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Business Standard
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Domicile shift key to aligning with India's economy, rules: Flipkart CEO
Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy addressed employees at an internal event, 'Flipster Connect', on Monday (May 26), highlighting the company's strong growth and readiness for the future. He called the decision to shift Flipkart's legal base back to India a key move in aligning with the country's economic and regulatory environment. During the session, Krishnamurthy said that Flipkart has increased its investment in artificial intelligence six-fold this year. He also confirmed that the process to return the company's legal domicile to India had begun. He assured employees that Flipkart would continue prioritising profitability while maintaining a strong focus on customer needs. Commenting on Flipkart's plans to go public, Krishnamurthy said much groundwork had already been done in the last year to prepare for the IPO. 'A lot of work which has already happened over the past 12 months is aligned with this intention,' he said, adding that the company would continue building on that effort. Leadership and strategic growth Krishnamurthy was joined by other senior leaders, including Seema Nair (Senior Vice President and CHRO), Hemant Badri (Senior Vice President and Head of Supply Chain), and Ramesh Gururaja (Senior Vice President, Consumer Shopping Experience). Together, they shared insights into Flipkart's strategy, which includes growth in talent, leadership, innovation, and customer engagement. Krishnamurthy said Flipkart is currently seeing a 20–25 per cent increase in customers and orders, and is aiming for 30 per cent growth by June, according to a PTI report quoting sources. He also added: 'Within the organisation, we remain focused on being future-ready, with a 6X increase in investment in AI this year. We continue to be the market driver across all categories and customer segments. 'Minutes' is doing very well, and we're targeting 800 dark stores by the end of this year.' Innovation across key areas Flipkart's quick commerce service, 'Minutes', is showing promising results. The company is also seeing renewed innovation in areas such as travel, Shopsy, and services for Gen Z users. Krishnamurthy further noted: ' has also been on a high growth trajectory, with several recent successful launches and strong product innovation. We've recently seen some industry veterans across technology, categories, and Adtech join us as we work towards the aggressive goals we've set for ourselves.' Speaking on the decision to relocate Flipkart's legal base to India, he said: 'As we've initiated the flip back of the company, I am very confident that all of us will continue to focus on profitability with a renewed emphasis on customer centricity. This move brings Flipkart even closer to where our heart has always been.' Focus on leadership and AI-driven teams Seema Nair, Flipkart Group CHRO, spoke about the company's strong and evolving leadership. She highlighted that a new generation of leaders is taking on key responsibilities in emerging e-commerce areas. She said Flipkart is working on building capable teams through training and skill development to meet the demands of the industry. Nair added that artificial intelligence will be a key enabler for the organisation, and all employees will have access to the best AI tools. She concluded that Flipkart, with its collaborative and forward-thinking team, is well-positioned to lead the digital retail transformation in India.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Flipkart Minutes eyes profitability, higher order value via broader product mix
Flipkart Minutes , the quick commerce arm of Walmart-owned Flipkart, is looking to drive higher average order values (AOVs) and profitability by tapping into the parent platform's wider product catalogue, two senior company executives told ETtech. The service currently operates 400 dark stores across 17 cities, and aims to scale that to 800 by the end of this year, as Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy indicated in April. 'Every category on the Flipkart Minutes is capable of being delivered within 10 minutes,' said Kabeer Biswas, vice president at Flipkart Minutes and founder of hyperlocal logistics startup Dunzo. 'The size and shape of each category differs, but most can be fulfilled within 10 minutes as consumer behaviour shifts,' he said. Biswas, who joined the company in January, after the cash-strapped Dunzo stopped operations, explained that delivery timelines vary by category definition. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Conheça o óculos militar que os homens 40+ querem Óculos Max Saiba Mais Undo Kanchan Mishra, vice president at Flipkart, added that essentials like vegetables and dairy are low-value, and the platform's push into long-tail categories is key to improving margins. 'Profitability comes when your AOV hits a sweet spot, backed by strong daily order volumes per store. Long-tail items help lift AOVs and play a big role in customer retention and frequency,' she said. On May 13, ETtech reported that Flipkart is capping Minutes' rollout to the top 8–10 cities to rein in cash burn. However, the rapid scale-up to 800 dark stores is among the fastest in India's quick commerce space, where rivals include Blinkit (Eternal), Swiggy Instamart , Zepto, and Tata Digital-backed BigBasket . Live Events Biswas said the service is also seeing traction in tier-II and tier-III cities, with expansion plans being evaluated on a quarterly basis. 'The plan is to reach 800 stores in relevant cities based on existing demand and to recalibrate every quarter. The ambition is larger, and right now we're doubling daily order volumes every 45 days,' he said. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Flipkart rival Amazon has also begun piloting quick commerce services in Bengaluru via Amazon Now, as reported by ETtech.
