Hyper-local delivery company Blinkit is now valued higher than Zomato‘s core food delivery business, as per a recent report by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has valued Blinkit at INR 119 per share with an equity valuation of 13 billion dollars. It has surpassed the food delivery business of Zomato, which is valued at INR 98 per share.
After Zomato acquired Blinkit for $568 million in 2022, analysts at Goldman Sachs note that the hyper-local delivery company’s implied valuation has soared to $13 billion due to its improved performance.
Goldman Sachs recently revised Blinkit’s valuation to $13 billion, up from their previous estimate of $8 billion. This upgrade comes as Goldman Sachs anticipates a roughly 50 percent increase in the company’s gross order value (GOV) compared to estimates from one year ago.
Goldman Sachs pointed out in their note that Blinkit’s implied valuation within Zomato’s sum of the parts (SOTP) has surged to nearly $13 billion, a significant leap from $2 billion in March 2023. They highlighted that the per-share implied value of INR 119 for Blinkit now surpasses that of food delivery, which stands at INR 98, marking the first time this has occurred.
Goldman Sachs maintained its ‘buy’ recommendation on the stock and raised the price target for the food delivery aggregator to INR 240 from the previous INR 170. Among the 28 analysts covering Zomato, 24 advise ‘buy’, while the remainder suggest ‘hold’. The brokerage firm is of the opinion that the market is currently underestimating Zomato’s growth prospects and profit potential in the online grocery sector.
According to regulatory filings, the startup’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares valued at INR 3,750.1 Crore (approximately $449 million) and an offer-for-sale component amounting to INR 6,664 Crore (about $799 million).
While Moneycontrol reported on Swiggy’s confidential filing for its IPO, the company has refuted the claim.
It’s worth noting that last year, hospitality giant OYO also opted for a confidential pre-filing approach when reapplying for its IPO with SEBI. According to SEBI’s recent notification regarding draft IPO documents, the startup’s IPO remains in the pre-filing stage even after a year.
Opting for the confidential pre-filing route grants companies additional time and flexibility to strategize their public debut. Moreover, it permits them to adjust the primary issue size by up to 50% until an updated DRHP is submitted to SEBI.
In contrast to the conventional method of submitting draft offer documents for an IPO, the particulars of the IPO are not publicly disclosed in the case of a pre-filing.
Moreover, unlike the conventional IPO filing process, which mandates companies to launch their IPO within 12 months of SEBI’s approval, the confidential filing permits companies to launch their IPO within 18 months of SEBI’s final comments.
Established in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, Phani Kishan Addepalli, and Rahul Jaimini (who left the company in 2020), Swiggy initially operated as a food delivery startup. Subsequently, it introduced its quick commerce division, Swiggy Instamart, and expanded its services to include a courier service known as Swiggy Genie.
Ahead of its IPO, Swiggy integrated Swiggy Mall, a platform selling various non-grocery items such as footwear and electronics, into its quick commerce service, Instamart.
As part of its preparations, the company also appointed Anand Kripalu as an independent director and the chairperson of its boards in December last year.
Swiggy’s IPO stands out as the largest and most eagerly awaited in 2024, a year projected to witness the public debuts of at least 10 startups.
In FY23, Swiggy recorded a net loss of INR 4,179.3 Crore, reflecting a 15% year-on-year increase.
Reports suggest that the decacorn is on track to report approximately INR 10,000 Crore in revenue for FY24, buoyed by the surge in its Instamart orders, platform fees related to food delivery, and growing traction for its dining-out business.
India’s gem and jewellery sector has been granted the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status by the finance ministry. This designation will streamline the export and import processes, ensuring quicker cargo release times. Additionally, AEO-certified entities will benefit from a 50% reduction in bank guarantee requirements compared to non-AEO counterparts. Moreover, it will expedite the resolution of customs, central excise, and service tax cases, further enhancing efficiency within the industry.
Following the initiatives of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) to address the matter with the finance ministry, the sector has attained this status. The AEO program was initially introduced as a pilot project in 2011 (referenced in Circular No. 37/2011 – Customs dated August 23, 2011).
As a pivotal component of the wider ease of doing business campaign, the AEO program has played a vital role in streamlining export procedures across diverse sectors, leading to notable time and cost reductions for exporters. However, despite its advantages, the gem & jewellery sector initially faced exclusion from the AEO program.
Nonetheless, by actively engaging with pertinent ministries, the GJEPC effectively lobbied for the inclusion of the gem and jewellery industry in the AEO program.
As a result, the Ministry of Finance has announced that entities in the gem and jewelry sector are now able to seek enrollment in the AEO program, granting them access to its accompanying advantages.
