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In a block deal, 3.4 per cent equity (or 2.1 crore shares) of <keyword id="6357120" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="paytm" source="Orion">Paytm</keyword>'s parent company One97 <keyword id="4584578" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="communications-ltd" source="Orion">Communications Ltd</keyword> (OCL) changed hands on Friday. Sources in the know of the development say that Chinese multinational Alibaba has sold its entire stake in Paytm in today's block deal. With this sale, Alibaba is no longer a stakeholder in Paytm. The company had sold around 3.1 per cent of 6.26 per cent equity in Paytm in January. This latest deal almost completes Alibaba's exit from <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> since it had earlier sold its stakes in <keyword id="830092" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zomato" source="Orion">Zomato</keyword> and <keyword id="964794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bigbasket" source="Orion">BigBasket</keyword>. The news will bring cheer to the market as it ends the Chinese stakeholding in the homegrown Paytm. Paytm's shares have been rallying in the last few days since it announced operating profitability in its Q3FY23 results with EBITDA before ESOP cost at Rs 31 crore, significantly ahead of its guidance of September 2023. The fintech giant revenue from operations increased to Rs 2,062 crore (no <keyword id="6358921" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="upi" source="Orion">UPI</keyword> incentive recorded this quarter), a growth of 42 per cent on a yearly basis. This was followed by Paytm's robust operating update of January 2023 that it filed with the stock exchange on February 8. The company has continued to witness sustained growth momentum in its key payments and lending business. Paytm strengthened its leadership in offline payments with the deployment of 6.1 million devices while its average MTU at 89 million registered a 29 per cent growth for the month of January 2023. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/what-is-formula-e-all-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-inaugural-race-in-india/articleshow/97795878.cms">What is Formula E? All you need to know ahead of inaugural race in India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/rrr-kgf-chapter-2-game-of-thrones-spider-man-no-way-home-among-most-pirated-content-in-india-in-2022/articleshow/97795322.cms">RRR, KGF Chapter 2, Game of Thrones &amp; Spider-Man: No Way Home among most-pirated content in India in 2022</a>

Chinese multinational Alibaba exits India, sells its entire stake in Paytm

From home sales and jewellery to power consumption, these are all the sectors that are back to pre-pandemic levels

As companies from <keyword id="10926" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> to Amazon put their top dollar in serving <keyword id="9999588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="daily-grocery">daily grocery</keyword> at your doorstep, a new report said on Friday that online grocery is going to be the next battleground for growth, expanding to over $18 billion by 2024. According to a joint report by a joint initiative by Bengaluru-based <keyword id="9999587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="market-consulting-firm-redseer">market consulting firm RedSeer</keyword> and <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">Bigbasket</keyword> (Brand Intelligence), driven by the significant rise in organic adoption during Covid-19, <keyword id="8289993" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="egrocery">eGrocery</keyword> has been on a surge with clocking 1.7 times in gross merchandise value (GMV) in June this year as compared to January. Online grocery will remain steady for the rest of the year to reach more than $3 billion, the report mentioned. "The industry has seen more than 70 per cent ARR (annual recurring revenue) jumps in the last quarter across categories. This brings the opportunity to serve a larger set of customers, and some challenges with it," said Hari Menon, co-founder and CEO of BigBasket. The report found that demand for comfort foods like noodles and cookies, immunity boosters like lemon and hygiene products like sanitizers picked up after the pandemic while essentials remained strong. Snacks and branded foods grew by 5 per cent quarterly pre-Covid, however growth jumped to 75 per cent in the June quarter. Within snacks and branded foods, biscuits and cookies was the largest sub-category and grew the most in Q2. Beverages grew by 2 per cent quarterly pre-Covid, however growth jumped to 50 per cent in Q2. "Personal Care grew by 5 per cert quarterly pre-Covid but jumped to 24 per cent in Q2 due to Covid. "We have observed that traditional brands which pivoted quickly to be digitally ready brands have seen 2x+ jump in sales compared to offline brands. We are excited to have this opportunity to serve the ecosystem," said Anil Kumar, founder and CEO of consulting firm RedSeer. Home utilities grew by 6 per cent quarterly pre-Covid but jumped to 11 per cent in Q2. Within home utilities, detergents and dishwash were the largest sub-category but grew the least in the last quarter. According to the report, home utilities were not severely affected by the pandemic. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/the-best-wildlife-photos-taken-this-year-reveal-a-pair-of-puffins-fighting-foxes-and-a-perfectly-camouflaged-hippo/slidelist/78297252.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">The best wildlife photos taken this year reveal a pair of puffins, fighting foxes, and a perfectly camouflaged hippo</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-senate-plans-to-subpoena-the-ceos-of-facebook-google-and-twitter-to-testify-before-congress-next-month/articleshow/78302874.cms">The Senate plans to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter to testify before Congress next month</a>

RIL and Amazon are looking at India's $18 billion online grocery market to be their next battleground