Mint
08-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Betting on speed: Can fashion startups survive the quick commerce gamble?
Funding for Indian fashion startups has sharply declined—from $611 million across 111 rounds in 2023 to just $55.9 million across 36 rounds in 2025, according to Tracxn data. Yet, despite dwindling investment, startups like Slikk and Accel-backed NEWME are doubling down on a risky, high-speed gamble: that consumers will pay for fashion delivered in under an hour. Slikk has secured $3.2 million in seed funding from Lightspeed Ventures to scale its 60-minute delivery model, while NEWME, which raised $18 million in its series A round, plans to offer 30-60 minute deliveries in Bengaluru and other metros. 'We will be ready to offer between 30-minute to 60-minute delivery in a lot of metro cities in a couple of months and that's a big priority for us," said Sumit Jasoria, co-founder of NEWME. Also read: Drone startups looking beyond defence to serve agriculture, quick commerce The rationale behind these rapid delivery models is simple: online fashion buying has typically been event-driven, but impulsive purchases still skew toward offline retail. The question remains: Can the economics of speed hold up in a fiercely competitive and capital-intensive market? Both startups—Slikk and NEWME—are betting they can redefine fashion e-commerce by offering delivery times that rival those of food delivery platforms. Myntra's 30-minute 'M-Now' and Flipkart's 8–16-minute 'Minutes' have already set the tone for instant fashion gratification, with both companies focusing on ultra-quick deliveries. The logic is straightforward: While online fashion buying has typically been event-driven, impulse purchases continue to be dominated by offline retail. By running dark stores stocked with fast-moving apparel for hyperlocal delivery, Slikk and NEWME offer deliveries within 60–90 minutes—significantly faster than Myntra or Flipkart, which usually deliver in 1–3 days due to their centralized inventory models. 'If you can collapse the delivery, return and refund cycle from 7-10 days to 60-90 minutes, the entire psyche of the customer changes," said Akshay Gulati, co-founder of Slikk. Also read: Indian q-comm upstarts sidestep expensive dark stores in ONDC push Specific figures for fashion within quick commerce are scarce, but according to Bain & Company, India's quick-commerce market is expected to grow over 40% annually until 2030, accounting for 10% of total e-retail spending. 'The Indian e-retail market has surged to approximately $60 billion in gross merchandise value," the report added. Central to this model is the idea that not all fashion is created equal. "This entire industry has run on a dropship, asset-light model," said Gulati. 'But we're applying a 20-80 principle in fashion: your top 20% of styles drive 80% of your revenue. You can have 10,000 items, but it's the top 2,000 that really move the needle." NEWME's model is even more focused, claiming that 90% of its sales come from just 10% of its styles. To maintain freshness, NEWME drops new collections every Friday and phases out old ones, treating styles almost like perishable goods. 'We want to keep curation close to consumers. We think of a style like milk—it has an expiry date, lasting just 60 to 90 days. That's why every Friday, we launch new collections and kill old ones. Freshness is core to our value proposition, and that drives very fast inventory turnover," added Jasoria. Both Slikk and NEWME have distinct strategies for addressing unsold inventory. Slikk employs a 'Try and Buy" model, allowing customers to try on items at delivery and return them instantly if unsatisfied. By prioritizing instant refunds, returned inventory is restocked and quickly made available for resale. NEWME operates a near-zero inventory model, producing items based on real-time demand data, further enhancing the agility of its operations. According to Rahul Taneja, partner at Lightspeed, the firm was drawn by Slikk's strong repeat user behaviour, evident in their month-on-month growth. 'As consumer expectations have changed, everything is desired sooner. And, so, within quick commerce, you're now seeing verticals emerge-fashion is prime among them," said Taneja. 'As young professionals enter the workforce and start earning, one of their main discretionary spend is towards looking good. It is visible in beauty, fashion and overall Instagram behaviour. That's a tailwind for the category, which is large, and the behaviour is repeatable," he added. Curation is also becoming crucial to consumer decision-making, as shoppers shift from doom scrolling through thousands of options to seeking speed and simplicity. 'If you want to deliver instant gratification to consumers, you also have to help them find options that are more relevant and trendier, so they can arrive at a decision faster," said Taneja. Despite the optimism, there are concerns about the profitability of the model. Running dark stores and offering rapid deliveries increase logistical costs. Fast fashion's dependence on variety further complicates inventory management. 