🚀 Medial Secures Investment on Shark Tank India - Fueling the Future of Professional Social Networking. 🔥
Login

News on Medial

Related News

Ola pilots 10-minute food delivery starting from Bengaluru

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
Ola pilots 10-minute food delivery starting from Bengaluru
Medial

Ola Consumer, the hyperlocal delivery arm led by Bhavish Aggarwal, has started piloting quick food delivery services in select areas of Bengaluru. The service is being offered through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed initiative. Under the food delivery section on the Ola Cabs app, Ola claims to deliver food items from various restaurants within 10 minutes. Ola currently offers F&B services via ONDC but only in limited cities. Apart from food delivery, it also offers last-mile logistics services for grocery shopping and pharmaceuticals via ONDC. Inc42 reported the development first. Ola will join the likes of half a dozen companies which have initiated or on the verge of launching their instant food delivery services. On Tuesday, offline discovery and rewards platform Magicpin also announced its quick delivery service MagicNOW, a 15-minute food delivery offering piloted across major Indian cities. The instant food delivery market is growing with quick commerce players like Zepto, Swiggy, and Blinkit leading the segment, while new players such as Swish and Zing gain traction. Ola ventured into the food delivery space in 2017 with the acquisition of Foodpanda for mere Rs 28 crore. The company aimed to challenge Swiggy and Zomato by leveraging its vast driver network. In 2018, Ola further acquired home chef marketplace Holachef to strengthen its position. However, the vertical failed to gain traction. By mid-2019, Ola scaled down Foodpanda's operations, focusing on in-house food brands, and by early 2020, it officially shut down the segment, citing a strategic shift to its core mobility biz. Ola's current foray into 10-minute food delivery seems trend-driven but faces significant challenges, especially with its mobility business struggling.

XOBOX aims to tackle residential last-mile delivery hurdles

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
XOBOX aims to tackle residential last-mile delivery hurdles
Medial

Last-mile delivery hasn’t been perfect. Not that the likes of Dunzos of this world haven’t tried to address this. Recently, we saw Zomato experimenting with last-mile delivery through a unique concept of ‘walkers’ for corporate parks. Bengaluru-based XOBOX is one of the few startups that is trying to fix the last-mile delivery challenges especially for people living in urban areas. The company handles packages for residents in apartment complexes. Some of the features are securing the packages in smart lockers and dropping them to customers’ doorstep when they are back to their homes, and home delivery of essential items. We spoke to XOBOX founder and CEO Kiran Shivappa about his startup, what distinguishes it from the competition and the roadmap ahead. Here are the edited excerpts: How did you come up with this idea? I live in an apartment complex and even before the Covid deliveries were left scattered in front of the door and stray cats use to destroy especially milk packet which cause everyone to talk about it hours in community Whatsapp group, this made me think to find/adopt a solution to secure the deliveries when residents not able to receive it or may be they are not around. How does the platform work? Please help simplify the process. When we started the service, we started taking the request from residents to handle their packages and we coordinated with delivery guys to take the package, pay them if it is a COD [Cash on Delivery], and secure them in the locker until they come back, then we deliver it to their doorstep. We went one step ahead and made a contract with 3PL [Third-party logistics] and ecommerce companies to take every delivery coming to the society and our dedicated resources would hand them over to the residents, if the resident is not available then secure the package in the locker and hand it over once they come back. What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address them? Ecommerce companies have tried many solutions to optimize the last leg of the delivery process and achieved the Kirana model also, but they never got a chance to be inside the society exclusively and take care of the deliveries and achieve the customer delight to bring the most convenience to them in their package receiving time. We have dedicated resources inside each society to carefully handle the package and interact with residents and elderly people and become familiar to them so they feel comfortable to receive us at the doorstep at any time and feel secured as well. Industry major players tried to introduce the lockers but these lockers operate as a complete unmanned and fully automated, for this reason the adaptation was a big challenge and education was also a challenge. We adopted a 70/30 model where, way the lockers were built, operated and how people would feel easy to adopt this because the “30” percentage is the resources we introduced along with “70” percentage technology, our dedicated resource will work with all stake holders in the gated community to educate and make every one understand how to use the service. What are your short-term and long term goals in terms of product and business expansion and diversification? In the short term, we are looking to expand the service to 35 more gated communities in Bengaluru in 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2024 and then go to other cities. As far as long-term plans go, we are going to sign contracts with major ecommerce and 3PL companies to increase the volume in each society and serve the needs of elderly population in the community. We would want to reach 700-1000 gated communities and generate 150-180 cr annually.