<ul><li>The Softbank-backed startup is planning to head for a listing in the US through a special purpose acquisition company.</li><li><keyword id="2466939" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Grofers">Grofers</keyword> is now seeking a valuation of $1 billion.</li><li>Here’s a deep dive into Grofers’ business.</li></ul>India’s grocery market is estimated to be $600 billion and less than 5% of it is organised, according to HDFC Securities. Grofers has a tiny sliver of that small pie. It is one of the top 10 organised retailers in India but it’s still a tough space to compete in. Who leads in any competitive business also decides who gets a bulk of the investors’ money. In that, Softbank-backed grocery startup Grofers is running against <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword>, backed by the mighty Mukesh Ambani (Asia’s second richest man), and an early bird like <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword>, a unicorn which the $100 billion Tata Group is in talks with for a majority stake. <div type="image" title="Grocery." msid="80874973" hostid="261"></div> Just as tight the competition is in everyday business, raising money may be as difficult as a spate of initial public offerings (IPO) from the retail ⁠— both online and offline⁠— space are in the works, at different stages. Therefore, as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-11/softbank-backed-grofers-said-to-weigh-listing-via-u-s-spac-deal?srnd=technology-vp&amp;sref=zNmRQ0gk">reports suggest</a>, Grofers may opt for a listing in the US through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The reason why a SPAC is better than an IPO is best described by Don Butler, Managing Director at Thomvest Ventures. “An IPO is basically a company looking for money, while a SPAC is money looking for a company,” he recently <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/spac-vs-traditional-ipo-investors-see-benefits-of-blank-check-companies/">said</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is SPAC?" comment="subhead" text="What is SPAC?">What is SPAC?</cmsannotation> SPAC companies are generally formed as “blank cheque” firms with the specific purpose to raise capital through a market debut to acquire another company. Grofers could either raise money from investors by selling shares directly. Or, it could sell to a company that is already listed. When a deal is formed through SPAC, the companies have two years to complete the acquisition. If the deal fails to go through, the SPAC will have to return all money to the investors. Through a SPAC deal, companies don’t have to go through the traditional paperwork hassles needed for an IPO. There are many advantages of opting for a SPAC deal, first the company (here Grofers) would get direct expertise from a company that has been in the business of taking firms to the public markets, and SPACS also acquires companies at a premium, giving more value to the initial investors in the company. And that’s how the Softbank-backed Grofers is now seeking a valuation of $1 billion. The startup had last raised funding in May 2018 when it got a $220 million cheque from SoftBank and was valued around $700 million. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Lead investors in Grofers </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SoftBank Vision Fund </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sequoia Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bennett Coleman </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Abu Dhabi Capital Group </td></tr></tbody></table> Since then, the startup has had several talks for funding and acquisitions with rival companies like Zomato, Paytm Mall, none of which have worked out. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Some of the world’s richest people are competing for a slice of India’s growing online retail" comment="subhead" text="Some of the world’s richest people are competing for a slice of India’s growing online retail">Some of the world’s richest people are competing for a slice of India’s growing online retail</cmsannotation> India’s grocery segment which is a $545 billion market, according to Goldman Sachs. It has several players eyeing for the highest market share. Grofers, which until recently enjoyed being in a mostly two-player market, suddenly has many more competitors to watch out for. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Who Grofers is pitted against </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s JioMart </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">World’s richest man Jeff Bezos’s Amazon </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">One of the world’s biggest retailers Walmart-owned Flipkart </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">One of India’s biggest conglomerates Tata which is looking to acquire BigBasket and is keen on creating a superapp </td></tr></tbody></table> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="A deep dive into Grofers’ business" comment="subhead" text="A deep dive into Grofers’ business">A deep dive into Grofers’ business</cmsannotation> Grofers in the last financial year reported an annualized Gross Merchandising Volume of $600 million. Even while Grofers in January 2020 had said that it had achieved breakeven in cities like Delhi and Kolkata, it continued to bleed red in its overall business. As much as 75% of its revenue comes from the top four cities alone. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Grofers </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Revenue </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Loss </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY20 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹176.7 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹637.4 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY19 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹83.6 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹448 crore </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Tofler During the COVID-19 pandemic, tables turned for Grofers as it did for other e-grocery startups like BigBasket, JioMart etc. In a Goldman Sachs report from November 2020, Grofers had said that its revenues were up by 85% from April 2020, as the demand for online grocery grew. “...it has been proﬁtable (contribution margin) on every order delivered since the start of COVID-19,” said the report. Snapshot of Grofers <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Monthly transacting users </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Monthly Active Users </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Basket size </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Presence </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.5 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8-10 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$28 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">29 cities </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Goldman Sachs <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Betting on private labels" comment="subhead" text="Betting on private labels">Betting on private labels</cmsannotation> Grofers has also been betting big on its private labels business, with the aim of running its business purely with its own brands. In April 2020, the company said that it would pump in $15 million into its private label business. And it made business sense as private labels are high gross margin products for the company, as much as 20% higher in consumer packaged goods and 5% higher in staples, according to the Goldman Sachs report. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/spicejet-and-indigo-stocks-take-off-as-a-2-hour-flight-could-now-cost-up-to-13000/articleshow/80873865.cms">SpiceJet and IndiGo stocks take off as a 2-hour flight could now cost up to ₹13,000</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/chaos-at-upgrad-mass-resignations-pour-in-as-angry-employees-refuse-to-relocate-instantly/articleshow/80824504.cms">Chaos at upGrad⁠— mass resignations pour in as angry employees refuse to relocate instantly</a>

Here’s why Grofers may allow an American 'blank cheque' firm to buy it out instead of fighting Ambani and BigBasket for IPO

