09 August 2023, Mumbai

Platform reports profitability

Meesho, a Bengaluru-based platform specializing in value commerce, achieved profitability in July 2023, marking a significant milestone.

The company demonstrated impressive growth, with a 54% increase in revenue and a commendable 43% rise in order volume over the past year.

Notably, Meesho is the pioneering horizontal ecommerce platform in India to attain profitability. This achievement can be attributed to factors including robust order volume expansion, improved monetization, and strategic cost reduction.

Revenue growth & order volume growth

Over the last twelve months, Meesho experienced a substantial 43% increase in order volumes, exceeding one billion orders.

Particularly remarkable is the 120% growth in non-fashion categories within the same period. Crucially, Meesho's profitability strategy involved an 80% reduction in customer acquisition costs (CAC) and marketing spending year-on-year, along with a 15% reduction in employees in May as part of cost-cutting measures.

Nuances

Valued at $4.4 billion and backed by around $1.06 billion in equity funding from investors like SoftBank, Prosus, and Sequoia, Meesho serves 140 million transacting customers, processing 3.5 million daily orders.

Notably, it refrains from charging commissions to sellers, offering diverse categories such as apparel, electronics, and home essentials.

Meesho's profitable milestone holds significance in the Indian ecommerce industry, positioning the company for sustained growth and a competitive stance against industry giants like Flipkart and Amazon.

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07 August 2023, Mumbai

Unveiling

The Latest Store Additions at Mall of Ranchi

The recently launched Levi’s store is now open and features a captivating collection of denim jeans, jackets, shorts, graphic t-shirts, sweaters, and other essential casual western wear.

Discover; Meanwhile, Biba, the renowned women’s and girl’s clothing brand, has also made its grand entrance, showcasing a wide array of clothing, accessories, and sleepwear.

For those seeking smart casual ensembles and office attire, the new Arrow store has you covered with a diverse selection.

This expansion of well-known pan-India brands into the Tier 3 city of Ranchi underscores the growing appetite for branded fashion in rural areas of India.

Promising

Situated in the promising industrial hub of Jharkhand, The mall, initiated by Pranami Group, a prominent real estate and construction company, celebrated its inauguration in late July.

With its roots dating back to Bijay Kumar Agarwal's establishment of the business in Ranchi in 2002, Pranami Group excels in providing both commercial and residential properties.

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02 August 2023, Mumbai

The rise of Tier II cities is not a new phenomenon in India as the overburdened Tier I cities are already groaning under over-population, high cost of living, and infrastructure that wasn’t built to sustain such a large population.

As India’s economy grows and new manufacturing and service hubs spring up, Tier II cities have their own growing talent pool and are delivering work at par with their Tier I city counterparts.

A great bonus is that professionals living in Tier II cities have a higher disposable income in many cases due to the lower living costs associated with these towns.

Commercial real estate developers riding on the quest for retail spaces in these cities poured in and up came the malls.

And then e-commerce unlocked the craze for “shop until you drop” with its never-ending variety, access, robust pricing, and favorable return policies. E-commerce hit the right spots and let people flock by the droves, a delight for smaller brands with pan-India ambitions. 

Growing retail among Tier II consumers

Data has it that residents of India’s Tier II cities and beyond are spending 2 hours 25 minutes per week shopping online, totaling 124 hours a year per individual (women tend to spend 149 hours annually).

Of course, Gen Z shoppers lead the consumer segment shopping online with 51 percent whereas millennials are at 47 percent.

CyberMedia Research (CMR), a technology market research and advisory firm, conducted a consumer study in May, with a sample size of 3,000-odd consumers across eight Tier I and II cities.

Aspirational

The survey titled ‘CMR Consumer Aspirations and e-Commerce in Bharat’ revealed these figures. The research also revealed how deeply Amazon and Flipkart have penetrated household in these cities with 72 and 70 percent of purchases being made on these two platforms.