'I don't think you can be profitable by just being digital," said Anand Ramanathan, partner consumer industry leader at Deloitte. 'And, therefore, the faster you scale offline and grow offline, the more likelihood of success in a fast fashion kind of setup. Especially since fast fashion has lower margins than some of the more premium segments," Ramanathan said. Also read: Who pays for cancelled rides? Maharashtra's new cab rules stir industry debate 'The more you depend on quick commerce, the more the margin bleed there will be," he said, adding that success in tier 2 and tier 3 markets will hinge not just on logistics, but behavioural change and price strategy. The quick-commerce fashion model, which typically operates with high burn rates due to the cost-intensive nature of logistics and customer acquisition, faces profitability challenges. However, founders argue that repeat purchases, scale and private labels will drive profitability over time. Beyond the immediate consumer appeal, however, a deeper question arises. 'With limited regulation, these platforms thrive on psychological nudges: pop-ups, flash discounts and interface tricks designed to drive impulse purchases," said Farheen, policy and trust analyst at the Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University, Delhi. Farheen remarked that with limited regulation, these platforms thrive on psychological nudges like pop-ups, flash discounts and various dark patterns, which push consumers to make fast decisions without much thought. According to her, it's an entire ecosystem designed to prime the consumer to act on impulse. The results, she pointed out, are visible in the form of more confusion, less patience and a heightened sense of immediacy. Beyond the checkout, there are negative consequences, including burnout among gig workers, unsustainable waste from fast fashion cycles and growing pressure on small offline sellers. While quick commerce may make sense for platforms chasing scale, she questioned whether it truly works for those participating in it. Meanwhile, the challenges of quick commerce extend beyond consumer behaviour and logistics. For instance, NEWME is banking on high repeat usage to justify its cost structure, with physical stores acting as pseudo dark stores. Jasoria noted that the company operates 14 offline stores and plans to add 10 to 12 more by the end of the year. As Ramanathan points out, last-mile logistics and dark store operations account for the bulk of delivery costs, which remain high. NEWME's approach of using physical stores for faster deliveries adds to operational costs, exposing the startup to risks like demand volatility. Quick commerce excels with basics and trendy items but struggles with the 'fat middle"—the variety of less trendy or more niche items. Managing a wide range of stock keeping units (SKUs) is a challenge for fashion, as unpredictable demand for trendy items makes inventory management more complex, said Ashish Kumar, co-founder at Fundamentum. Fashion, however, is trickier due to the unpredictable demand for trendy items with short lifespans. This is partly why Meesho remains cautious, focusing instead on affordability and long-tail supply strategies for tier 2 and 3 markets, where price outweighs speed, according to Vidit Aatrey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Meesho. Kumar of Fundamentum echoes this concern, saying, 'In apparel, only about 40-60% of revenue comes from a narrow set of SKUs, unlike grocery where 80% comes from essentials. Fashion consumers seek variety, making the supply chain more complex." At the same time, platforms such as Wishlink and Lehlah are capitalizing on the growing trend of curated fashion, focusing on personalized recommendations to drive decision-making and accelerate the path from inspiration to purchase. Fundamentum has invested in Wishlink, a content-commerce platform, while Wishlink's peer, Lehlah, recently raised ₹ 12.5 crore (~$1.4 million), led by Nikhil Kamath's investment firm, Gruhas. Gulati, for now, is less focused on profitability. 'The key success metric for us at this scale is repeat user activity, not operational profit," he said, declining to share specific numbers.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CBS News Staffers Irate Over Talk of Paramount Settling Trump's '60 Minutes' Lawsuit
Paramount Global and CBS News may have very different views on the journalism produced each week by '60 Minutes.' Staffers at CBS News, the unit that serves as home to the venerable newsmagazine as well as 'CBS Evening News' and has ties to the early days of TV news when Edward R. Murrow held sway, are steaming over the prospect that parent corporation Paramount Global may settle a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by now-President Donald Trump against '60' that appears to be underpinned by weak arguments. More from Variety CBS Unveils New Format for Venerable 'Evening News' Paramount Hit With Legal Letter to Consider Last-Minute $13.5 Billion Offer From Outside Investors Over Skydance Bid (EXCLUSIVE) Norah O'Donnell Exits Ahead of Hard Pivot for 'CBS Evening