New Delhi, After hacking masked credit and debit card data of crores of Juspay users, the same hacker possibly known as '<keyword id="9206309" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="shinyhunters">ShinyHunters</keyword>' is now selling databases belonging to three more Indian companies on <keyword id="1929208" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="dark-web">Dark Web</keyword>, independent cyber security researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia claimed on Wednesday. According to Rajaharia who first broke the JusPay hacking, the three Indian companies are e-marketplace <keyword id="2901238" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Clickindia">ClickIndia</keyword>, <keyword id="2461546" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="FinTech">fintech</keyword> startup for small business owners ChqBook and wedding planning website WedMeGood. "Nearly 80 lakh users of ClickIndia (name, email, mobile and other personal details), 10 lakh users of ChqBook (name, email, mobile, full address and other personal details) and 13 lakh users of WedMeGood (name, email, hashed password, other sensitive personal information)," Rajaharia told. Like JusPay, these three companies have also not allegedly told the users about the data breach, claimed the security researcher. The names of the three Indian companies were first reported by BleepingComputer website, saying that a "data breach broker is selling the allegedly stolen user records for 26 companies on a hacker forum". ChqBook denied the attack while the other two companies were yet to react to the report. According to <keyword id="10553252" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sonit-jain">Sonit Jain</keyword>, CEO of <keyword id="9727813" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gajshield-infotech">GajShield Infotech</keyword>, such incidents, once confirmed irrespective of data sensitivity, leaves a negative impression over the digital payment platforms. "Simple data like email ID and phone number which may not look sensitive can turn out to be lethal means of financial fraud at personal level, if fallen in wrong hands," Jain told. Bengaluru-based digital payments gateway JusPay said in an earlier statement that the company verified that their Secure Data Store, which hosts the confidential card numbers, was not accessed or compromised. "Thus, all our customers were secure from any kind of risk. Our priority was to inform the merchants and as a measure of abundant precaution, they were issued fresh API keys though it was later verified that even the API keys in use were safe," the company said. According to Rajaharia, the hacker is the same who leaked <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword> data, previously reported by the cybersecurity firm Cyble. In November last year, one of India's popular online grocery stores BigBasket, found that its data of over 20 million users had been hacked and were on sale on the dark web for over $40,000. "Now, the same hacker group is asking about $10,000 in Bitcoin for the BigBasket database and is also selling the three companies' databases," Rajaharia said. "There is a strong connection between all these recent data leaks, including BigBasket," he added. US-based third-party cyber intelligence firm Cyble claimed in its official blog that though the alleged breach occurred on October 14, it detected it on October 30, validated it on October 31 and informed BigBasket on November 1. The user database was estimated to be about 20 million, with names, email ids, password hashes, pin, contact numbers, addresses, date of birth, location and IP addresses of login. JusPay on Tuesday said that about 3.5 crore records with masked card data and card fingerprint were compromised by the hacker and the claim of 10 crore cardholders' data being affected is "incorrect". SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/boat-raises-over-100-million-from-warburg-pincus-analysts-expect-the-headphone-brand-to-double-its-revenue-to-10-billion-this-financial-year/articleshow/80126200.cms">boAt raises over $100 million from Warburg Pincus — analysts expect the headphone brand to double its revenue to ₹10 billion this financial year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/oneplus-fitness-band-india-launch-date-price-and-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/80129498.cms">OnePlus Band India launch date, price and everything you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-will-stop-working-if-you-do-not-agree-to-its-new-terms-and-privacy-policies/articleshow/80127866.cms">WhatsApp will stop working if you do not agree to its new terms and privacy policies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/toyota-fortuner-suv-2021-launched-in-india-with-new-price-design-and-features-check-details-here/articleshow/80129932.cms">Toyota Fortuner 2021 launched at a starting price of ₹29.98 lakh — here’s all you need to know from looks to specification and features</a>

After Juspay, ClickIndia, ChqBook and WedMeGood have been reportedly hacked — data of over 10 million users up for sale on the dark web

