Flipkart founder Binny Bansal has invested just under $2 million in his new venture, OppDoor, through venture fund Three State Ventures, according to recent Singapore regulatory filings seen by ET.

OppDoor is a software services platform that aims to help emerging online retail brands expand globally.

Three State Ventures is the investment vehicle of Bansal, sponsored through his personal capital. It invested the money via multiple tranches over the past few months, the filings showed. The latest cash infusion was in February.

The latest investment may be relatively smaller in size, but indicates the bet the IIT-Delhi alumnus is taking on his new venture.

Bansal resigned from Flipkart’s board in January as reported first by ET, formally ending his ties with Flipkart. He has been using capital from the Flipkart share sale to fund his ventures that in turn invest in other startups.

An email sent to Bansal did not immediately elicit any response. It is not clear yet if Bansal will raise capital from external investors for his venture.

OppDoor has been in talks with former senior Flipkart group executives to induct them. Simultaneously, it made several hirings in Bengaluru for various roles. The company currently is offering ecommerce business-related services to Amazon’s US brands in international markets.

Bansal, who shifted his base to Singapore after exiting from the operating role in Flipkart in 2018, has been a frequent visitor to Bengaluru over the past year.

A few months after Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart in 2018, Bansal stepped down from his role as Flipkart Group chief executive, following allegations of serious personal misconduct, according to a statement issued by Walmart in November that year. He was, however, exonerated of the charges after an internal investigation at the etailer.

Bansal continued to hold his board position. Late last year, he sold his remaining stake in the firm netting about $650 million. He has been selling his stake in parts to Walmart and other investors in Flipkart before making a full exit. Walmart, the US-based retailer, now holds 80.5% in Flipkart.

Curefoods, PhonePe and Acko are among top startup bets of Bansal where he has put in significant funds over the years.

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Online grocer BigBasket and ecommerce major Flipkart have both cut down on their delivery timeline over the past two months amid increasing competition from quick commerce firms like Blinkit and Zepto and rising consumer demand for speedy delivery even in non-metro cities.

Tata Digital-owned BigBasket in January announced its rebranding for slotted delivery service, which allows users to pick a slot to get their groceries delivered, to “Supersaver”, promising to deliver products in under two hours.

Walmart-owned Flipkart has also kicked off same-day delivery of products across several categories at no extra cost in 20 cities.

BigBasket has replaced all of its delivery vans with bikes and makes all of its deliveries from its dark stores, Hari Menon, cofounder and chief executive of the firm, told ET.

It also redesigned carrying baskets to increase capacity and removed ‘bays’ used to load vans in its dark stores to make space for more stock keeping items (SKUs).

Menon said the dark stores can service over 30,000 SKUs now, compared to about 10,000 earlier.

“Our cost hasn’t shot up, as the blended cost of running a fleet of vans and bikes is higher than the cost of running a fleet of just bikes,” he said. “Removing the van bays means we haven’t spent on expanding dark store size. However, there is a slightly higher picking cost (the cost of employing people who pack and manage dark stores).”

Hemant Badri, senior vice president and head of supply chain at Flipkart, said the ecommerce giant has taken “meticulous” planning and leveraging on technology to bring same-day delivery to 20 cities.

“Our teams have spent months of planning to ensure that orders are fulfilled from the nearest fulfilment centre, minimising transit times and enhancing the overall efficiency of the delivery process with equal delivery efficiency in the metro and non-metro cities,” he said.

Shifting customer needs

The faster delivery timelines are also being taken to tier-2 markets where companies like Flipkart and BigBasket have a sizable consumer base amid increasing consumer demand for speedier delivery.

“Even if they (tier 2 consumers) haven’t experienced quick commerce, the aspirations of buyers in small towns are at the same level as their metro counterparts,” said Ashish Dhir, senior director of consumer and retail at consulting firm 1Lattice.

Improved services by ecommerce firms could also give them an advantage over offline stores in tier-2 and beyond, he said. “The customer in these towns also aspires to access a much wider and updated range of products, which will be much more capital and time intensive for offline players to provide, across categories like apparel and electronics,” Dhir said.