Meesho is a distant third at 30 percent whereas JioMart and Reliance Retail take up the last two top-five slots with 20 and 14 percent respectively.

The two top drivers prompting online shopping sprees are at 57 per cent – attractive prices and convenient exchange and returns. Irresistible offers and deals clock in as the third most key trigger at 49 per cent.

Clothes and accessories are the leading categories of online purchases by residents of Tier II towns with 62 per cent of share of wallet whereas personal electronic gadgets and devices come in as second with 54 per cent.

Surprisingly, beauty products occupy the fifth position in the top five with 21 per cent whereas groceries and health & personal care come in third and fourth respectively, with 33 and 23 per cent.

On the back of this report, CMR issued a statement that in a large, diverse market such as India, both online and offline retail will continue to coexist. As consumers continue to gain digital fluency, the e-commerce boom will also significantly benefit small business owners. This will contribute to the rise of India’s trillion-dollar internet economy.

E-commerce valued at $ 325 billion by 2030

While the value of India’s e-commerce was a mere $70 billion in 2022, it is projected to grow into a $ 325 billion sector by 2030, as there seems to be no slowdown in buying things online – as per Deloitte India report ‘Future of Retail’.

The report states retail penetration is projected to grow at an extraordinary rate and it would outpace offline retail by 2.5 times in the next decade – the key drivers of this phenomenal growth may be attributed largely to residents of Tier II cities and Tier III towns.

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08 August 2023, Mumbai

The collaborative report from Shiprocket and ONDC reveals that Indian consumer spending is set to exceed $4 trillion by 2030, driven by a robust 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Factors Driving Exponential Growth

The report, titled 'eCommerce In The New Bharat And Its Future,' was unveiled at Shiprocket's esteemed SHIVIR summit in 2023.

It highlights key drivers including technological advancements, increased internet penetration, a thriving local consumer ecosystem, evolving spending patterns, rising female workforce participation, and supportive policies like Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The report emphasizes the pivotal role of India's youthful demographic, with a median age of 31 by 2030, in propelling this growth. The study underscores the potential in targeting millennials and Gen Z, projected to form 77% of India's population by 2030.

Categories like food, housing, apparel, transportation, communication, and personal care are expected to witness a twofold spending increase.

E-commerce Dominance in India

E-commerce is noted as a crucial catalyst for this rise, as almost 80% of consumers favor online marketplaces. The report highlights 76% of consumers opting for prepayment, with UPI as the leading choice (57%), followed by credit cards (31%), and other methods like wallets and net banking.

Digital adoption; UPI's popularity is expected to reduce cash transactions by 34% and boost digital payments by 88% by 2026. Fashion and lifestyle currently dominate online shopping, accounting for 48% of purchases, followed by electronics (32%) and groceries (30%).

Discover India

Over 50% of Indian consumers prioritize product quality in their online purchases. Despite growth potential, the report reveals that 72% of Indian brands haven't explored international sales.

Although 38% find overseas markets appealing, an equal percentage are uncertain about the process. Both local and international consumers are keen on Indian products.

About 40% of brands focus on multiple sales channels, and 38% identify efficient logistics as a significant challenge for both domestic and international operations.

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02 August 2023, Mumbai

Reliance Retail Ventures currently has a lot going on for it. On a positive note, profits have jumped 18.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023-24 to Rs 2,448 crore; gross revenue rose by 19.5 per cent year-on-year led by its grocery, electronics excluding personal devices, and fashion and lifestyle divisions.

Aided by growing footfalls, new store additions, and high conversions, Reliance Retail posted a 12.9 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 2,415 crore in Q4 of FY23, up from Rs 2,139 crore a year ago. For the year ending FY23, net profits grew 30 per cent to Rs 9,181 crore.  

Meanwhile, Reliance Retail is refreshing its flagship high-street retail store brand Trends and as per media reports, it will launch a value-brand in the fashion division code-named Yousta which will go head-to-head with the Tata Group’s Zudio.

