The proposed IPO is a combination of a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 185 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 1.68 crores by promoter group entities and other selling shareholders, Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi showed.
Under the OFS, Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala will sell 27.23 lakh equity shares, Intensive Softshare Private Limited will offload 22.40 crore shares and Intensive Finance Private Limited will divest 14.87 lakh shares among others.
The offer includes a reservation for subscription by eligible employees.
Going by the draft papers filed on Friday, the Kolkata-based company may consider raising INR 37 crore in a pre-IPO placement round. If such placement is completed, the fresh issue size will be reduced.
Zomato has secured a spot among Jefferies‘ “top picks” for the next five years, with the brokerage predicting a 2.5X increase in the foodtech startup’s share price by March 2029.
Jefferies anticipates Zomato’s stock to climb to INR 400 from its current value of approximately INR 160.
The listed Indian startup has been mentioned in the list alongside the likes of Ambuja Cement, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, JSW Energy, L&T, Max Healthcare, SBI, TVS Motors, Amber, and Macrotech.
“Low penetration levels in core segments offer a long runway to growth with both food delivery (19% GOV CAGR over FY24-30) and quick commerce (40% CAGR) expected to jump,” said Jefferies analysts on Zomato’s growth potential.
They anticipate a 20-fold increase in profit during the FY24-FY30 period and foresee the stock yielding over 150% returns within this timeframe.
Meanwhile, according to a research note from UBS, Zomato’s year-on-year growth is expected to remain robust, in line with the company’s guidance of over 20%.
The brokerage has upheld its ‘buy’ rating and set a price target (PT) of INR 195 on Zomato, indicating an upside of nearly 22% from the stock’s last Friday close. However, UBS reportedly expects some downside to the consensus gross merchandise value (GMV) estimates.
Zomato’s shares surged approximately 3% to INR 164.45 on the BSE during early trading on Monday (March 18). However, they later pared most of their gains and were trading 0.7% lower at INR 158.75 by 3:10 PM IST.
It’s worth mentioning that Zomato stated in a filing on Saturday that it received a penalty notice for Goods and Services Tax (GST) from Gujarat’s Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, relating to FY19.
The company has been instructed to pay a total amount of INR 8.58 Cr, including interest and penalty charges.
In a research note last week, HSBC raised its price target (PT) on Zomato to INR 200 from INR 163. This adjustment currently suggests a potential upside of over 25%, driven by the heightened expectations for Blinkit‘s order growth rate.
Propelled by the company’s three consecutive profitable quarters, Zomato’s shares have surged over 29% year to date.
S Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, Co-Founders, Jumbotail
Jumbotail, the B2B marketplace and retail platform, has successfully raised INR 151 crore ($18.2 million) in its Series C3 equity funding round. The funding was spearheaded by Artal Asia, a venture capital firm based in Singapore. Other participants in the round include Heron Rock, Sabre Investment, Arkham Ventures, Jarvis Reserve Fund, Reaction Global, and VII Ventures.
The Bengaluru-based startup will utilize the funding to expand its suite of go-to-market products and assist new and emerging brands in reaching the masses through its nationwide network of kirana stores, as stated in a release.
Founded in 2015 by S Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, Jumbotail operates as a full-stack B2B marketplace, providing a range of services including tech-driven warehousing and a last-mile delivery supply chain network tailored to small and medium enterprises. Additionally, the company facilitates next-day storefront deliveries to kirana stores and offers a fintech platform for payment solutions, credit options, and financial services to kirana store owners.
Jumbotail is currently developing artificial intelligence-driven technologies aimed at increasing customer wallet share within the FMCG and staples sectors, as well as optimizing kirana supply chains.
According to the company, it boasts a 60% penetration rate in kirana stores across the cities it operates in, holding the highest wallet share and monthly purchase frequency among small and medium-sized kirana stores in the industry. Jumbotail highlights that nearly all of its sales, approximately 100%, stem from unassisted digital orders placed directly by kirana stores nationwide through the Jumbotail B2B digital retailer app.
In total, Jumbotail has secured $143 million in equity funding from notable investors such as Artal, Heron Rock, Nexus Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Jumbo Fund, and Arkam Ventures. Additionally, the company has obtained approximately $14 million in venture debt from prominent venture debt firms Alteria Capital and Innoven Capital.