<ul><li>The e-commerce debut of <keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword>, is being touted by analysts as the real digital powerhouse for the RIL family. </li><li>Having started with a beta launch in December 2019, <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword> officially rolled out to users across the country in May, 2020. </li><li>JioMart went into a fast expansion mode during the coronavirus lockdown in India and has managed to gain an early mover advantage in the country’s smaller towns.</li></ul>JioMart – <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s ambitious e-commerce bet has taken off and how! Having started with a beta launch in December 2019, JioMart officially rolled out to users across the country in May, 2020 and it already has a million daily active users, and 2.3 million active users every month, according to a JPMorgan report. The same report said that, JioMart has already crossed BigBasket and Grofers in terms of daily active users and falls behind Swiggy. Business Insider reached out to BigBasket and Grofers for their comments regarding their daily active users, both the players declined to comment. India’s online grocery segment: The players <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Launch date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Presence (no. of cities) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">App downloads </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amazon Fresh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">August, 2019 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">9 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">314 million (for Amazon) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flipkart Supermart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">November, 2017 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">361 million (for Flipkart) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Swiggy Stores </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">February, 2019 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">89 million (for Swiggy) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BigBasket </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">October, 2011 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">26 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">34 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Grofers </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">December, 2013 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">JioMart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">December, 2019 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">200+ </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4 million </td></tr></tbody></table>As of December 8, 2020. Source: JPMorgan While other entrenched players like Big Basket and Grofers, who have been around for much longer, still have 7-8 times more app downloads, the rise of JioMart in the last six months only reflects the speed at which Ambani has tried to push his <keyword id="436047" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ecommerce">ecommerce</keyword> dream. Since its launch, in every three downloads of any online groceries app, two of them have been the one from the house of Reliance Industries (RIL). <div type="image" title="Jiomart downloads." msid="79922658" hostid="261"></div> Even the mightiest need to hustle sometimes JioMart in India sees competition from many players who have existed and dominated the Indian e-commerce market for a long time – including the likes of Amazon and Flipkart. And so, as Ambani, Asia’s richest man, threw his hat into this ring, he decided to go all out: both in the big cities of India and beyond. JioMart operates with an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/heres-what-gives-jiomart-an-edge-over-its-competitors-according-to-goldman-sachs/articleshow/79054698.cms">omnichannel</a> flow where it has tied up with kirana stores (mom-and-pop stores) and also uses inventory from Reliance Retail outlets. Ambani’s e-commerce bet made a soft launch in December 2019 in select areas of Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan. But as the coronavirus lockdown began and the opportunities in e-grocery became more evident, JioMart was quick to act and expanded to over 200 cities. This fast growth across India has given JioMart an early-mover advantage in India’s smaller towns, say analysts at JP Morgan. Given the progress of JioMart in the first year, analysts at JPMorgan peg that Reliance’s e-commerce business may earn an annual revenue of over $59 billion and the net worth may hit $145 billion in the next ten years. A Goldman Sachs report from November 2020 had pegged this omnichannel capability ⁠— using different channels for distribution, both online and offline ⁠— as the reason for JioMart’s growth. “India has 10 million kirana stores, which account for 90% of grocery retail in the country. JioMart has already launched in more than 200 cities, leveraging Reliance Retail’s store network, with kirana partnerships across 20 cities,” said the Goldman Sachs report. JioMart is not just stretching far and wide, it’s also building strength via partnerships and acquisitions Ambani is not just going for geographic expansion but he is also on a spending spree to boost JioMart’s offerings to its customers. According to JPMorgan, JioMart’s stock keeping units (SKU) is only second to Big Basket. However, the comparison didn’t include players like Flipkart, DMart and other new entrants like Swiggy and Zomato. JioMart, with access to the deep pockets of one of the world’s richest man – Mukesh Ambani, has managed to successfully partner up with another of the world’s richest man – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook pumped in $5.7 billion into Reliance Jio in April 2020, with WhatsApp’s integration with JioMart being a prime focus of the deal. It’s set to be a win-win for both Ambani and Zuckerberg – where Reliance can take advantage of WhatsApp’s 400 million user base to acquire more customers. On the other hand, WhatsApp Pay, Facebook’s debut in the payments segment, will benefit from integrating with JioMart for payments. Another early acquisition made by the company was that of the Mumbai-based Grab-a-Grub. In 2019, Reliance pumped in $15 million for 83% stake in the hyperlocal delivery startup. Reliance has also acquired online pharmacy company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/with-reliance-buying-netmeds-and-pharmeasy-merging-with-medlife-amazon-and-flipkart-are-in-for-a-tougher-competition-than-they-would-like/articleshow/77625512.cms">NetMeds</a>, picked up a stake in online lingerie retailer Zivame, and online furniture retailer <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/reliance-retail-acquires-urban-ladder-for-182-crore-at-a-sixth-of-the-startups-peak-valuation-in-2018/articleshow/79230550.cms">Urban Ladder</a>, all of which could further bolster its e-commerce foothold. The acquisition of Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail for almost ₹25,000 crore also gives JioMart access to BigBazaar stores across the country as well. However, Ambani and Biyani are in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/amazon-got-an-operation-successful-patient-dead-verdict-lawyers-say-the-delhi-high-court-order-is-actually-a-win-for-kishore-biyani-and-future-group/articleshow/79842995.cms">legal battle with Amazon</a> that has challenged the deal both in India and abroad. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/amazon-got-an-operation-successful-patient-dead-verdict-lawyers-say-the-delhi-high-court-order-is-actually-a-win-for-kishore-biyani-and-future-group/articleshow/79842995.cms">Amazon got an “operation successful, patient dead” verdict ⁠— Lawyers say the Delhi High Court order is actually a win for Kishore Biyani and Future Group</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbi-warns-people-against-unauthorized-digital-lending-apps-that-promise-quick-loans/articleshow/79919474.cms">India’s central bank warns people against unauthorized digital lending apps that promise quick loans</a>

Mukesh Ambani is taking e-tail by storm⁠ — JioMart already has more daily active users than BigBasket and Grofers

