarkable speed, signalling a new era of technological advancement and investment opportunities.'
Tomato prices in the retail markets of the national capital declined to an average Rs 150 per kg on Monday from Rs 178 per kg on Sunday, according to the government data. However, e-commerce players such as Amazon, Big Basket and Otipy are selling tomatoes at Rs 170-190 per kg in Delhi-NCR. Blinkit is selling at Rs 138 per kg. The Centre is selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 80 per kg in Delhi-NCR and some other cities through the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
Nearly two million postcards and eight million letters pass through India's post offices daily.
Logistic players have seen a sharp correction at the bourses over the past six months as intense competition from new-age-tech startups, higher freight rates, and weak macros dented listed players' growth outlook. Analysts warn that the emergence of tech-based startups could weigh on organised players' profit-pool, and can potentially erode their market share. Thus, a stock-specific strategy would be prudent at this juncture with focus on companies that are rapidly innovating and investing in technology.
This year, festive sales are expected to push up the annual gross merchandise value of e-commerce companies to around $38 billion, a 40 per cent growth over the previous year.
Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from sale by the e-commerce companies from the consolidated revised guidelines, which listed the exemption given to the services and people from the purview of the lockdown.
The government on Thursday imposed import restrictions on laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra small form factor computers, and servers with immediate effect. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification said exemption from import licensing is provided up to 20 items per consignment for R&D, testing, benchmarking and evaluation, repair and return and product development purposes.
Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday ordered registration of an First Information Report against officials of Amazon over the suicide of a youth who allegedly obtained poisonous sulphas tablets through the e-commerce site.
'Due to rural stress, volumes continue to remain an issue for the industry, and we are yet to see any revival in demand.'
The GST Council in its meeting next week is likely to consider a proposal for making changes in the monthly tax payment form -- GSTR-3B, which would include auto-population of outward supplies from sales return and non-editable tax payment table, officials said. The move would help curb the menace of fake billing, whereby sellers would show higher sales in GSTR-1 to enable purchasers to claim input tax credit (ITC), but report suppressed sales in GSTR-3B to lower GST liability. Currently, GSTR-3B of a taxpayer includes auto drafted input tax credit (ITC) statements based on inward and outward B2B supplies and also red flags any mismatch between GSTR-1 and 3B.
Cyber insurance policies cover ransomware attacks and the ensuing damages, including ransom payments, data restoration costs, forensic and other first-party costs, and loss of profit due to business interruption.
Coupang, a prominent online retail giant headquartered in the United States (US), is gearing up to establish a cutting-edge technology centre in India, aiming to hire several dozen skilled professionals by the end of the year, Business Standard has learnt. The intended expansion involves the recruitment of software engineers across various domains, underscoring Coupang's commitment to extend its global reach. The Indian team will support the company's global technology team, sources said.
In its latest edition, which will hit the stands on October 3, Panchjanya has carried a cover story that is highly critical of Amazon.
India's e-commerce market is poised to grow by 84 per cent to $111 billion by 2024 on the back of accelerated adoption of digital technologies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by fintech firm FIS said on Wednesday. The report noted that countries, including India, have seen a shift in consumer behaviour caused by COVID-19, and new payment trends are shown to be on the rise. FIS, in its 2021 Global Payments Report, examined current and future payment trends across 41 countries. India's e-commerce market is projected to grow by 84 per cent between now and 2024 to about $111 billion (from about $60 billion in 2020) driven by mobile shopping, which is projected to grow 21 per cent annually over the next four years, the report said.
Singapore-based e-commerce platform Shopee - that launched in India only in December 2021 - has decided to close operations in the country. The official reason given by Shopee, which is controlled by NYSE-listed Sea Ltd, is changing global sentiments. In a statement, it said, "In view of the global market uncertainties, we have decided to close risks of our early-stage Shopee India initiative." The e-commerce platform has been hit by growing opposition from trade associations led by Praveen Khandelwal as well as homegrown social commerce start-ups.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday rejected Amazon's plea challenging the decision of fair trade regulator CCI to suspend the approval for the e-commerce major's deal with Future Coupons. A two-member bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Ashok Kumar Mishra, upheld the findings of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and directed it to pay the penalty of Rs 200 crore imposed on Amazon by the fair trade regulator within 45 days from Monday. "This appellate tribunal is in complete agreement" with the CCI, the two-member bench said.
