🚚 Meesho bets on logistics with Valmo; Nykaa’s results tell a larger BPC story

The most interesting news selected specially for you! 11 February 2024 [View in Browser]( Hello, Now, startups and enterprises can enhance their brand engagement by partnering with YourStory and advertising on our YS Buzz and Weekly Wrap newsletters. [Click here]( to know more. In today's newsletter, we will talk about: - Meesho bets on logistics with Valmo - Nykaa’s results tell a larger BPC story - Eco Way enables green deliveries in Dubai - Freshworks’ Q4 losses halve, revenue up 20% - Mamearth parent’s Q3 profit up 251% Here’s your trivia for today: Where is the world's oldest astronomical clock located? --------------------------------------------------------------- Logistics Meesho bets on logistics with Valmo SoftBank-backed ecommerce startup Meesho has entered the logistics industry through supply chain service Valmo, aiming to provide low-cost solutions to micro-enterprises. Meesho looks to create a logistics marketplace to make demand accessible to local players by removing barriers to entry. Valmo’s disaggregated network will help maintain low costs per shipment even with volatile demand patterns, said the company. Key takeaways: - Meesho has been building its logistics platform and onboarding clients for the last year. So far, the platform has onboarded nearly 3,000 local and regional entrepreneurs across 6,000 pin codes in 20 states. - Valmo was built on the idea that the sector is growing fast and holds immense potential to expand local and regional capacity, Sourabh Pandey, CXO of Fulfilment and Experience at Meesho, told YourStory. - India’s logistics sector, which is largely unorganised, is poised to touch $330 billion by 2025, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- From the CapTable Nykaa’s beauty business bears the brunt of overall industry slowdown Online beauty and personal care giant Nykaa posted its third-quarter results on February 6, and though it didn’t spring any major surprises, there was still a lot to unpack. The company’s revenue from operations grew 22% to Rs 1,788 crore, while its profits rose about 2X to Rs 17.5 crore. The company posted an overall GMV of Rs 3,619 crore across all of its businesses—a 29% jump compared to the same quarter last year. The results are largely in line with the company’s projections and analyst estimates. But Nykaa’s latest results are worth diving deeper into given that it is the biggest quarter of the year, not just for the company but for the entire e-commerce space. Nykaa’s results are especially important considering it is the bellwether of the burgeoning beauty and personal care (BPC) sector, which gained prominence during the pandemic. Its results and the analyst call that followed showcased an industry that is moving in different directions. While mass market plays are struggling, premium brands are flourishing. Key takeaways: - Nykaa posted its third quarter financials, which saw the company clock a 22% growth in overall revenue, resulting in a Rs 17.5 crore profit. - While the numbers don’t come as a surprise, a deeper look at the financials show an industry that is moving in different directions. - D2C and mass brands are struggling to grow business sustainability, leading to high discounts. Premium brands, though, continue to gain traction. - Nykaa’s fashion play and eB2B business Superstore have also scaled up. [Continue Reading]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Vehicles Eco Way enables green deliveries in Dubai Kroshny, a Ukrainian businessman who moved to Dubai in 2021 to open a speciality coffee chain, noticed that delivery persons in the city primarily used gasoline bikes or scooters to carry out their jobs. This significantly contributed to CO2 emissions and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), which can cause respiratory illnesses. In 2023, Kroshny, using his experience in manufacturing electric vehicles in China, set up EV delivery startup Eco Way to replace gasoline bikes. Going green: - Eco Way has developed three versions of its proprietary e-bikes for delivery: H-9 City, H-9 SPORT, and H-9 PRO. The e-bikes are capable of reaching speeds of 100-110 km/h and have a range of up to 120 kilometres. - The company’s bikes are powered by CATL batteries. CATL is a China-headquartered company that manufactures and distributes batteries for EVs and energy storage systems. - The e-bikes come with two batteries, enabling couriers to use one while charging the other and swap them at any of its 13 charging stations. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- SaaS Freshworks’ Q4 losses halve company Freshworks registered a 20% growth in revenue for the quarter ended December 2023, driven by generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in its product portfolio even as losses narrowed, outperforming estimates. Report card: - Freshworks reported revenue of $160.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, a year-on-year growth of 20%. - More importantly, it narrowed its losses to $28 million for the December quarter, a YoY decline of 49% from $55 million a year ago. - The company’s chief revenue officer Pradeep Rathinam has resigned from the firm he joined in 2020. Abe Smith will take over his role. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- D2C Mamearth parent Q3 net profit up 251% Consumer, the omnichannel beauty and personal care company, posted a 251% YoY increase in net profit for the third quarter of FY24 driven by rising revenue and operational efficiencies. Honasa, which owns brands like Mamaearth, The Derma Co., and Aqualogica, reported a net profit of Rs 25.9 crore for Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 7.1 crore earned a year ago. Green: - The company’s revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 488 crore, a 27.8% rise from Rs 382 crore last year. - Honasa noted that online growth was driven by platforms with a strong presence in Tier II locations. - At market close on Friday, the company’s stock was up 4.45%, trading at Rs 435 apiece, on the NSE. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- News & Updates - [Buyback:]( China's Alibaba Group Holding announced an increase of $25 billion to its share repurchase program through the end of March 2027. The company reported revenue of 260.35 billion yuan ($36.19 billion) for the three months ended December 31, 2023. The company's US-listed shares were up 3.5% in premarket trading. - [Duopoly:]( An Indian parliamentary panel has urged the government to support the growth of domestic fintech players that can provide alternatives to the Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay apps that currently command more than 83% of the country’s fast-growing digital payments market. - [Pay cut:]( Singapore's biggest bank DBS has slashed its CEO's bonus by 30% after disruptions to its digital services, despite it posting a record profit. The company said the cut to Piyush Gupta's variable pay amounts to $3.1 million and that his full salary for 2023 will be disclosed in March. Did you know? Where is the world's oldest astronomical clock located? Answer: Prague, Czech Republic. Dating back to 1410, the astronomical clock runs from 9 am to 11 pm daily. We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail nslfeedback@yourstory.com. If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, [sign up here](. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our [Daily Capsule page here](. [Feedback]( [Unsubscribe]( [Newsletters](