Menon, who also runs the quick commerce service BB Now, said BigBasket would further cut the supersaver delivery time to one hour, and expand the service from the current 45 cities to all the 70 cities it operates in.

The idea is to offer BigBasket’s discounted prices as close to the delivery timeline of quick commerce as possible, though that could also pose some risk of cannibalisation, he said.

For BigBasket, deliveries by van had an average order value (AOV) of Rs 1,500, but the overall blended fleet of vans and bikes had an AOV of Rs 1,250. With the move to a bike-only fleet, that blended AOV level has been “crucially maintained”, Menon said.

ET reported last week that Flipkart is planning to launch a quick-commerce service in a few months.

ET reported on March 4 that Zepto and Blinkit are tying up with brands to add several categories like fashion, beauty, electronics, toys, home and kitchen products.

Flipkart, when launching the same day delivery in 20 cities, had said the service would cover categories like mobile phones, fashion, beauty products, lifestyle, books, home appliances and electronics.

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The Indian quick-commerce sector might see expansion into a much wider array of stock keeping units (SKUs), bringing it closer to ecommerce in the future, said Paul Hudson, founder of investment firm Glade Brook Capital.

In a blog post on LinkedIn, Hudson wrote that the market is already moving in this direction with Blinkit and Zepto expanding their product assortment. The fund had backed Mumbai-based Zepto last year and invested in Blinkit’s parent company Zomato back in 2019.

“Many believe Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart will continue to dominate the future of Indian ecommerce. In my humble opinion, I would not bet against the hometown teams at Zepto and Zomato,” he added.

ET reported on March 4 that Blinkit and Zepto are fast entering ecommerce territory and are set to add several categories like fashion, beauty, electronics, toys, home and kitchen to their offerings. On Thursday, ET reported that ecommerce major Flipkart is planning to launch a quick-commerce service in a few months.

“Blinkit and Zepto contend with relatively low average order values, modest product margins and incremental costs for rapid supply chain, logistics, fulfillment, and delivery – in addition to the cost of acquiring customers and covering overhead. As a result, the business model is operationally challenging… Over 2020-2022, dozens of quick-commerce start-ups raised and burned through billions of dollars in funding, only to not survive the 2022-2023 venture capital downcycle,” Hudson said in his post.

However, over the past few months quick-commerce firms have been able to increase their gross order value (GOV) – an indicator of sales – while also cutting down on costs, Hudson said. These firms have been able to turn the tide through factors like strong founders, true product-market fit, operational execution and innovation, and a deep moat.

Praising the founders at the two firms, Hudson contended that quick-commerce firms had found true product-market fit in India. “Ordering everyday needs via app across thousands of products, delivered within minutes, has struck a chord with Indian consumers. This is especially true for the millions of digitally native young people in India’s large and growing cities,” he said.

This was also opening up other avenues like earnings through advertisements on these platforms. ET reported on Jan 8 that advertising is quickly becoming an important way for platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit and Zepto to bump up their overall revenue.

Operationally, these firms had also been able to nail down aspects like SKU selection, supply chain management and procurement, dark store layouts and so on, Hudson said. “For product forward and tech savvy teams, India provides the ability to cost effectively build most aspects of the tech infrastructure in-house… Zepto and Blinkit have brought nearly every aspect of the technology stack in-house, allowing the teams to customize and optimize in a manner that would otherwise be impossible,” he added.

All of these had helped quick-commerce firms to unlock good operating scale and a deep moat, Hudson argued. Scale also unlocked return on investment on advertising, and high margins on ad revenues which could be reinvested into things like technology and customer experience, he added.

Now, these firms are entering new ground, Hudson said. “The longer term investment thesis behind quick-commerce extends beyond rapid delivery of grocery and daily needs products into a broader SKU assortment that penetrates many categories. The moonshot of delivering a wide assortment of SKUs rapidly – say in one hour – opens up the much broader ecommerce market to a superior customer value proposition,” he added.