News' Two reports in recent weeks, one posted Thursday by The New York Times and another earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal, suggested executives at Paramount were considering ways to bring the suit to a close. Filed in federal court in the Northern District of Texas in November, the suit alleges '60 Minutes' tried to mislead voters by airing two different edits of remarks made in an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, then Trump's rival for the White House. CBS sought to have the case thrown out in a subsequent filing. Though the suit is seen as shoddily constructed by legal experts, it is levied as Paramount is moving to be acquired by Skydance Media, a transaction worth billions to Shari Redstone, the controlling owner of Paramount through her family's National Amusements Inc. theater chain. CBS News staffers believe Paramount and Redstone could seek a settlement in order to ensure the Skydance deal goes forward without substantial delay. A court filing on Friday suggested talks could be in the offing. Attorneys for President Trump filed a request to postpone a deadline to respond to CBS' motion to dismiss by February 7. Such a motion doesn't mean a settlement is near, but it could indicate the two sides are having discussions about potential outcomes. The extension was approved. But there are also new pressures being brought to bear. ''Late Wednesday, CBS News was sent a Letter of Inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission asking for the full, unedited transcript and camera feeds from our interview with Vice President Harris which aired on October 7, 2024,' CBS News said in a Friday statement. We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do.' The FCC has also reinstated a complaint made last year against New York's WCBS, also part of Paramount, accusing the station of 'intentional news distortion,' tied to the'60 Minutes' interview with Harris. 'We're helpless to whatever Shari and the bosses decide to do,' said one CBS News correspondent. 'But it's a real shame to think the news division is a bargaining chip in this broader deal.' Spokespersons for Paramount and CBS declined to comment. A spokesperson for Redstone declined to comment. At least two of the company's top news executives, CBS News and Stations CEO Wendy McMahon and '60 Minutes' executive producer Bill Owens, have made the point to superiors at Paramount corporate that they don't believe the suit should be settled, according to a person familiar with the matter. Such a concession would not only undermine one of TV's most respected journalism programs, but also demoralize CBS News staff. There is some speculation among CBS News employees that a settlement would spur intense blowback by some of CBS News' most prominent anchors and personalities. While it's not uncommon for a media-conglomerate CEO to keep close to a news division — Jeff Zucker was known to weigh in on the affairs of NBC News when he ran NBCUniversal under General Electric — Redstone sits at the level of the board of directors and has professional managers run the company. Even so, she has in recent months begun to weigh in on various controversies at CBS News — much more frequently than her father, Sumner Redstone, ever had, according to one CBS veteran In October, Redstone took issue publicly after CBS News executives took issue with an exchange on 'CBS Mornings' between co-anchor Tony Dokoupil and author Ta-Nehisi Coates during which Dokoupil grilled Coates on whether his writing expressed antipathy toward Israel. 'I think we made a mistake,' said Redstone, while speaking at an event in New York City that was part of Advertising Week, an industry conference. 'I think we made a bad mistake this week.' She is said to have gotten involved earlier this month after '60 Minutes' broadcast a segment that examined opposition by former State Department officials to the Biden administration supporting Israel's push against Hamas. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called the segment 'a biased and one-sided piece' in a statement, noting that 'Even before this, CBS had a recent history of insensitivity on Jewish issues that was incredibly problematic.' CBS News quickly named Susan Zirinsky, a former president of the news operation, as an interim executive editor, tasked with overseeing standards and helping to vet stories and journalistic practices. A growing number of media organizations have tried to placate President Trump in recent weeks. Disney's commitment to ABC News came under scrutiny after the company agreed to pay a settlement of $15 million to Donald Trump's presidential library after anchor George Stephanopoulos asserted incorrectly in March said on air that Trump had been found liable in a court case for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump had been found liable by a jury for sexual abuse. Even so, legal experts felt ABC News had a strong chance of prevailing. Amazon has agreed to produce a documentary of First Lady Melania Trump. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025 What's Coming to Disney+ in February 2025
