CommerceTech - Teardown | CityMall
Teardown | CityMallFounded in 2019, CityMall is a social eCommerce platform in India that has raised over $110 Million.These briefs are produced by leveraging publicly available data sources and information. If you notice a mistake or see an area for improvement, please let us know through this typeform. Snapshot
Business Overview & ProductsCityMall works by empowering individuals in Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities of India to become micro-entrepreneurs by enabling them with the infrastructure to re-sell products from manufacturers. These individuals are known as community leaders on the platform. CityMall provides income opportunities to community leaders by allowing them to create virtual stores on WhatsApp, where they can sell products and groceries to their local network. Community leaders are provided with products across a few key categories including Grocery, Fresh and Packaged FMCG, Electronics, Fashion, and Cosmetics amongst others. How It WorksOnce an order is placed, CityMall ships the products to community leaders who then deliver the items to end consumers. At times, the customer collects them from the leaders instead. This process has proven to be cost-efficient for the company, as it saves on delivery and logistic costs. CityMall has slowly started building out its own logistics network to get products from manufacturers to community leaders. In order to keep sellers motivated, gamification has been added to the app so that leaders are constantly on a quest to bring more users on board. This essentially means that depending on the number of customers they have acquired and the number of sales they have made, sellers are promoted to different levels. For instance, upon reaching level 4, the community leader is promoted to Silver Director. Consumers can either place orders through WhatsApp or the CityMall app. Most customers prefer using the app due to a combination of super cataloging as well as the availability of new deals and discounts every day. If these incentives aren’t enticing enough, the app also has interesting features like a daily horoscope, which prompts users to open the app every single day. CityMall is paid directly by community leaders, who then collect payments from end customers. Some community leaders will give credit to their trusted customers out of their own pockets. Business Model & PricingCityMall has 2 revenue streams, which include earning money through commissions from sales and also charging resellers for displaying ads on their platform in a bid to boost their visibility. Brands on the platform are hyperlocal and tailor their prices to cater to the price-sensitive rural population. Resellers earn a 4-6% commission as soon as they deliver their orders. In Jan 2022 this was estimated to be about 40% of household income for resellers. TractionIn 2021, CityMall reported operating revenue of INR 14.95 crore ($1M), which according to reports was a 25x growth from its revenue in 2019. In the same period, it incurred losses of INR 10.4 crore ($1M) as well. According to company claims, this was the first time it had generated income since operations began. As of March 2021, CityMall had managed to create a network of 20,000 community leaders that cater to over 200,000 customers in 8 small cities and towns in India. The company plans to expand to 75 districts in the next 18 months. In January 2022 Co-Founder Angad revealed that the CityMall platform was growing 35% month on month. Founder(s) & TeamNaisheel Verdhan – Co-Founder at CityMall. Naisheel, an IIT graduate previously founded Codalyze Technologies and EdRoot Analytics where he served as the Chief Technology Officer. Angad Kikla – Co-Founder at CityMall. Angad, an IIM graduate previously co-founded BeatRoute Innovations and HAWKR. He also worked as a Consultant at Accenture. History & Evolution
From archive.org Additional LearningsCityMall’s competitive edge is its strategy to target mid-level sub-urban and rural communities in their local languages. Usually big retail players don’t tailor their services to cater to such markets and that’s what makes CityMall different. The company has launched an open forum called Parivaar on their app, where community leaders can ask, tell, share and discuss information with like-minded individuals. With this initiative, the team hopes to empower leaders to share their insights and feedback. Market Snapshot
Suggested Next Reads
Company Reviews & Competitive IntelIf you liked this post from The Commerce Tech Newsletter, why not share it? |
Key phrases
Older messages
Cazoo - Online Car Retailer
Thursday, March 31, 2022
In under 3 years, Cazoo built a leading online car dealership that was valued at over $8 Billion at its peak
Teardown | Cart.com
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Founded in 2020, Cart.com has raised close to $500M to acquire and develop a suite of eCommerce enablement solutions
Teardown | Zetwerk – B2B marketplace for manufacturing
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
In just 3 years, Zetwerk has scaled its global B2B procurement marketplace to a $2.7B valuation.
GlobalBees – Indian House of Brands
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
The retail company that has scaled to a $1.1B valuation in under a year
You Might Also Like
Overcoming ads blindness
Friday, March 29, 2024
Today's hack Why not switching from usual ads to converting your audience into email subscribers in exchange for rewards? What are you willing to see more in banner ads? 1. Sales pitches. 2. Brands
Ambani, Adani join hands in power move
Friday, March 29, 2024
Also in today's edition: India's auto export weakness; No one wants CXOs ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
It's Time to Unlock the Vault
Friday, March 29, 2024
The ability to shortcut your way to profits is finally here View in browser ClickBank Hand holding a microphone You need to know this, There is an opportunity to shortcut your way to profits as an
🔍 Ryan Trahan & Joyride's Launch Playbook
Friday, March 29, 2024
What they did. How they did it. And what to learn from it.
Help Micronesian Seminar
Friday, March 29, 2024
Weekender #43 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
🎙️ New Episode of The Dime Todd Harrison: Chewing Through Noise in The Cannabis Industry with a Focus on Catalysts
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Listen here 🎙️ Todd Harrison: Chewing Through Noise in The Cannabis Industry with a Focus on Catalysts Imagine this: warm, sunny Florida. Rescheduling has just been announced, and you're eager
Wealthy people don't cover their windows
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Plus the real cost of self funded searches, the math behind renting vs buying & more.
🤯 [$50 an hour] Remote Flutter Jobs, Zapier Freelancer, Junior Dev Jobs and more!
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024 | Read Online 🤯 [$50 an hour] Remote Flutter Jobs, Zapier Freelancer, Junior Dev Jobs and more! fb tw in email Welcome to another CrackedDevs Daily, this time with some hot new jobs! 🚀 1
Discovery Phase for Coinbase SEC Lawsuit
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Plus UK's FCA Targets Memecoin Influencers
🧠 Indie Hacker Earning 30K Per Month
Thursday, March 28, 2024
How this founder is solving a niche problem in a fast growing and highly-profitable industry