Blinkit and Zepto are entering the fashion segment, partnering with apparel firms and sellers for listing of brands including Adidas, Pepe Jeans, Jockey, Manyavar, XYXX and Mad Over Print. While this is new territory for both platforms, people aware of the developments say the companies could end up becoming the go-to destinations for shoppers in certain use cases.

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Delhivery has transformed its facility in Punjab’s Moga into an all-woman-run hub, the leading integrated logistics service provider said in a press release on Friday.

The company plans to establish similar types of all-women-run facilities in other regions of the country, including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

With the new announcement, end-to-end hub operations will be orchestrated by an all-women workforce, including BOPT operations (battery-operated pallet trucks), inventory management, and loading and unloading of trucks.

Women-only housekeeping and security staff have also been deployed to support the facility 24×7. The young women recruits aged 18–30 have undergone focused training on processes, shipment handling, and key metrics, the company said.

“Before Delhivery, our new joiners at Moga were working in unorganized set-ups. Their transition to the formal logistics sector ensures a steady income and makes them eligible for social security benefits such as PF and ESIC,” said Suraj Saharan, Chief People Officer and Co-Founder at Delhivery.

“Punjab is an enterprising state, and its women, too, are highly self-motivated and aspirational. Through our interactions with the female staff, we were pleased to know that they harbour big growth ambitions. They are at the right place—the growth opportunities at Delhivery are endless,” he added.

Saharan said, “We value diversity and are continuously striving to onboard more women colleagues across operations and corporate roles. Our women’s workforce strength has grown five times over the past three years across all our operations facilities.”

The women operating across three shifts reside within a 6–9 km radius of the facility and are well supported through the reliable transportation connectivity provided by the company.

“We are determined to enable them to achieve their professional and personal milestones through our training and mentorship programs in a safe, inclusive work culture,” he added.

“Delhivery has achieved significant milestones in inclusivity and diversity in recent years, such as a 90% participation ratio at the Tauru Mega Gateway in Haryana and a 100% women participation ratio at the Jaipur Gateway.”

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Angel investors and early institutional shareholders in ecommerce company Meesho are in discussions with investors to divest their stake, people aware of the matter told ET.

Talks are on for a transaction at a valuation of $3-3.5 billion, but this figure may change, people briefed on the matter said.

WestBridge Capital and Norwest Venture Partners are among the entities that have held talks with Meesho’s early investors, the sources said.

The development underscores the growing trend of secondary share sales in late-stage firms. New investors are also looking at assets that have been able to withstand the funding drought and reduce operating burn over the last year or so.

Meesho’s early investor Venture Highway had sold a part of its stake to WestBridge in October. It retains 1% but plans to make an exit in this round, said people in the know. Oyo’s Maninder Gulati and former Vodafone group chief Arun Sarin are among Meesho’s other early investors. The SoftBank and Meta-backed startup was last valued at nearly $5 billion in 2021.

“WestBridge has indicated it wants to buy more in Meesho and Norwest has also held talks,” a person briefed on the discussions said. “The conversations are largely around the pricing of the deal, as older investors want to make an exit now.”

Secondary transactions typically happen at a discount to the last primary valuation. The extent of the discount, however, may have a bearing on when the company goes out to raise new primary capital.

A spokesperson for Meesho declined to comment, citing company policy.

Queries sent to Norwest Venture Partners and WestBridge Capital didn’t elicit any response.

“There are a few more investors who have shown interest,” another person aware of the matter said, without divulging names.

On December 29, Meesho said its loss for the year ended March 31 narrowed by 48% to Rs 1,675 crore, while operating revenue grew by 77% to Rs 5,735 crore.

For the first half of FY24, the online marketplace said its operating revenue increased by 37% year-on-year to Rs 3,521 crore, with a 90% reduction in loss to Rs 141 crore.

The company said it has achieved profitability for the September quarter, but did not give any numbers. In August, Meesho chief executive Vidit Aatrey had said the firm had clocked its first profit after tax for July.