Around 20 companies have already submitted applications for AEO status. Among these applicants, Asian Star, a prominent manufacturer of diamonds and diamond jewellery, has been awarded AEO status, making it the first recipient of the certificate within the Indian gem and jewellery sector.
India’s John Distilleries (JDL) has clinched top honors at the London Spirits Competition 2024, securing the gold medal for its Paul John single malt whiskey ‘Nirvana’. Alongside, JDL’s Roulette London Dry Gin and Paul John XO Brandy have also received prestigious ‘Silver’ medals. Noteworthy is JDL’s unique feat as the sole Indian company recognized across three distinct categories: whiskey, gin, and brandy.
JDL Chairman and Managing Director, Paul P. John, expressed gratitude, stating, “Receiving recognition at the London Spirits Competition is a great honor for us. Being acknowledged for the quality of our products is truly a privilege.”
Earlier, JDL had garnered multiple accolades at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, the World Whiskey Awards, and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Nirvana is crafted from Indian six-row barley and matured in charred American oak casks, as stated by JDL in a recent statement.
Radico Khaitan, an Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) company, has announced its strategic collaboration with Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor as the brand influencer for its diverse range of premium brands, including Rampur Indian Single Malt Whisky, Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin, Magic Moments Vodka, 8PM Premium Black Whisky, Morpheus Brandy, and more.
The company is gearing up to introduce a series of campaigns and activations in partnership with Kapoor.
In response to this partnership, Amar Sinha, COO of Radico Khaitan, conveyed his enthusiasm, stating, “We are delighted to have Kapoor join the Radico family, following our tradition of teaming up with industry luminaries. Kapoor’s captivating charisma and strong rapport with audiences align perfectly with our brand’s heritage of offering excellence and luxury. This collaboration highlights our steadfast commitment to innovation and enhancing consumer experiences, solidifying our position as pioneers in the industry.”
Kapoor’s partnership with the company will extend over 18 months, during which he will serve as the ambassador for a variety of Radico brands, with a particular emphasis on digital platforms.
Kapoor also expressed his enthusiasm for teaming up with Radico Khaitan, saying, “I’m thrilled to collaborate with Radico Khaitan for their premium range of brands. Radico is renowned for its dedication to delivering excellence and luxurious offerings. This partnership celebrates craftsmanship, innovation, and the esteemed heritage of Indian spirits on an international platform. I am eager to connect with audiences to craft unforgettable experiences that mirror Radico’s innovative ethos and commitment to establishing new standards in the industry.”
Breitling, the renowned Swiss luxury watchmaker, witnessed a remarkable surge of over 40% in revenue from India last year, as disclosed by CEO Georges Kern. Kern also expressed aspirations for Breitling to quickly rise to the top three positions in the luxury watch market within the country.
In pursuit of this objective, the Swiss brand is actively exploring opportunities to increase investment in the Indian market.
“We’ve proven that we can outperform the competition. We already operate three boutiques, and this year we intend to open two or three more to bring our total to six. Our goal is to open about ten boutiques in India, which will be a major infrastructural milestone, according to Kern. “Depending on size, each of our boutiques could run between $400,000 and $1 million.”
In 2023, Swiss watch exports to India experienced a year-on-year growth of 16.5%, signaling an expansion in the market within this category.
Kern, a seasoned professional in the Swiss watch industry who previously led another renowned luxury watch brand, IWC, noted that the Indian watch consumer has evolved. He observed a noticeable trend towards purchasing luxury locally, prompting the brand to enhance its distribution network.
Under Kern’s leadership, Breitling has undergone a remarkable transformation, marked by its assertive entry into markets such as India. Over the past six years, Kern has ascended to a rockstar status within the Swiss luxury watch industry.
The company was valued at $900 million when the Swiss-German business tycoon joined Breitling in 2017 and $4.5 billion when it was sold to Partners Group last year.
In 2017, CVC Capital Partners acquired the watch brand from the Schneider family. By 2022, the Swiss watchmaker had risen to become one of the top 10 Swiss brands by sales, achieving an annual turnover of nearly $1 billion.
Partners Group’s acquisition marked a significant turning point in the brand’s trajectory.
One out of every five rooms being built in the global hospitality sector is from the Hilton portfolio, as stated by Chris Silcock, president of global brands and commercial services at Hilton. He highlighted the chain’s expectation to achieve similar success in the Indian market in the near future.
Silcock expressed that the chain holds an ‘exceptionally’ bullish outlook on the sector, which is reinforced by its results.