<ul><li><keyword id="430602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="justdial" source="Orion">JustDial</keyword>’s operating revenue declined 6% last quarter compared to the same time period last year.</li><li>This comes as a surprise as the festive season of October-December quarter is usually the best time for any consumer-facing business.</li><li>While the recent management change after Reliance acquisition may be one reason for the recent decline, over-diversification may be another.</li></ul>While many other digital businesses like Zomato, Nykaa and Paytm have recovered from the impact of COVID-19 a long time ago, JustDial seems stuck. Market watchers say it could be because the app is trying to be Google, without the resources to be one. Once again, JustDial's quarterly revenue declined on a year-on-year basis, which is a cause of concern since October-December quarter is usually the best time for any consumer-facing business. It is the time when customers are on a spending spree because of the festive season of Diwali and Christmas. However, the decline in JustDial’s operating revenue came as a surprise, especially when the company seems to offer every service that can be sold online. The stock was down over 3% on January 19, the first trading day after the earnings were reported. <div type="image" title="JustDial can’t beat Google and it should stop trying to, say analysts" msid="89011002" hostid="261"></div> From food to flight tickets, from delivery services to at-home beauty services, you name it and JustDial would have a seller on its platform. Yet, the revenue declined. Market watchers say, being a jack of all trades may not be working well for this 26-year-old company. Neha Khanna, director at Value Prolific (ValPro) Capital, tells Business Insider that JustDial has spread itself too thin and it has made it susceptible to competition from all sides. <div type="image" title="JustDial can’t beat Google and it should stop trying to, say analysts" msid="89010548" hostid="261"></div> JustDial — which offers at least 14 different services — is currently in competition with all the big newage digital businesses one can think of. Few examples include Paytm, BharatPe, Google Pay, PhonePe and others for its payments/fintech business, BigBasket for its grocery delivery business, Zomato and Swiggy for food delivery business, and Urban Company for at-home services vertical. <div type="image" title="JustDial can’t beat Google and it should stop trying to, say analysts" msid="89013326" hostid="261"></div> This stands true that JustDial is a discovery business, therefore, it simply has to sign up vendors/professionals willing to offer the service. It is still not doing the company any favour. “Google has taken away their core offering [of services discovery], and other players are emerging much stronger in different verticals,” Khanna says while explaining the knots in JustDial’s business. Yash Gupta, Equity Research Analyst at AngelOne, tells Business Insider that the nominal decline in JustDial’s business in the third quarter could also be attributed to the recent<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/just-dial-share-price-surge-as-mukesh-ambani-is-looking-to-buy-just-dial/articleshow/84432450.cms"> management change</a> after the Reliance Retail acquisition. There is usually a dull period for the stock due to cleaning of the balance sheet, he notes. But that could only be a part of the reason. Gupta explains that JustDial is a ‘pull’ sort of business model, where they need to go to customers and get them to start paying for its services. Meanwhile, other companies — such as Zomato, Swiggy, and even Google — where customers come on their own. This becomes the first challenge for the company. Secondly, the failure of JD Mart — the business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce marketplace of JustDial — to do anything substantial in the three quarters has further disappointed the people who keep track of this space, Gupta added. JD Mart competes with IndiaMart, which has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indiamart-share-price-has-gone-up-five-times-in-just-the-last-18-months-here-is-why/articleshow/86058084.cms">reporting higher revenue </a>than JustDial for the past two years by focusing on B2B ecommerce. The crux of all these problems is over-diversification that prevents it from going big in one segment, Gupta says. They would have done much better if they focused on one vertical, he adds. ALSO WATCH: A ₹3,000 crore fund manager says even conglomerates in India struggle the moment they have more than two verticals ⁠⁠ <div type="Youtube" id="kSf5f3gXjKg" title="A ₹3,000-crore fund manager explains why he won&amp;#39;t buy RIL, why he sold ITC and bought HDFC Life" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kSf5f3gXjKg/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The common thread running in what both Valpro and AngelOne analysts are saying is the fact that both have not been able to figure out why Reliance decided to acquire JustDial. “I don’t really see any value proposition for Reliance in JustDial,'' says ValPro’s Khanna. Things can become clear one Reliance unfolds its plan for JustDial, AngelOne’s Gupta adds. <div type="image" title="JustDial can’t beat Google and it should stop trying to, say analysts" msid="89013331" hostid="261"></div> SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/cred-expands-esops-pool-to-500-million-employees-can-own-12-5-of-fintech-startup/articleshow/89010053.cms">CRED says that all its employees get stock options, expands pool to $500 million</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/hul-bajaj-auto-lampt-infotech-and-other-hot-stocks-on-january-20/slidelist/89008387.cms">HUL, Bajaj Auto, L&amp;T Infotech and other hot stocks on January 20</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indias-daily-covid-19-count-surpasses-three-lakh-after-eight-months/articleshow/89009476.cms">India’s daily COVID-19 count surpasses three lakh after eight months, Omicron tally climbs to 9,287</a>

JustDial can’t beat Google and it should stop trying to, say analysts

New Delhi, Mar 16 () Online grocery platforms Grofers and BigBasket are witnessing up to two-fold growth in purchases as authorities in multiple cities close malls and shopping places to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The e-tailers said they are shoring up supplies amid the sudden increase in demand due to panic buying across a number of cities in the last couple of days. These companies are witnessing very high demand for products in the personal hygiene category as well as immunity boosting items such as honey and ayurvedic products. "In the last couple of days we have seen what we may call panic buying across a number of cities and categories. Cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad have seen a higher surge with nearly 80 per cent growth followed by Delhi NCR and Hyderabad at a 60 per cent spike in business for a 75 per cent growth in national business," said Grofers Co-Founder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa. "We have seen a rise in both the number of orders at 45 per cent as well as order value at 18 per cent," he added. Alibaba-backed BigBasket said it has witnessed two-fold growth in traffic and revenue. It has also witnessed an increase of 15-20 per cent in its basket value. Though BigBasket has faced "some disruption" in its supply chain in the last three days, the company said it has taken corrective action and has "geared up for supplies to meet the increased demand". On delivery delays, BigBasket said, "We will face some constraints for a few more days because it takes time to build capacity in terms of storage, delivery fleet and people. Our teams are working hard to streamline this and we will be back on track very soon." Grofers said supply has not been an issue for it so far. "However, we are still bumping up capabilities and hiring more people to ensure availability and access of critical goods. We are also working with more manufacturing partners to scale the supply basis demand, while requesting customers to opt for considerate shopping so that shelves remain stocked for everyone," said Dhindsa. Dhindsa said in the personal hygiene category, Grofers has seen a demand surge of 400 per cent in sanitizers, 120 per cent in hand washes and 70 per cent in soaps followed by floor cleaners. "Immunity boosting items such as honey and ayurvedic products like chyawanprash have seen a growth of 60 per cent. High demand has been observed in disposable categories such as toilet paper and tissues. Lately, we are also observing panic buying and hoarding of essential commodities like atta, sugar, pulses and rice," he said. BigBasket has also witnessed increased demand for essential items such as staples, atta and dal, fruits and vegetables "We are in control because the predominant share is from our private label products. We are not facing shortages in FMCG branded products except in the case of sanitizers. In effect, supply will not be an issue," BigBasket said. Grofers said it has observed hoarding tendencies among some of its users and is blocking them to make sure essential items are available to genuine customers. "Yes, we have observed hoarding behaviour among consumers across states. We are taking a hard approach to hoarding of essential commodities. A lot of people are trying to game the system to acquire items and we are working proactively to block them and make sure essential supplies will be available to genuine customers," said Dhindsa, adding it has also discontinued promotions for essential commodities. Excessive buying or multiple orders to bypass inventory limit can lead to order cancellations on the platform, he added. However, BigBasket said it is "not witnessing hoarding behavior thus far". KRH ABM