“We are excited to see Jumbotail execute sustainable growth at scale, with a strong focus on profitability and capital efficiency. Since Artal’s first investment in Jumbotail in 2021, Jumbotail has continued to demonstrate its differentiation and market leadership in the digital enablement of the kirana ecosystem,” Benjamin Felt, Board Member of Jumbotail and Managing Director of Invus (the global advisor of Artal), said.
In FY23, Jumbotail reported a loss of INR 264 crore, nearly doubling from INR 124.7 crore in the prior year. Despite this, its revenue from operations surged to INR 819 crore, reflecting a remarkable 117% increase compared to the previous fiscal year when it amounted to INR 377 crore.
Swiggy has launched a nationwide road safety campaign named ‘Delivering Safely,’ reaffirming its commitment to prioritizing the safety of its delivery partners.
Being a leading entity in food, quick commerce, and diverse on-demand services, Swiggy operates with a vast network of over 300,000 delivery partners spanning across more than 600 cities nationwide.
Annually, Swiggy’s delivery partners collectively traverse an astounding distance of 3.6 billion kilometers, which is roughly equivalent to making 90,000 trips around the Earth’s equator.
Over recent years, Swiggy has been actively involved in increasing awareness among its delivery partners, streamlining the reporting process for safety incidents, thereby enabling Swiggy to swiftly take necessary actions.
Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplace, Swiggy, said, “Swiggy’s mission is rooted in making urban life more convenient for our customers. Improving road safety in our cities is not just a goal; it’s a necessity for enhancing the daily lives and safety of everyone. Congestion is a genuine concern, and as providers of food delivery, quick commerce, and other on-demand services, we believe we’re playing a practical role in alleviating this issue.”
Swiggy ensures comprehensive support for the safety and well-being of its delivery partners through a range of initiatives. This includes accidental medical coverage, offering INR 2 lakh for medical expenses and INR 10 lakh as death cover, with over INR 31 Crores disbursed in insurance claims during FY23.
Furthermore, Swiggy has pioneered an on-demand ambulance service, a first in the industry, with an average response time of 11 minutes, catering to the needs of its delivery partners and their families.
In case of any incident, Swiggy ensures delivery partners receive a guaranteed minimum income to assist in their recovery, matching the average earnings in their respective cities.
Road safety awareness workshops are conducted in collaboration with state traffic police departments by Swiggy to promote safe driving practices, complemented by access to advanced safety gear.
Moreover, Swiggy is in the process of developing an advanced telematics project aimed at monitoring driving behaviors. This initiative will enable the company to provide specialized training to delivery partners identified as at-risk, utilizing data analysis.
Zomato Co-Founder and chief executive Deepinder Goyal stated on Monday that the company’s quick-commerce platform Blinkit will outgrow its mainstay food-delivery business within a year. Goyal made these remarks at the government of India-organised Startup Mahakumbh, a three-day event where startup founders are discussing how policy formations can enhance India’s global ranking in innovation.
The food-delivery giant has grand plans to extend Blinkit beyond grocery delivery into the realm of e-commerce. Snackfax reported on March 4 that Zomato’s Blinkit and Mumbai-based Zepto are diversifying into categories like electronics, fashion, and home appliances, resembling mainstream e-commerce platforms.
Emphasizing the rapid evolution of technology, Goyal remarked that none of the business models devised today are likely to endure beyond a decade or two.
“It’s harder to create a generational company today than a few decades ago because of technology,” he said.
In reply to a query from Sanjeev Bikhchandani, co-founder of Info Edge India and a member of the organizing committee, as well as the earliest institutional investor in Zomato, Goyal emphasized that Zomato has evolved significantly from its inception 16 years ago.
“This is Zomato’s fourth version,” the founder said.
The Startup Mahakumbh event anticipates the participation of over 40 unicorn startups, with founders from notable companies like Lenskart, Boat, Dream11, Oyo, Razorpay, Zerodha, Acko, Moglix, Urban Company, and Nykaa.
In specific categories, sports goods saw a 9% increase, followed by footwear at 8% and QSR at 7%, compared to sales levels in February 2023.
“Customers seem to spend cyclically across categories and regions. East of India was showing strong growth for most part of the financial year, but seems to have weakened over the last couple of months. Similarly, CDIT products growth seem to face headwinds in the last quarter while it grew well in the first three quarters,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI).
Consumers are adjusting their purchasing patterns across different spending categories, including travel, automobiles, and housing purchases, in addition to the mentioned categories.