Secondaries in focus

Amid the current funding winter, large startups have facilitated investor exits through such secondary investments, while onboarding new investors ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO) over the next two-three years.

ET had reported on December 25 that FirstCry saw more than Rs 1,000 crore in secondary share sale late last year before it filed its draft IPO papers.

While 2023 saw a seven-year record low for primary funding for startups in India at around $8.8 billion, investors and founders have told ET they expect more secondary funding deals to happen in 2024 as well.

In a secondary share sale, the money goes to the investor selling the stake while primary funding is infused in the company for various use cases. Lenskart’s $600 million funding, of which about $450 million was in secondary transaction, was among the biggest such deals in 2023, when ADIA (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) and Chrys Capital invested in the Gurgaon-based omni-channel retailer.

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Amazon lost an appeal on Wednesday against a ruling that it had infringed UK trademarks by targeting British consumers on its U.S. website, in a potentially significant judgment for other online retailers.

The U.S. tech giant was found in 2022 by London’s Court of Appeal to have infringed the trademarks. Amazon appealed last year to the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, which unanimously ruled that its U.S. website was “targeting consumers in the UK”.

Amazon declined to comment on “ongoing proceedings”.

Intellectual property lawyers said the ruling could affect all online retailers, who would now need to check that their platforms do not automatically target British consumers.

Amazon was first sued in London by Lifestyle Equities, the owner of the UK and European trademarks in the “Beverly Hills Polo Club” brand, in 2019. Its trademarks cover a wide variety of goods, including clothing, luggage, watches and perfume.

Lifestyle Equities said Amazon had infringed its trademarks by selling U.S. branded goods to British consumers via its U.S. website, which Amazon denied.

The Supreme Court said in Wednesday’s ruling that Amazon’s U.S. website automatically contains boxes stating “Deliver to United Kingdom” when it detects a user is based in the UK.

This meant, the court said, that “Amazon did target the UK as a destination for the U.S. branded goods”, where the product was marked as available for delivery to the UK.

Lifestyle Equities is entitled to an injunction preventing further infringement and potentially damages, the court ruled.

Jenna Green, an intellectual property (IP) lawyer at Addleshaw Goddard, said online retailers would have to audit their platforms to avoid risking any infringement.

The ruling meant brand owners have “far stronger rights to prevent website operators based outside the UK from targeting UK consumers”, Green added.

Dennis Lee, an IP partner at BDB Pitmans, said the ruling could prompt similar lawsuits against other online retailers.

Any website offering shipping to the UK “will now need to be clear that it is not ‘targeting’ UK shoppers“, he said, or if it does be sure that the goods do not infringe UK trademarks.

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Chinese online retailer JD.com reported fourth-quarter revenue above estimates on Wednesday and upsized its share repurchase program, as aggressive price cuts helped revive demand from consumers grappling with an uncertain economy.

The company’s US-listed shares rose 9.4% in premarket trading.

China’s shaky economic growth, high youth unemployment and lower wages for office workers have led to consumers tightening their purse strings, driving retailers like JD.com to employ heavy discounts to support sales.

The company reported quarterly net revenue of 306.1 billion yuan ($42.52 billion), compared with analysts’ average estimate of 300.04 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.

Some analysts believe JD.com’s popularity among cost-conscious buyers has grown over the quarter.

Analysts also said the “suspicious practices” that emerged in an internal audit of its Dada Nexus unit are unlikely to have had a sizeable impact on the company’s overall revenue, abating investor concerns.

JD.com said it will repurchase up to $3 billion worth of its shares, including American depository shares, over the next 36 months through March 2027.

The company reported net income attributable to shareholders of 3.4 billion yuan, up more than 13% from 3 billion yuan a year earlier.

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New Delhi: Grocery e-tailer BigBasket has launched a new frozen foods brand Precia in collaboration with chef Sanjeev Kapoor, it announced in a press release on Tuesday.

Precia will include three product categories, including frozen vegetables, frozen snacks and frozen sweets, read the release.