Grofers, BigBasket see orders soaring as virus lockdown shuts malls

<ul><li>After the government in states like Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi instructed schools, colleges and malls to remain shut till March 31, <keyword id="1640900" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-grocery">online grocery</keyword> stores like <keyword id="2466939" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Grofers">Grofers</keyword>, <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword> and Supr Daily have seen an upsurge in orders for essentials. </li><li>Online grocery delivery majors have seen an increasing demand for products such as sanitisers, masks, atta &amp; dal, fruits, and vegetables.</li><li>Platforms are also advising customers to avoid using cash, which can be a source of transmitting the virus between individuals. </li></ul>As the number of people infected by Covid-19 keeps increasing with each passing day, there has been an increase in the demand of orders from online grocery stores in the past few days. The government in states like Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi have instructed schools, colleges and malls to remain shut till March 31. The government is also advising social distancing, with a lot of organisations asking its employees to work from home. The closure of malls, and with it, a lot of supermarkets, has led to a direct increase in the order of staples online. Much like the US and UK, that witnessed a huge surge in online orders for essentials, in India too, a lot of online marketplaces like BigBasket, Future Group and Grofers are witnessing an increase in demand, with most people ordering for staples. Supr Daily, that delivers daily essentials like milk, bread, fruits and vegetables, told its customers that it will deliver till 9 a.m. instead of the usual 7 a.m. due to increased demand. In the past few days, BigBasket has witnessed a 2X increase in its traffic and its revenue. BigBasket said in a statement that they are witnessing a 15-20% increase in the basket value. Increased demand has been for essentials such as staples, atta &amp; dal, fruits, and vegetables. However, it said that it is in control of the supplies, given that a predominant share is from its private label products. The platform is currently not facing any shortage for FMCG branded products except in the case of sanitisers. In the last 30 days, as per Google Trends, there has been a rise in web search for sanitisers. 
 <div type="image" title="web search saniti" msid="74657409" hostid="261"></div>



 A spokesperson from the Future Group that owns Big Bazaar and Easyday reported a similar increase in their online orders. "We have seen an upswing in the demand for daily essentials from our customers in certain geographies. We are making sure that we are managing our stocks and supply chain in a way that meets all our customer needs. We are also following and complying with various government/local body directives related to store operations.” While there were a lot of instances of hoarding in the US and UK with a lot of essentials being sold out quickly, most of these platforms haven’t witnessed hoarding yet. BigBasket said, “We are not witnessing hoarding behavior thus far. To our customers, our stance will be not to panic and buy more than what they need. We will gear up for the increased demand and availability of products will not be an issue.” In a note on its website, Grofers asked its consumers to avoid hoarding. “Buy what you need and maybe add some cushioning on top as we will keep working hard to keep items in stock and reasonably priced for all our customers. Excessive buying or multiple orders to bypass inventory limit can lead to order cancellation,” its blog read. Grofers has disinfected its warehouses and is sanitising on a daily basis to keep the inventory virus free. Telling us more about the spike in their business and safety precautions, Albinder Dhindsa, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Grofers, said, “Over the last couple of days, we have seen customers buying items on our platform in large quantities across cities as well as categories. Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad have seen a higher surge with nearly 80% growth followed by Delhi NCR and Hyderabad at a 60% spike in business. We have seen a rise in both the number of orders (45%) as well as order value (18%). Personal hygiene products, followed by floor cleaners have seen a surge in demand along with immunity-boosting products such as chyawanprash and honey. Essential items such as atta, dal and rice are also being bought in large quantities by our customers." Grofers has suspended travel between locations and offices, so each of its 20+ units across the country can stay isolated and clear of the virus. Its supplies are now passing through separate areas, manned by different personnel than those that work in crowds in store. The crates are also being washed and disinfected after every usage. However, a lot of delivery partners are hesitant to come to work. With higher demand and lack of resources, there is a delay in delivery. It is currently 3 days in Delhi and less than 2 days in most other cities. In such a scenario, it is advisable to plan your groceries in advance and avoid dealing in cash as it can be a possible source of transmitting the virus. A spokesperson from Big Basket said that they are working to expedite their product deliveries. “We will face some constraints for a few more days because it takes time to build capacity in terms of storage, delivery fleet and people. Our teams are working hard to streamline this and we will be back on track very soon.” Some platforms have been kind enough to provide essentials at a price lower than its usual market rate. For example, Grofers is selling N95 face masks at Rs 90, when the general market prices are in the range of Rs 450-500.