“What we also gather is that the middle-class consumers are stretching their budgets, thanks to easy availability of finance and then are recalibrating their expenditure based on EMI outflows,” said Rajagopalan.
Retail businesses in various regions have reported increased sales compared to February 2023, with the highest growth noted in West and South India at 6% each. North India showed a growth of 4%, while East India saw a more modest growth of only 3%.
Even in January, the growth remained at 5%. Despite the festive season, October and November only saw a growth of 7%, while December experienced a 4% growth, resulting in a sluggish quarter for retailers from October to December.
Kumar, a graduate of IIM Calcutta, commenced his professional journey with P&G in 2000, serving in the sales team in India. With nearly 24 years of experience, predominantly in India across diverse roles within the sales domain, he brings a wealth of expertise. Currently serving as CEO, he has been pivotal in driving P&G’s business in Australia and New Zealand, achieving unprecedented milestones fueled by category expansion and robust collaborations with retailers. Before his tenure in Australia, Kumar spearheaded the Sales Team at P&G India until 2020.
Venkatasubramanian is a staunch proponent of equality and inclusion. During his tenure, numerous programs were expanded, leaving a profound impact on both employees and the community. Notably, he spearheaded P&G ANZ’s corporate partnership with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, reflecting his commitment to fostering diversity and inclusivity.
Kumar will take over from LV Vaidyanathan, who will depart the company to pursue other interests after 28 years of service to P&G. Under Vaidyanathan’s leadership, P&G India has made significant progress in delivering superior propositions for Indian consumers and has achieved consistent balanced growth in both top and bottom lines. During his tenure, the company has also intensified its efforts across key areas of Citizenship – Community Impact, Equality and Inclusion, and Environmental Sustainability.
Stanislav Vecera, P&G president, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, said, “I am thrilled with Kumar Venkatasubramanian’s appointment as the India CEO, who has been an integral part of the P&G India growth story for well over two decades. Kumar is no stranger to the Indian organization, having spent many years building and executing our business strategies here. The Indian business and people will immensely benefit from his leadership and vision, and collectively I am certain they will take the Indian business to new heights while maintaining a balanced growth outlook.”
“It has been a great honour and privilege to lead our business in India. The journey has been incredibly fulfilling. I am so proud of every P&G employee for demonstrating commitment and passion to serve our consumers, customers, and stakeholders, and for the results we collectively achieved. I am confident in the continued success of the company and the people,” LV Vaidyanathan said.
“The India organisation is on a momentum, delivering consistent results and a balanced top and bottom-line growth. It will be important for us to remain focused on our integrated growth strategy. We aim to lead constructive disruption in the industry across the value chain. I believe that our agile, empowered, and accountable organization will be at the heart of our growth,” Kumar Venkatasubramanian said.
At the meeting, discussions centered around raising awareness among farmers about the responsible usage of antibiotics in livestock, aquaculture, poultry, and other sectors, in line with FSSAI’s obligations outlined in the AMR National Action Plan-II. Additionally, strategies for conducting surveillance on antimicrobial susceptibility in food matrices to uphold consumer safety were explored.
The Commissioners of Food Safety of States and Union Territories were instructed to strive diligently towards the goal of developing 100 food streets as ‘Healthy and Hygienic Food Streets’.
The significance of surveillance sampling was highlighted during the conversation. States were instructed to devise their surveillance plans and hold regular meetings with state laboratories and their officials.
Discussions revolved around the necessity of clean marketplaces and the establishment of health clubs in both state and central government schools. Additionally, the development of app-based models and literature in regional languages to motivate the younger generation was also addressed.
States and Union Territories were urged to take steps to raise awareness about the significance and advantages of fortified rice. It was emphasized to conduct regular sampling of Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK) and ensure strict compliance with the FSS (Fortification of Foods) Regulation, 2018.
During the meeting, a Guidance Document for Training Food Handlers in the Canteens of Universities, Colleges, and Hostels was introduced to enhance the food safety infrastructure. This endeavor targets the training of approximately 1.1 million food handlers employed in these establishments over the next two years.
Uma Shankar Dhyani, Executive Director (HR & Finance), and Inoshi Sharma, Executive Director (Compliance Strategy), both from FSSAI, attended the meeting. The gathering also included over 50 officials, comprising Commissioners of Food Safety (CFS), representatives from various states and union territories, officials from FSSAI and nodal ministries, as well as members representing the food industry, consumers, agriculture, laboratories, and research bodies.