“We aim to redefine the landscape, meeting the growing demand for convenient, high-quality meal solutions. Our goal of INR 100 crore in online sales by 2026 underscores our belief in Precia’s potential and our commitment to continuous growth,” said Hari Menon, CEO and co-founder, BigBasket.

The release read that India’s frozen food sector is projected to reach USD 4.5 billion in the next 5 years, growing at a CAGR of 16 per cent.

Big Basket, a Tata enterprise is an online grocery brand and has its operations in more than 300 cities in India.

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New York: Opening new stores is back in style – at some U.S. retail chains.

Executives at several major retailers in recent weeks have touted the chains’ efforts to gain market share by adding new locations. Target, for instance, is adding 300, Walmart , 150; Sam’s Club, 30; Bloomingdale’s, 15 and Bluemercury at least 30.

This new expansion marks a major change in strategy following years of store closures and warnings of a “retail apocalypse” caused by the rapid growth of online shopping, particularly during the pandemic.

Shoppers have continued to visit stores, even if just to pick up their online orders or have a Starbucks coffee. This has occurred even as some famous retail names have filed for bankruptcy protection, from J.C. Penney to Lord & Taylor to Bed Bath & Beyond.

Walmart and Target have hailed consumers’ fondness for store pickup and delivery services for driving visits and sales in their most recent results. Walmart said online order pickup and delivery offerings helped drive its traffic up 4%. Target said “Drive-up” was popular in recouping about 240 basis points of traffic in the holiday quarter versus the prior quarter.

Target said on Tuesday that it would open more than 300 predominantly full-size stores over the next decade, for instance. The Minneapolis-based chain plans to add more sections for food in the new stores, after generating $8 billion in additional sales from that category since 2019. Once developed, the new Target stores are expected to boost sales by $15 billion annually.

It also intends to remodel nearly 2,000 existing stores. The remodels will range from full-scale renovations to less dramatic upgrades, adding new light fixtures, Ulta Beauty areas within the Target stores, and building out backrooms to fulfill online orders through Target’s same-day delivery service.

The addition of big stores, most to be larger than the chain’s average stores of 120,000 square feet, is a departure from its recent strategy of opening small-box stores in urban locations, analyst Edward Yruma of Piper Sandler & Co noted at a Target investor meeting in New York following its holiday quarter results.

For instance, Target last year announced plans to open six new stores in New York City, many of them smaller in footprint than a regular big-box Target store.

Walmart has also pivoted its strategy. In 2015, the retailer said it would slow store openings to focus on building its e-commerce business to take on Amazon.com. It last opened a store in November 2021.

In January, however, it announced plans to build more than 150 new Supercenters and smaller-format Neighborhood markets over the next five years. This comes just a year after it said it would open 30 new Sam’s Clubs across the country, its first new openings for the chain since 2017. It is also remodeling 650 existing Walmart stores over the next 12 months.

Walmart, which generates more than $600 billion in annual sales, operates about 4,700 U.S. stores – most of them huge Supercenters selling everything from apples to shoes and TVs.

Macy’s is another retailer building new stores. The department store operator laid out plans to open several more luxury Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury locations over the next three years. But it also said it will close 150 big Macy’s stores, including some flagships, to focus efforts on expanding these better-performing luxury brands.

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Quick-commerce company Zepto on Tuesday said its membership programme Zepto Pass has got one million sign-ups within one week of launch.

Taking to social media platform X, chief executive officer Aadit Palicha said, “The energy at Zepto feels just like the early days, and I’ve never been more excited about our company’s momentum and strength of execution.”

The membership, which comes at a fee of Rs 99 per month, offers unlimited free deliveries on orders worth more than Rs 99 and discounts of up to 20% based on the order value, ET reported on February 19.While some users are being offered discounts for orders worth more than Rs 299, the threshold for the others is Rs 699, the people cited earlier said, adding that the company is offering this service to some at an introductory price of Rs 19.

With ‘Pass’, Zepto became the second quick commerce firm to offer subscription benefits after Swiggy Instamart. Zomato, on the other hand, does not extend benefits from its Gold subscription to its quick commerce service Blinkit.

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