As malls shut down, online grocery stores in India see a surge in demand

<ul><li>After a couple of dull years and a few failures, online grocery in India is back with a bang. </li><li>SoftBank has put in fresh funds in Grofers while Reliance Industries Limited is reportedly looking to buy a majority stake in Grab. </li><li>Swiggy had recently announced its foray into online grocery delivery with Swiggy stores. </li></ul> There was a time when the online grocery vertical had become the hot favourite with major players trying their luck in the game. But soon with failures piling up one over the other, exits were announced. Come 2019 and it seems like it’s going to be the year hyperlocal grocery delivery again. Sector leader BigBasket may become the first unicorn – clock a valuation of $1 billion – of 2019, and food delivery startup Swiggy threw in its hat into groceries with Swiggy Stores. Swiggy, which raised a whopping $1 billion in funding in December, has already piloted the operations in Gurugram and has tied up with <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/swiggy-takes-on-bigbasket-grofers-to-deliver-groceries-from-local-stores-119021201294_1.html">3,500</a> local stores. However, these startups will be battling the deep pockets of Mukesh Ambani and the Japanese Softbank. Reliance Industries Limited is <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/ril-in-talks-for-majority-stake-in-startup-grab/articleshow/68192744.cms">reportedly</a> in talks to buy a majority stake in Grab, a hyperlocal delivery startup for groceries, medicines and food based out of Mumbai. Grofers has raised <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/grofers-raises-fresh-funds-from-existing-investor-softbank-as-e-grocers-valuation-hits-425m/68203728">fresh funds</a> from SoftBank Vision Fund (the Japanese firm had earlier too invested in the e-grocery company) which takes its valuation to $425 million. This excitement was missing in the space the last few years. E-grocery startup PepperTap had to shut its operations in 2016. In a blog on <a href="https://yourstory.com/2016/04/peppertap-journey-navneet-singh">YourStory</a>, Navneet Singh, founder of PepperTap, wrote about the problem they faced. “The integration of our app with our partner stores was not great. In the race to pepper the whole country with PepperTap, we had brought too many stores online far too quickly,” he wrote. Another unicorn startup Paytm too had explored the e-grocery space with Paytm Zip, only to shut shop in 2015. So, even with clear failures in the past, what makes today’s unicorns still find their way into the space? A simple answer - the demand still exists. Grocery stores aren’t called convenience stores for nothing. For today’s millennial who is busy with work to order groceries on a tap is an easy, convenient way out. A report on the online grocery space in India by Red Seer consulting states, “Inspite of all these disruptions and changes, one thing that did not change was the massive potential for online grocery- as indicated by India’s USD 500+ Bn grocery market out of which a mere 0.2% is online (~USD 1.2 bn overall and ~USD 1 Bn considering only hyperlocal grocery).” The proof that it still works is seen in BigBasket’s <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/bigbaskets-wholesale-unit-revenue-up-35/articleshow/67358734.cms">revenue</a> report. In the year 2017-18, BigBasket saw its revenue grow by 35% while losses dropped by 53%. In FY19, the company expects the revenue to grow by <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/bigbasket-chief-hari-menon-expects-75-revenue-jump-in-fy19-to-rs-3500-crore-3183251.html">75%</a>. Grofers which had posted a net loss of <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/grofers-narrows-loss-to-rs-258-cr-as-sales-double-in-fy2018/68105608">₹268 crore</a> in FY 17, managed to post a loss of ₹258 crore in FY18. The company has also added <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/grofers-eyes-rs-2500-crore-revenue-in-fy19-adds-2-5-lakh-new-customers-in-january-3453911.html">2.5 lakh</a> new customers in January, while also aiming for a revenue of over ₹2500 crore. And with big backers like Mukesh Ambani and Softbank entering the fray, the competition, too, will be intense. The battle for dominance may mean more discounts and cashbacks for consumers. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/swiggy-in-talks-to-acquire-ubereats-india-operations/articleshow/68110377.cms">Swiggy wants more on its plate, in talks to acquire Ubereats India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/for-indian-startups-2018-has-been-a-year-of-bouncing-back-as-venture-capital-funding-doubles/articleshow/67286540.cms">For Indian startups, 2018 has been a year of bouncing back as venture capital funding doubles</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/these-are-the-25-most-sought-after-startups-in-india-report/articleshow/65866420.cms">These are the 25 most sought after startups in India: Report</a>

Online grocers are back in business in India with billions more to burn – and that may be good for consumers