Silcock noted, “Last year marked a record-breaking period for us in signings, with more rooms added to our global portfolio in Q4 than in any single year throughout our century-long history. We inaugurated over 130 hotels in the fourth quarter of 2023, resulting in a pipeline exceeding 3,000 hotels and half a million rooms. Consequently, we hold a highly optimistic outlook on a global scale.” Hilton’s objective is to have 75 trading and in-pipeline hotels in India by 2027. Presently, it operates 26 hotels in India, with an additional 20 in the pipeline.
“And when you consider India, this sentiment is even more pronounced. While we anticipate fluctuations on a global scale due to macroeconomic uncertainties typical in mature markets, in India, the momentum appears remarkably robust. Despite prevailing global economic conditions, we anticipate continued acceleration in growth. We perceive vast opportunities in the hospitality sector overall, particularly for Hilton,” he emphasized.
“Over the next few years, we plan to triple our current supply. The current number and the opportunity are entirely different from one another. For the long run, it matters more that the trajectory is heading in the right way,” he stated.
Hilton boasts 7,626 properties worldwide, encompassing 1,197,329 rooms across 126 countries and territories. Silcock disclosed that in Q1 of 2024, the chain greenlit nearly 30,000 new rooms for its pipeline.
“We currently have five brands operational in India. Our future plans involve introducing more of our brands to the Indian market. Specifically, we are exploring the introduction of our focused service and economy brands, such as Spark, in the near future,” he elaborated.
Hilton inked a deal for a Curio Collection hotel in India last year, marking another brand set to enter the market by next year.
Earlier this year, the American hotel chain unveiled a global partnership with Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone.
“Our collaboration with Deepika is likely unparalleled, with perhaps only Paris Hilton’s partnership bearing some similarities. It’s a global alliance that has yielded significant benefits not only in India but also in other markets worldwide,” explained Silcock. “We seek partners who embody our values, individuals respected for their excellence, and Deepika epitomizes these qualities,” he further elaborated.
Hilton might explore potential partnerships within the cricket sphere in India. Globally, the chain has already established partnerships with McLaren and the Chelsea football club.
We provide lodging to the McLaren crew on their global travels. “They converse with their followers about how our lodgings help them perform better in their day job, which is Formula One racing,” added Silcock. Chelsea Football Club in the United Kingdom is a partner of ours. No doubt about it, cricket is here to stay. What shape does it take? You can absolutely anticipate seeing that in our future in some way, shape, or form, he continued. I couldn’t say at this point.
Royal Challenge packaged drinking water has announced its partnership with one of the nation’s most beloved T20 franchises, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, as an Official Partner for the ongoing T20 season. Having enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the reigning champions of the women’s T20 team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the brand extends its enduring partnership to the men’s team for the 2024 T20 season. This year, Royal Challenge Packaged Drinking Water will infuse the festive fervor into the cricket season, encouraging every player to embrace bold choices with the hashtag #ChooseBold.
“Cricket, a spectacular sporting event, unites the entire nation with its thrilling action, delighting fans nationwide. We are thrilled to partner with Royal Challengers Bengaluru as an official sponsor. Witnessing the Naya Shers #ChooseBold is exhilarating, as they epitomize the essence of our brand. We extend our best wishes to them for the ongoing season,” expressed Varun Koorichh, Vice President and Portfolio Head of Marketing at Diageo India.
“Embracing challenges and championing boldness has consistently defined the essence of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. We are delighted to collaborate with Royal Challenge Packaged Drinking Water, a brand that mirrors our ethos by consistently opting for boldness in all their pursuits,” stated Rajesh Menon, Vice-President and Head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Lyskraft, the omnichannel fashion startup founded by former Zomato senior executive Mohit Gupta and Myntra founder Mukesh Bansal, has raised $26 million in seed funding, positioning it as one of the largest early-stage rounds for an Indian startup amid the ongoing funding crunch.
The funding round was led by Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India, Gupta stated. He emphasized that the seed capital would support their efforts to develop an omnichannel marketplace for premium brands. Their initial focus will be on women’s fashion, with plans to later expand into other lifestyle categories.
This significant seed investment in Lyskraft highlights the ongoing interest among investors in supporting ventures founded by returning entrepreneurs and seasoned executives.
Other investors in this round included global tech investor Prosus, Belgian investment fund Sofina, and partners of DST Global. Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow from MakeMyTrip, along with Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal, also took part in the financing, as per Gupta.
Gupta will assume the position of chief executive at Lyskraft, while Bansal will serve as a strategic advisor and shareholder. However, he won’t be involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.
According to sources, Bansal, who co-founded the fashion e-commerce platform Myntra and the fitness startup Cultfit, is now focused on developing a deep tech artificial intelligence startup on his own.