Virat Kohli-backed WROGN’s revenue dips 29% in FY24

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Virat Kohli-backed WROGN’s revenue dips 29% in FY24
Medial

Virat Kohli-backed men’s apparel brand WROGN’s parent company has been struggling to grow, as the company’s revenue dropped by over 29% in the fiscal year ending March 2024. At the same time, the firm’s losses surged by 28.2%, nearing the Rs 57 crore mark during the same period. WROGN’s revenue from operations dwindled 29.2% to Rs 243.75 crore during FY24 as compared to Rs 344.3 crore in FY23, its consolidated financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies show. For background, WROGN reported a flat scale in FY23. The firm also generated Rs 21 crore from interest and gain on financial assets which took its overall revenue to Rs 264.8 crore in FY24. Founded in 2014 by brother-sister duo Anjana and Vikram Reddy, WROGN is engaged in the business of trading outdoor products such as apparel, footwear, and accessories among others. Leveraging Kohli’s influence, the brand has rapidly expanded its presence through exclusive brand outlets and strategic partnerships with marketplaces. On the expenses front, cost of materials formed 53.6% of the total expenses. This cost slid 29% and stood at Rs 163.91 crore in FY24. Employee benefits expenses also saw a dip by 7.5% to Rs 32.26 crore during the same period. Significantly, the employee cost also includes ESOP expenses worth Rs 1.96 crore. Commission paid to the selling agents was down by 28% in FY24 at Rs 30.83 crore while other expenses such as advertising promotions and legal & professional fees also shrank significantly. In total, the overall expenditure of the company went down by 24.7% to Rs 305.56 crore during FY24 from Rs 405.6 crore in the previous fiscal year. For the complete expense breakdown, head to TheKredible. WROGN tried to cover up its losses by taking cost-cutting measures but due to the sharp fall in collection, its losses increased by 28.2% to Rs 56.76 crore during the year against Rs 44.26 crore in FY23. Its operating cash outflows, however, improved by over 63% to Rs 5.23 crore during the year. Its outstanding swelled to Rs 636.58 crore as of FY24. As per TheKredible, the firm’s EBITDA margin and ROCE stood at -6.04% and -72.07%, respectively. On a unit level, WROGN spent Rs 1.25 to earn a rupee of operating revenue during FY24. FY23-FY24 FY23 FY24 EBITDA Margin -4.42% -6.04% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.18 ₹1.25 ROCE -25.49% -72.07% Aditya Birla’s TMRW recently picked up a 16% stake in WROGN at a $105 million valuation by pouring in Rs 125 crore or $15 million. It’s worth noting that Aditya Birla also acquired a similar brand Bewakoof in December 2022. WROGN has raised around $90 million from the likes of Accel, Flipkart, Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar since its inception in 2014. In November 2020, Flipkart invested an undisclosed amount in WROGN’s Series F round. The e-commerce major is also an investor in Hrithik Roshan’s HRX which competes with WROGN. According to TheKredible’s D2C report, fashion (apparel, jewelry, footwear, eyewear, and accessories) is the largest category attracting a large set of consumers. India’s fashion industry is booming, with the potential to reach $43.2 billion by 2025. But seeing how anaemic or even negative the numbers have been for most, one can only marvel at the outlier that a Zudio has been over the last two years with its triple-digit growth. Of course, the broader slowdown in the category has been blamed on multiple possible factors, including a craze for investment in the stock markets directly or indirectly. Or perhaps the prioritisation of getting an iPhone over other branded products, considering the rise in iPhone sales in India. Either way, WROGN’s numbers indicate a problem it has acknowledged for some time now, and is making efforts to manage. The challenge it faces is as tough as any pitch Kohli has played on, one suspects.