<ul><li><keyword id="3360525" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alibaba-Cloud">Alibaba Cloud</keyword> is looking to expand its market in India and one-up its competitors.</li><li>It’s looking to do it in the most Chinese way possible, keeping its product flexible and cheap.</li><li>Although Alibaba Cloud in the process of wooing a few digital companies away from Amazon Web Services (AWS) — it’s now looking to get bigger companies on board.</li></ul>Alibaba Cloud is looking to expand its market in India. In a lot of ways, the company’s <keyword id="140601" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="database">database</keyword> management solutions aren’t all that different — but is already wooing away new-age digital companies like Zomato, <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> and <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword> from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Now, it is now looking to get bigger companies on board. The selling point for Alibaba Vice President Feifei Li is not very different from any other Chinese business ⁠— flexible and cheap. "Both (AWS Aurora and Polar DB) use shared storage architecture, which can serve up to 100 TB (terabytes) of data — but if you want to scale beyond that, like during a massive e-commerce operation, they need scalability beyond what shared storage can offer," Li told Business Insider. And, according to him, it costs a tenth of the AWS’ cloud services. But AWS doesn't agree. "It is inaccurate to say that PolarDB is available at a tenth of the cost as Amazon Aurora. If you consider a top of the line instance size, Amazon Aurora is still cheaper than PolarDB with more VCPUs (6 more VCPUs) on offer, and a secure virtualization platform (R5 instances powered by the AWS Nitro System)," the company told Business Insider. It also pointed out that even though Zomato, Paytm and BigBasket are on Alibaba Cloud, they're also using AWS simultaneously for other services. Li is in India to sell Polar DB, Alibaba Cloud’s relational database — a database in which a lot of different data sets can be compared and re-assembled without having to reorganise storage. Amazon’s customers, Alibaba-backed companies Currently, most of the company’s clients are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) — but most of the revenue comes from large companies. "We already have quite a few large businesses like <keyword id="96306" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Entertainment">Reliance Entertainment</keyword> and helped them launch across 150 countries," said Alex Li, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud South Asia. So, Alibaba Cloud’s real test will be when it tries to woo its next set of clients. Out of the four big names highlighted by Li, Alibaba Group has stakes in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/paytm-mall-completes-450-million-funding-round-from-softbank-and-alibaba/articleshow/64569914.cms">Paytm</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/bigbasket-joins-unicorn-club-with-a-fresh-investment-of-150-million/articleshow/68624890.cms">BigBasket</a>. As Alibaba Cloud tries to woo Amazon’s customers, these are its major promises: <ol><li>It’s flexible. PolarDB addressed nearly 87 million requests per second during peak traffic helping Alibaba’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/alibaba-just-had-the-biggest-online-shopping-day-of-all-time-nearly-tripling-every-companys-2017-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-sales-combined/articleshow/66580674.cms">11:11 Single Day</a> sale in China, which clocked a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/alibaba-leaders-deny-sensational-claims-made-in-viral-weibo-post-that-said-the-chinese-e-commerce-giant-misreported-its-singles-day-sales/articleshow/72117515.cms">record-breaking</a> gross of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/chaotic-photos-show-what-it-looks-like-when-alibaba-sells-38-billion-worth-of-merchandise-on-chinas-biggest-shopping-holiday-and-breaks-records/articleshow/72028088.cms">$38.4 billion</a>, according to the company.</li><li>It’s cheap. Li says the PolarDB is available at a tenth of the cost as AWS Aurora.</li><li>It’s tried and tested. "Not only do we have cloud database as a service, but we also provide database infrastructure for the entire Alibaba Group. That really helps us strengthen our technology and mature our product before we offer it to our customers," he explained.</li><li>It is fully compatible with MySQL. This is <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3947472/magic-quadrant-for-cloud-infrastructure-as-a-service-wor">an important capability </a>since more businesses are already integrated with one type of database or another. Compatibility ensures that they can easily transfer their data and processes from one platform to the next. </li><li>Security. "We have some unique strengths, that Microsoft, Google and AWS don’t have. For example, we have a product called AllEncrypted. It combines database kernels with security software like Intel SGX. It allows the customer to encrypt their data using a private, secret key — and they don’t have to share that key with us," said Li.</li><li>Keep tabs on data. In the near future, blockchain technology will be integrated, which will allow authentication of the data through database logs.</li></ol>Alibaba Cloud is focusing all of its energies on India, and for good reason. Not only are local businesses looking to shift to the cloud rather than set up their own servers, but India’s impending <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/indias-new-data-protection-is-in-the-works-and-companies-will-only-have-to-pay-2-million-for-violations/articleshow/72381112.cms">Personal Data Protection Bill</a> is likely to push for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/data-localisation-wont-help-local-firms-or-improve-privacy-but-it-could-cost-india-43-billion/articleshow/72251167.cms">localisation</a> — and Alibaba already has two data centres in the country. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/data-localisation-wont-help-local-firms-or-improve-privacy-but-it-could-cost-india-43-billion/articleshow/72251167.cms">Data localisation won't help 'local' firms or improve privacy — but it could cost India $43 billion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/whatsapp-data-may-shift-to-the-cloud-but-may-no-longer-be-as-encrypted/articleshow/65475359.cms">WhatsApp data may shift to the cloud, but may no longer be as encrypted</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tcs-and-cisco-join-hands-for-a-new-cloud-product/articleshow/70673984.cms">TCS and Cisco experimented a cloud service with a large insurer — and now they are ready to launch</a>

Alibaba Cloud is trying to woo Amazon's customers in the most Chinese way possible

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, Anant Goel, CEO and co-founder, <keyword id="4085901" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Milkbasket">Milkbasket</keyword> talks about why he doesn’t want to offer discounts to his customers. </li><li>The company is averaging 75,000 orders a day with over 2,250,000 in a month. </li><li>It aims to hit $100 million run rate by the end of the current financial year.</li></ul><keyword id="2709620" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="grocery-delivery">Grocery delivery</keyword> startup Milkbasket has its head in the game. It is forecasting to hit $100 million in revenue by the end of the current financial year. Today, the Indian grocery space is crowded with multiple players and newly turned unicorns like <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword>, soonicorns like Grofers. Even food delivery unicorns like Swiggy too are entering the sector. Milkbasket insists on growing without discounts However, while all of these new and old startups are trying to offer discounts and faster delivery options to lure consumers, Milkbasket is adamant. It doesn’t believe in discounts and has only a single slot delivery at 7 am in the morning. “That’s how you build a business, not by burning money. For any B2C business, you can always spoil the customer, but can you make money while doing it? Is it sustainable? We have always tried to strike the balance,” Anant Goel, CEO and co-founder, Milkbasket told Business Insider. So, the four-year-old startup has built a loyal consumer base, without having to give in to the new age trends. It serves 1.5 lakh households across 5 cities (Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Bengaluru). The company is averaging 75,000 orders in a day with over 2,250,000 in a month. “We now aim to hit $100 million run rate by the end of the current financial year, we are currently at $60 million,” said Goel. Investors aid Milkbasket’s growth story It has also been a good year for Milkbasket. There was a possible funding from Sachin Bansal’s BACQ Acquisitions. However Milkbasket and Bansal’s firm had issued a joint statement they weren’t going ahead with it. Later, it closed its series B round with $12.7 million. The series B investment includes $10.5 million led by Unilever Ventures and participation from Mayfield India, Kalaari Capital, and Blume Ventures and few Indian family offices and Innoven Capital. And Goel credits it all to doing things differently. “Lots of competition has come in, which was not there earlier or were smaller till last year. Competition in new shapes and forms with big money, chasing us and our customers,” Goel said with a laugh and added, “But we are sure about our model – a sustainable supply chain that can deliver groceries to you.” Busting the myth Goel also busts a myth for us. Contrary to popular belief, Milkbasket has always been into groceries and not just milk. But its name makes people think otherwise. However, the name too has a direct connect to their business model. “When we started grocery in 2015, there were about 200 startups in the space. We asked customers what they want from online grocery startups and they all said discounts. But we are not here to give away discounts. Milkbasket the name came about because milk is a commodity for which you don’t ask discounts, instead you pay more to get it delivered to your house and you are happy to do so,” he said.

You Searched For "BigBasket revenue" and got 12 results

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