Following his stint at Tata, Bansal had stepped down as the CEO of Cultfit last year.
A year ago, when Gupta and Bansal joined forces, the aim was for Meraki Labs, Bansal’s startup incubator, to explore raising capital at the holding company level while also securing funds for various startups under its wing. Bansal has supported ventures such as the stock-broking firm Groww and the spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace.
Regarding Lyskraft, Gupta mentioned that the premiumization trend, noticeable across various consumer categories, guided him and Bansal towards targeting the high-end segment of the market for their venture.
“The premium fashion segment in India requires a distinct approach,” he stated. “He anticipates that within the next 5-10 years, it will grow significantly to warrant being treated as a standalone vertical. Particularly, women’s fashion poses unique challenges, and the solution, he believes, lies not solely in online or offline channels but in an omnichannel approach, which is our objective.”
Gupta exited Zomato in November 2022. He was promoted to the position of co-founder and played a key role in developing and guiding the company’s food delivery business. Prior to this, he spent a decade at MakeMyTrip, serving as its Chief Operating Officer until his departure in 2018. He also worked at the renowned packaged foods and beverages company, PepsiCo, in India.
As per Gupta, Lyskraft has partnered with 15 brands in the premium women’s apparel sector and does not intend to engage in manufacturing itself.
The company will vie with competitors such as Nykaa Fashion, which operates both online and offline stores, as well as purely digital platforms like Myntra (owned by Flipkart), Ajio by Reliance Retail, and Tata Cliq.
Gupta explained that Lyskraft chose an omnichannel approach instead of starting with an online-first strategy because their focus was on solving the problem rather than being confined to a specific channel.
“When it comes to premium occasion wear, whether it’s Indian or western, the buyer doesn’t care if it’s available online or offline.We are looking at this as a customer and category problem, not a channel one. The greatest solution we found for this was omni-channel, which is why we’re going that approach from the start,” he said.
“The offline piece has to be deeply curated as the brick-and-mortar ecosystem is able to accommodate a certain amount of inventory,” Gupta stated. We don’t think opening up an online marketplace is the greatest solution, even for online platforms, but we’re still very early in the process and will adjust as we learn more. However, curation is our underlying premise.
As per an investor presentation by Nykaa during its October-December earnings, the total fashion market in India is approximated to be $147 billion, with online fashion accounting for $49 billion of this figure.
Gupta mentioned that Lyskraft’s present addressable market stands at a few billion dollars, with projections indicating it could surge to $12-15 billion within the next six to seven years.
Firstcry, a kid-focused omnichannel retailer, is reportedly planning to withdraw its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and submit new IPO papers later next week.
According to sources cited by Moneycontrol, the startup intends to resubmit the DRHP with revised financial figures and key performance indicators reflecting the quarter that ended in December 2023.
Earlier, as reported by Reuters, Brainbees Solutions Ltd, the parent company of FirstCry, is set to withdraw its DRHP for a $500 million IPO. This decision comes after the market regulator raised concerns regarding the key metrics disclosed by FirstCry in the draft documents.
According to Moneycontrol, FirstCry had disclosed only 5-6 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), falling short of the 25 KPIs requested by the markets regulator.
In the realm of ecommerce platforms, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) typically encompass metrics such as the number of orders, average order value, gross order value, annual transacting customers, and various others.
According to the report, SEBI and FirstCry have been in discussions for a month to reach an agreement regarding the KPIs. Sources suggest that the resubmission of the DRHP will postpone FirstCry’s public listing by a few months, with expectations now pointing towards a debut on the bourses in July-August for the ecommerce unicorn.
This development comes at a time when SEBI has intensified its scrutiny of new-age tech companies seeking to list on the bourses.
This development comes at a time when SEBI has intensified its scrutiny of new-age tech companies seeking to list on the bourses. In 2022, the regulator halted the IPO of Go Digit General Insurance. Subsequently, the insurtech startup resubmitted its DRHP and obtained SEBI’s approval for its IPO just last month.
The funds raised from the IPO will be allocated towards establishing new retail outlets and warehouses, as well as facilitating international expansion efforts.
According to the DRHP, the largest shareholder in the startup is the Japanese investment giant SoftBank, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and Premji Invest. The draft documents further disclosed that the Pune-based company recorded a consolidated net loss of INR 110.4 Cr in Q1 FY24, contrasting with a net loss of INR 486 Cr for the entire FY23.
Meanwhile, during Q1 FY24, the startup’s operating revenue reached INR 1,406.9 Cr, compared to INR 5,632.5 Cr for the entire FY23.
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