The plan is a big one and includes establishing a national footprint through 200 to 250 outlets in the coming years, with the brand launch happening in August 2023 at an undisclosed mall in Hyderabad. The plan also includes opening a 10,000 sq. ft. flagship store in Delhi.

Value fashion market a lure

The mass-clothing market in India has largely been through the unorganized sector and as lifestyle aspirations grow fast and furious across the country. This customer base promises great growth opportunities because of its sheer numbers.

Value fashion is the ‘new’ lucrative side of fashion retail that conglomerates operating particularly in garment retail are seriously interested in.

As Harminder Dingh, Co-founder of retail consultancy Wazir Advisors explains, while premium lifestyles and therefore premium brands are penetrating the Indian market at a healthy rate, 90 per cent of India’s overall consumption is going to happen in the value space. The opportunity in fashion is huge as millions of Indian consumers move up from unbranded apparel to branded fashion and lifestyle products.

In the works

Before Reliance Retail’s foray into this space, the Tata Group and Shoppers Stop were already working in this space. 1India Family Mart and V-Mart, the two dominant organised players in the large value market are now bracing themselves to rattle sabres with the corporate Goliaths.

The Tata Group’s Zudio, positioned as affordable fashion is on a quick expansion drive with plans to open 130 new outlets by the end of 2023, hoping to cash in as much as possible during the festive season.

With 350 stores nationwide in the bag, Zudio will have nearly 500 stores by the end of the year. Zudio seems to have cracked the code of India's fashion industry.

Value retailing

The $500-million fashion brand, which was unknown two years ago, is now giving established retailers like Westside, Pantaloons, and Max a run for their money. It has nailed value pricing by offering everything under 999.

Shoppers Stop, not to be left behind in the race has already rolled out its brand InTune in the value fashion segment and operates two stores in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Meanwhile, Reliance Retail has not yet divulged the code-name Yousta’s pricing range.

Refreshing Trends to capture the affordable fashion market

As value-fashion-led markets expand across the country in volumes, Reliance Retail is busy nurturing its already-in-play brand Trends. Spread across 1,100 cities across India, Reliance Retail already has 2,300 Trends stores, much more than Zudio.

The Trends chain is now undergoing a facelift to be more attractive and style-relevant to Indian Gen Zers, its base customers.

The facelift focuses beyond the design of the apparel – self-checkout counters, electronic shelf labels et al to attract its young customer base. Trends unveiled the new offer and format by opening a new outlet in Surat.

As the heartland of India moves into labels and brands, the conglomerates with their inherent advantages are set to win this one.

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Unveiling

Cantabil Retail India Ltd., a prominent apparel manufacturer and retailer, has unveiled its 5th retail outlet in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Covering 1850 sqft., the store at Plot No 5, Amar Sanjay Housing Society, Manish Nagar, offers formal, casual, and ultra-casual clothing for all at competitive prices.

Expanding retail footprints

With eyes on expanding, Cantabil aims to achieve 500 stores across India by 2023 end.

Management of Cantabil Retail India Ltd. expressed excitement that the new Nagpur store continues its legacy of premium clothing in contemporary style.

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31 July 2023, Mumbai

Max Fashion, the Dubai-based international fashion chain, has announced its ambitious expansion strategy to add 100 new stores by the end of the coming year.

Plans for rapid growth

The chain aims to extend its presence to more than 200 cities across India, with a focus on top-tier and developing urban centers.

Targeting India's key markets

This plan follows the recent inauguration of Max Fashion's largest store in Kochi, spreading across an impressive 25,000 square feet.

The new store in Kochi aims to strengthen the company's foothold in South India and capture the market in Kerala.

Range for all

With this addition, Max Fashion now boasts a remarkable 465 stores in India and a total of 850 globally.

The Kochi store will also feature a 5000 square feet Home Centre section, catering to all home needs. Presently, Max Fashion offers an extensive collection of trendy apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children.

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