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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.

The dig daddy of Indian currency, the pink panther is not in the pink of health these days. Probably the death warrant was signed at the time of birth after DE-MO 2016 and it was serving only an interim arrangement. Talking about arrangements, SHEIN really has a great one now, more on that later.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of talk in the grocery and food delivery sector about driving profitability.

First up, Deepinder Goyal said he's confident about turning the entire (Zomato) business, including Blinkit, profitable within the next four quarters.

• Consolidated revenue increased a whopping 70% on-year to Rs 2,056 crore

• Blinkit reported a nearly 30% jump in revenue and managed to narrow down the EBITDA losses to Rs 230 crore from Rs 260 crore.

Then, Swiggy Co-founder Sriharsha Majety said that the company’s food delivery business has turned profitable. The CEO also highlighted the company's investment and trajectory in the quick commerce segment with its division Instamart and said that the business has "made strong progress on the profitability", and is on track to "hit contribution neutrality" in the next few weeks.

🗞️Marketplace Updates

• Flipkart Group (Flipkart, Myntra, Shopsy) Retains Top Slot As India's E-Commerce Market Hits $60 Billion as per the Redseer report. The company has grown 1.6X faster than the industry in the first three months of 2023, despite growing competition, the report noted. Redseer found that among leading players in e-commerce, Flipkart group has been resilient in terms of market share and has been able to protect its turf with a 48% market share in FY23.

• Amazon India has hiked seller commission across categories from May 31st . The move comes as the platform looks for ways to conserve cash and increase revenue channels amid a global slowdown. A number of key categories like apparel, beauty, and groceries have seen significant changes. Check out he category-wise details here.

• 🛍️From Halt to Haul: And joining the parade from a slip road next to the back door is SHEIN. The popular China-based fashion giant known for its affordable and trendy women’s wear re-enters India after a three-year ban through a strategic partnership with Reliance Retail. Accessing Reliance Retail's warehousing, logistics, and online/offline stores, SHEIN aims to make a remarkable comeback in the Indian market.

  • SHEIN has been profitable for four consecutive years, with a net profit of nearly $1 billion last year.

  • Sales increased by 46% last year, surpassing $29 billion and exceeding ZARA's annual sales for the first time.

• Viniculum is ready for Delhivery: Gurgaon-based logistics firm Delhivery will make a strategic investment in Vinculum, a global software company enabling omnichannel retailing for D2C (direct-to-consumer) enterprises, brands, brand distributors, and quick commerce companies. This investment will enable the two companies to create a comprehensive integrated system to meet all the post-purchase requirements of a D2C brand.

🍕D2C Bites

• Men’s premium Innerwear and Lifestyle brand XYXX raised Rs 110 crore in its Series C funding round. Established in 2016, XYXX is a men’s lifestyle brand based in Surat. The brand specializes in offering premium quality underwear, loungewear, and athleisure made from high-quality fabrics. XYXX stands out with its unique range of products available in vibrant colours and innovative designs.

• Growth Part(ea) 🫖: Vahdam Teas has experienced remarkable growth, achieving an impressive 2.7X increase in collections between FY20 and FY22 while maintaining financial stability. The company's operating revenue surged to over Rs 200 crore in FY22, a significant rise from Rs 73.21 crore in FY20.The sale of tea and drinkware were the two sources of operating revenue for the company.

• The Ex Puma gang is starting up and has raised $50 Million. The founding team of Agilitas Sports comprises Abhishek Ganguly, the outgoing managing director of PUMA India and SE Asia, Atul Bajaj, the outgoing executive director of sales and operations of PUMA India, and Amit Prabhu, the outgoing chief financial officer of PUMA India. Agilitas will look to partner and invest across the sports ecosystem, from manufacturing to retail to technology.

• US-based ecommerce roll-up company Thrasio has diluted its stake in Lifelong Online Retail Private Limited, the only Indian startup in its portfolio, giving up the controlling stake in the consumer goods ecommerce brand. Lifelong Online’s cofounders -Atul Raheja, Varun Grover, and Bharat Kalia, increased the stake in the startup to 60% while existing investors also upped their share

Reads & Recommendations 🤓

• What’s Driving the Men’s Jewellery Boom?

• Research on how U.S. adults on Twitter use the site in the Elon Musk era

• What’s the weather got to do with stock prices? A Symphony Case Study.

That’s all for this week! Bye!

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