ITC has become the second company, after Amazon, to employ inland waterways for commercial transport, as per an official statement.
The statement added that ITC Limited has teamed up with the Inland Waterways Authority of India to transport FMCG products through inland waterways using National Waterway 1.
On March 14th, a ship loaded with eight containers of processed food products (Noodles) from ITC Ltd departed from Kolkata to Patna.
The cargo is being transported using MV Rabindranath Tagore, which boasts a carrying capacity of 16 TEUs.
It is operated by Inland and Coastal Shipping Limited (ICSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Shipping Corporation of India.
In November last year, IWAI signed an MoU with Amazon India Ltd and successfully facilitated the movement of its first e-commerce cargo through National Waterway 1.
Inland Waterways Authority of India is committed towards developing national waterways and make IWT a more viable mode of transportation, the statement said.
According to the statement, Under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, IWAI is developing National Waterway 1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) to improve navigation and facilitate smooth passenger and cargo movement.
As on February this year, total cargo movement on national waterways was recorded at 122.21 million tonnes which is 7.2% higher than the corresponding figures of last year. The collaboration between ITC Ltd and IWAI will pave the way for similar partnerships in future and open new possibilities for private sector to leverage the extensive inland waterways in India.
French sports retailer Decathlon is accelerating its investments to ramp up production and enhance its retail presence further in India, one of its “most important” global markets, its Global CEO Barbara Martin Coppola has said.
Decathlon expects to continue its “high growth rate” from the Indian market, which is also emerging as an important manufacturing hub for the sports retailer, from where it currently exports around 65 per cent of production to global markets, she added.
For Decathlon, India is currently among the top ten global markets, growing “twice the rate” of others, where it entered in 2009 and now operates a network of 129 stores, she said.
Coppola said she is “really impressed” with the evolution of the sports culture in India, especially among the middle class, which is gradually getting engaged in different kinds of sports, amid a rise in their income level with the growth of the economy.
“We see a real appetite for overall sports consumption, people wanting to try new experiences. And to be honest, there is an energy that is just beautiful to see at the stores… for Decathlon, (India) for sure is one of the major markets,” Coppola said.
Over investments in India, Coppola said Decathlon has plans to accelerate local production as well as local sourcing and expand its sports retail sales network.
“I can not comment on investment but we are accelerating. We are not only accelerating presence in India from a retail perspective but also from the production perspective,” she said, adding “India is the most important market for Decathlon. We expect to continue the high growth.”
When asked about the outlook and role India could play in Decathlon’s global operations, Coppola said it is “a major country” for the French sporting goods retailer.
“It’s a powerhouse in digital and to be honest, I am inspired by the creativity of the production, the experiences, which makes it interesting for the world,” she said, adding “I am very impressed by the know-how, which has been acquired progressively.”
Manufacturing of bikes is not easy and India is now manufacturing it. It is also manufacturing backpacks, tents to textiles and this range would continue to increase, she added.
Decathlon has plans to increase the local sourcing to 85 per cent in the next two years of the sports goods sold in India from the present 60 per cent.
“Currently 65 per cent of what is produced in India (by Decathlon) is exported. That part would grow bigger and continue to grow,” Coppola added.
When asked about Decathlon’s growth driver in India, she said there are different factors. Now overall society is getting into sports.”
Earlier, only 5 per cent of the Indian population was participating in sports, however, now this is having a high growth with the adoption of different sports.
“This has especially become popular in the middle class,” Coppola said, adding there are more avenues for sporting also in India.
This is also helped by factors such as a rise in income, leading to “more wealth, more spending on sports and leisure”.
“Now India has more unicorns, experiences and know-how that exist in the ecosystem of India, there are fantastic opportunities and sports is one of the industries, which is exploding. There would be many more,” she added.
Decathlon’s app clocked nearly 29 million downloads in India, Coppola said, adding that the brand has been able to offer “one of the best omni-channel experiences”, which includes not only selling sports goods but also offering space for sports-related activities at its stores.
Decathlon, which is the official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympics, would be delighted if India gets a chance to host this major international multi-sport event, said Coppola.
The Indian government is bidding to host the Olympics in 2036.
Decathlon entered India in 2009 as a cash-and-carry retailer and was approved for single-brand retail in 2013 by the government.
For the financial year ended March 31, 2023, Decathlon India’s sales were at INR 3,995 crore, registering a 37 per cent growth.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