Startups rope in new CEOs amid cash crunch, layoffs, profitability and IPO plans

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Startups rope in new CEOs amid cash crunch, layoffs, profitability and IPO plans
Medial

Management rejig and layoffs at several prominent startups have continued to make headlines this year. For layoffs, startups have cited a familiar reason i.e. redundancies, efficiencies as well as getting a step closer to profitability. As far as management changes go, reasons and circumstances vary. For instance, DealShare’s CEO position was vacant for a long time. These changes, however, also bring a fresh wave of optimism in the ecosystem, which has of late faced a host of challenges, ranging from funding crunch to stringent regulatory actions. Data compiled by TheKredible shows that this year more than 10 Indian startups have appointed, elevated or are on the verge of naming their new chief executive officers (CEOs). The list includes the likes of DealShare, MyGate, Inshorts, Cult.fit, Third Wave Coffee, Byju’s, Ola, PhonePe, and Setu, among others. Interestingly, half of them have been elevated to the role of chief executive whereas some founders took charge as the operational leaders after the exit of the existing CEO. [Elevated CEOs] The year 2024 started with a new trend of appointing new CEOs and e-commerce platform DealShare was first when they elevated Kamaldeep Singh as the new chief executive of the company from being the president of their retail business. The firm faced several challenges during the second half of 2023 as its three co-founders left the firm in a short span of time and it also had to shut down its B2B vertical after a flat growth in FY23 with rise in losses. Community management app MyGate, news aggregator InShorts and fitness tech firm Cult.fit also elevated Abhishek Kumar, Deepit Purkayastha and Naresh Krishnaswamy, respectively, as their new chief executive officers. All previous CEOs of these three companies namely Vijay Arisetty, Azhar Iqubal and Mukesh Bansal have now taken the role of chairman. Iqubal recently joined Shark Tank India season III as a judge. Also, InShorts is pivoting from news aggregation to influencer led platform which could be the reason behind this reshuffle in leadership. Cult.fit also faced challenges early this year as it fired more than 150 employees. As per the company, it reduced some redundant positions with the aim of streamlining operations. Meanwhile, fintech unicorn BharatPe finalized Nalin Negi as its full time CEO. Negi, the former chief financial officer of the company, had been working as interim CEO since January last year. Freshworks also went through a reshuffle as the firm’s founder Girish Mathrubootham stepped down from the position of CEO after 14 years. Mathrubootham has transitioned into the role of executive chairman while the company’s president Dennis Woodside has been elevated as the new CEO. Freshworks went public in September 2021. It’s important to note that most of these companies in this list had losses until FY23. Though, a few of them managed to control losses during the fiscal year. For context, DealShare’s GMV remained flat but its losses jumped 14% to Rs 502 crore in FY23. InShorts posted flat scale with 33.6% jump in losses to Rs 310 crore in FY23. MyGate, Cult.fit and BharatPe also managed to control its losses. Check the graph below for more details. [New CEOs appointed in 2024] In January, PhonePe announced the appointment of Ritesh Pai as CEO of its International Payments business while Infibeam Avenues announced the appointment of Rajesh Kumar SA as CEO of its AI business venture Phronetic.AI. These appointments appeared to be a positive sign for both companies which are expanding their businesses. Third Wave Coffee’s co-founder and CEO Sushant Goel stepped down as the firm’s chief executive role and transitioned to a board member in March this year. The WestBridge-backed company named KFC India and Nepal CEO Rajat Luthra as Goel’s replacement. Before the exit of Goel, Third Wave Coffee also went through layoffs, firing more than 100 employees. In April, Aakash Educational Services, owned by edtech company Byju’s, appointed Deepak Mehrotra as its new managing director and chief executive officer. Mehrotra joined Aakash after the exit of its chief executive Abhishek Maheshwari. Recently, the firm raised money from Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai to clear the debt raised from Davidson Kempner in May last year. Aakash has plans for a public listing this year. Last month, API infrastructure company Setu, owned by Pine Labs, named Anand Raisinghani as new CEO of the company. Raisinghani will succeed Sahil Kini, who is the erstwhile chief executive of Setu. Earlier this month, Paytm Money’s CEO Varun Sridhar also quit the position and Rakesh Singh has been appointed as the new chief