Happy Friday!
The weekend is here. But we still don’t have a clue on what Monday is going to like. The government is yet to announce whether it’ll extend or lift the lockdown. Meanwhile, India’s online grocery market, which is expected to drive e-commerce growth in 2020, may be heading for consolidation.
Paytm Mall-Grofers potential deal
Online retailer Paytm Mall has held talks with e-grocer Grofers for a potential investment. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, a common investor in Paytm Mall and Grofers, initiated the deal talks.
Why it matters
Paytm Mall, which has about $170 million of cash on hand, is well poised to back a company in the grocery retailing space, which has emerged as a bright spot for the ecommerce industry during the nationwide lockdown. For SoftBank, the push to bring the companies together is largely aimed at helping Grofers access that cash to deepen its runway.
By the numbers
- SoftBank Group owns about 20% in Paytm Mall, while Alibaba holds close to 35% stake, with SAIF Partners, eBay and Paytm’s founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma being the other shareholders.
- SoftBank Vision Fund is the largest shareholder in Grofers with more than 40% stake.
Read the full story here.
Rs 5,000 crore fund
The Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY) is fast-tracking its ambitious Rs 5,000 crore fund-of-funds targeted at deploying much-needed domestic capital into India’s software products ecosystem, as the government looks to reopen the economy in a phased manner after a two-month lockdown.
Why is it significant?
The Software Product Development Fund (SPDF) was first announced in the National Policy on Software Products, which was approved by the Union cabinet in February last year. The ministry is also considering tapping the country’s bellwether information technology services companies, including TCS, Infosys and Wipro, apart from large family offices, to serve as limited partners or investors in the fund. Read more.
Tech to the rescue
The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing brands to pivot to remote shopping, 3D body mapping and virtual trials. The fashion industry is adopting remote working, digital draping and trials. Fashion-tech and other digital specialists are catalysing disruption that is changing the space faster than a season’s summer trends.
The future of shopping
Contactless selection and try-ons will be the next big thing, according to Meghna Saraogi, cofounder of Styledotme, a tech solution that caters primarily to jewellery companies. “It’s much easier to sanitise an iPad on which people can virtually try on jewellery rather than every single piece after it’s tried on,” she says. Her business has seen a 150% increase in enquiries since the lockdown began, and not just from India. Read more.
ITC Hotels’ home delivery
ITC Hotels has partnered with the food ordering platform Swiggy to offer its dining options to customers in the comfort of their home. This comes after five-star hotel chain JW Marriott launched its “Marriott on Wheels” delivery service in partnership with Swiggy.
The hotel chain said its curated menus will bring unique food experiences with local offerings from the region for diners across all major cities in India. “The partnership with Swiggy will assist us in responsibly delivering our unique culinary experiences using their advanced distribution network,” Anil Chadha, COO at ITC Hotels, said. Read more.
Wipro’s non-Indian CEO
Wipro has named former Capgemini executive Thierry Delaporte as its new chief executive officer, the first non-Indian to head a homegrown IT services company. Delaporte, who will take over as CEO and MD on July 6 replacing incumbent Abidali Neemuchwala, is chairman Rishad Premji’s choice to steer Wipro from a decade-long streak of below-par growth that has lagged peers.
Why it matters
Wipro has seen four CEOs in the last 12 years, including an experiment with two joint CEOs, but has struggled to grow quickly. Neemuchwala, who came on board from larger rival Tata Consultancy Services, has struggled to restructure the company during his four-year term. He has also spent over $1 billion in acquiring companies, with mixed results. Read more.
(Illustrations by Rahul Awasthi)
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