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D2C Pulse is a newsletter written by the team at GlobalBees, curating happenings in the direct-to-consumer ecosystem of India.

This week one couldn’t escape the Twitter-Elon & Sinks-Amazon Results-Google Results news and the debates around them. The D2C world wasn't quiet either. Also, FY22 results came out in the open for a number of companies. Let’s get to it then…

What’s sizzling hot? 🔥

D2C OG electronics brand boAt has raised INR 500 Cr (around $60 Mn). The company aims to make smartwatches its second core and will replicate the boAt digital playbook to become a global leader in this category as well. The company posted a revenue of nearly ₹3,000 crore in FY22. With the ambitious IPO plans, it made six top hires this year.

Boat has raised capital via convertible notes from existing investor Warburg and has formally withdrawn its listing plans. The company has put a minimum valuation cap of around $1.2 billion as part of this funding.

Speaking of convertible notes, Udaan raised $120 million through convertible notes from existing shareholders. The company has said to have improved its unit economics by 10%, with strong improvements in both gross margin and operating costs, and the burn rate reduced by 60%.

🗞️Marketplace Updates

• Myntra’s operating revenue surged 45.5% to Rs 3,501 crore in FY22,  according to the company’s consolidated annual financial statements with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company’s total expenditure also grew 45.5% to Rs 4,207 crore in FY22 as compared to Rs 2,891 crore in FY21. Myntra’s losses increased 39% to Rs 597 crore in FY22 against Rs 429 crore reported in FY21.

• B2B e-commerce firm IndiaMART reported a 17 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 68 crore for the quarter ended September. The company posted a net profit of Rs 82 crore in the same period a year ago. The consolidated revenue from operations, however, increased by 32 per cent to Rs 241 crore from Rs 182 crore in the September 2021 quarter.

• Even Flipkart is finding it tough to get into green. Flipkart reported 31% revenue growth in 2021-22 to ₹10,659 crore, but its net loss widened 51% to ₹4,362 crore during the fiscal year.

• Tough week: Meanwhile, Nykaa’s stock has tanked around 52 per cent so far this year and is now below the IPO price. The stock has fallen nearly 23% in the past month and is trading 62% lower than its 52-week highs. Been a tough week post diwali for marketplaces.

🍕D2C Bites

• Clear Money: Eyewear brand ClearDekho on Tuesday announced it raised $5 million in a Series A. The company targets low-income mass-market consumers across Tier II, III, and IV cities and towns to standardise the 80% unorganised optical retail market through its asset-light omnichannel O2O business model.

• Et tu Nestle?: Nestle India made its online debut, launching its digital storefront MyNestlé. The platform will be initially operational in Delhi-NCR and then expand to other cities. MyNestle will offer curated product bundles, customised gifting, discounts and more. During the July-September quarter, the e-commerce channel contributed 7.2% of Nestle India's sales.

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• Wakefit was one of the early movers in the sleep solution space with a direct-to-consumer model. The company’s operating scale grew 54.8% to Rs 633 crore in FY22, according to the company’s annual financial statements with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). On the back of increased expenses, the losses of the company soared 2.8X to Rs 102 crore in FY22 from Rs 37 crore in FY21.

• Kitchen Fundamentals: D2C Kitchenware startup The Indus Valley raised Rs.15 cr. The company offers toxin-free kitchenware, providing alternatives to chemically coated products. According to the company, its products are made of cast iron, iron, copper, clay and wood. The company sells these products via marketplaces Amazon, Flipkart and its own website.

📢Leader Speak

Get the latest on what D2C Founders and Leaders had to say this week!

❤️ Brand of the Week

Got a candle fetish but don’t feel like breaking the bank at Bath & Body Works? Try Yankee (not Yeezy, almost a taboo word now) - it offers heavenly fragrance candles like pink sand, midsummer nights, cupcake and more! It is very much affordable (well, relatively) and every jar tells you a story. Who said only cocktails have a story to tell…

Reads and Recommendations 📚

• The Top Channels Consumers Use to Learn About Products

• Fast-Fashion Juggernaut Shein’s Sales Close In on Zara, H&M

• Hershey’s Turnaround Story Isn’t Sweet. It’s Salty. How did the iconic American chocolate maker avoid the market meltdown? It turns out Hershey became less reliant on chocolate.

• Designing a Landing Page

  

  YoussefEcom 🇨🇦 Landing Pages/CRO for E-Commerce @YoussefEcom

  E-commerce landing page secret in a nutshell? Run traffic to a page that: -Tells a story -Educates and agitates a pain -Relates to your customer persona and shows you understand THEM -Conveys trust through social proof ...And see your conversion rate and sales skyrocket.

  

  3:37 PM ∙ Oct 23, 2022

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🚩Poll Call

We’ve got calls from at least 10 founders asking this question. Thought we’d ask it here:

The AQI Levels in north India have gone haywire. Yep. It’s that time of the year 😔. Get the #1 Amazon bestseller Hepa Air Purifier for your home and breath easy. If you want something heavy-duty, try the Coway AirMega200 Air Purifier with an 8500 Hrs Filter Life.

That’s all for this week! Bye!

Stay tuned for more.