executive of the stock trading platform. Before joining Paytm Money, Singh was the CEO of fintech company Fisdom. On Monday, Adda247 appointed Bimaljeet Singh as its chief executive for skilling and higher education business. Like several edtech firms, Adda247 also went through layoffs in the last quarter of 2023. It’s worth noting that Paytm Money and Phronetic.AI are owned by public companies One97 Communications and Infibeam, respectively. In terms of financial performance, Aakash reported profit in FY22 and expected to replicate same growth in FY23. Pine Labs reported more than Rs 1,600 crore revenue with control in its losses to Rs 227 crore in FY23. Third Wave Coffee reported a three fold jump in its revenue with same growth in losses to Rs 54 crore in FY23. During FY23, PhonePe as a group posted revenue of Rs 2,914 crore and Rs 1,755 crore loss. During the period, Adda247 reported Rs 115 crore revenue and Rs 110 crore loss. [Founders, executives took the charge after CEOs exit] Last month, Arjun Mohan, the CEO of Byju’s India operations, stepped down from his position seven months after joining the edtech firm. After his exit, the company’s founder Byju Raveendran returned as the operational leader to see day-to-day functioning. During the process, Byju’s also sacked more than 500 employees. It’s worth highlighting that Byju’s has been facing a cash crunch for a long time and failed to pay the salary of its employees on time. Recently, Ola Cabs’ CEO Hemant Bakshi left the firm after three months of joining. His departure came at a time when Ola is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO). The company also fired 10% of its total workforce. In the interim, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal will oversee operations until a new executive is appointed. In January, Indus Appstore’s CEO Rakesh Deshmukh announced quitting the firm. Since then, the firm has been led by ⁠its CPO and co-founder Akash Dongre, and CBO Priya Meenakshi Narasimhan. The firm is yet to announce the name of the official CEO. As per a media report, Beardo’s CEO has gone on a year-long sabbatical from April this year. During his absence, CBO Siddharth Vaya, and Koteshwar LN, head of digital first business, are expected to lead the company. Beardo was acquired by Marico Group in June 2020. In the ongoing calendar year, Sukhleen Aneja, CEO of The Good Glamm D2C vertical and Subramanyam Reddy, CEO of upGrad’s Knowledgehut also announced their departure from the company. While Knowledgehut is yet to name the new CEO, The Good Glamm has decided not to appoint a new CEO for the D2C vertical. As per reports. Ketan Bhatia and Ankita Bhardwaj will lead the brand’s business operations. Last month, The Good Glamm Group resorted to layoffs and went through top level restructuring as it is gearing up for public listing. More recently, Paytm Payments Bank’s CEO and MD Surinder Chawla decided to hang up his boots. He will be relieved from his positions on June 26 while the firm is yet to announce his replacement. Public company Paytm laid off more than 1,000 employees in December 2023 in a cost cutting effort. As per reports, the firm also went through layoffs amid back to back departures of top level executives and the recent diktat by RBI. However, Paytm denied any fresh layoffs at the company. When it comes to financial performance, Byju’s and Ola are in deep losses and Beardo slipped into the red in FY23. Edtech unicorn upGrad reported close to Rs 1,200 crore revenue in FY23 with Rs 558 crore loss in FY23. Good Glamm Group is yet to file its annual financial report for FY23. [Conclusion] For those who have sniped at CEO salaries at startups, the last year should be a good indication of just why salaries refuse to moderate. Besides the high turnover, it is no secret that many investors and even founders have considered CEO’s as a horses for courses option, taking in people with specific skill sets when they were relevant for the organisation. Thus, be it fundraising, cost cutting, or all out for growth mindset, we have seen how different CEO’s bring their own competencies, which, unfortunately, have a use by date in most cases. Many of course can simply struggle to adapt to the startup culture and the unstructured challenges it throws up, which can be the worst outcome for a startup with little achieved during their tenures. Perhaps the toughest ask of a startup CEO is what she is expected to do in what seems like compressed time to most, making it most challenging to attract quality personnel at times. That is also one reason why we see investors take over the job of bringing in the CEO when they feel a founder needs to move on to a more strategic role or simply take a break from the intense pressure. Don’t expect the CEO churn to slow down anytime soon for these reasons.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.