Athira A. Nair, Yourstory Bengaluru, 5 February 2016 Till a couple of years ago, the idea of hyperlocal services in Tier II cities would have been unthinkable. The whole point of hyperlocal services is instant gratification. A comparatively slower pace of life, poor Internet penetration, and a reluctance to adapt technology were expected to be roadblocks for such services. But the startup boom that India has witnessed over the past few years has ensured that some daring entrepreneurs have ventured into these untapped markets beyond the metros. Of course, this does not mean that they have had a smooth ride.…
The Economic Times Mumbai, 2 February 2016 Aditya Birla Retail reported a 15% increase in its sales for the last financial year but it continues to pile up losses, according to latest available numbers. The retail arm of the Aditya Birla Group posted Rs 2,893-crore sales for the year ended March 2015 and its losses reduced 5% year-on-year at Rs 571 crore, according to the company's filings with the Registrar of Companies last week. The firm's accumulated losses stood at nearly Rs 5,320 crore after eight years of operations. Experts said gestation period in the highly competitive food and grocery…
Madhav Chanchani, The Times of India Bengaluru, 28 June 2016 If traditional retailers weren't so busy creating digital avatars to take on their new-age rivals, they might have noticed online stores gaining a firm foothold in their territory, one store at a time. Some of India's largest online stores including baby products retailer Firstcry, eyewear brand Lenskart and furniture marketplace Pepperfry are beginning to see significant contributions to revenue and bottomline from their physical stores. "We get significant revenues from our offline business and we are already EBITDA-positive (profitable from core operations) collectively," said Supam Maheshwari, chief executive of Firstcry, declining…
Aggregator models and hyperlocal delivery, in theory, have some significant advantages over existing business models. Unlike an inventory-based model, aggregation is asset-light, allowing rapid building of critical mass. A start-up can tap into existing infrastructure, as a bridge between existing retailers and the consumer. By tapping into fleeting consumption opportunities, the aggregator can actually drive new demand to the retailer in the short term. A hyperlocal delivery business can concentrate on understanding the nuances of a customer group in a small geographic area and spend its management and financial resources to develop a viable presence more intensively. However, both business…
Sapna Agarwal, MINT Mumbai, 21 January 2016 Mahindra Retail, a part of the $16.9 billion Mahindra Group, will sell products of US kidswear firm Carter’s Inc. in its chain of BabyOye stores across India and online, the company said on Wednesday. This will be Atlanta-based Carter’s third attempt at establishing itself in the Indian kidswear market. Mahindra Retail plans to open 40 so-called shop-in-shop BabyOye stores—where a brand owner or retailer takes space in another retailer’s store—in 15 cities across India in 2016. In the past, the OshKosh B’gosh kidswear brand, which Carter acquired globally in 2005, tried to make…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
