 Morning Dispatch |
Online festive sales miss estimates; Munjal steps down as Unacademy CEO
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Dispatch
We'll soon meet in your inbox.
Happpy Thursday! Online festive sales grew, but fell short of expectations amid weak smartphone demand.This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ EV makers turn to family scooters
■ Rentomojo revenue rises
■ Qualcomm may cut 1,000 jobs in India
Ecommerce and online retailers clocked Rs 1.40 lakh crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) during the month-long festive period, up 17% year-on-year (YoY), but below expectations as smartphone sales slumped.
Festive sales:
Expert take: “We have seen that reliance on the first week of the festive season no longer exists because the categories customers are buying have changed,” said Satish Meena, founder of Datum Intelligence, which collates sales across all key online platforms and channels.
“Online festival shopping has become more distributed as more players enter the market, each with their own strengths in specific segments.”
Mobile phones lag:
Also read | Ecommerce festive sales fizzle out on price pangs
Rapid delivery rush: Quick commerce emerged as a critical channel for D2C brands, contributing 16% of the total GMV recorded this year, up from 12% last year, as according to Datum.
After a slow start to ecommerce festive sales in October, quick commerce saw a shopping rush around micro-occasions, as consumers turned to rapid delivery for gifting, we reported on November 11.
Also read: Micro occasions fuel demand surge across quick commerce, beauty services
L-R: Unacademy cofounder Gaurav Munjal and chief business officer Akhilendra Kumar
Unacademy cofounder Gaurav Munjal has moved from chief executive to executive chairman, handing over leadership of the edtech firm to chief business officer Akhilendra Kumar, just over two months after Ronnie Screwvala-led UpGrad acquired the firm.
Munjal to remain involved: Munjal said on Wednesday that he would continue to be involved in daily operations and work with Kumar on profitability and UpGrad's proposed initial public offering (IPO).
Who is Akhilendra Kumar: An alumnus of the Indian School of Business, Kumar has over a decade of experience in business operations and sales, and has previously worked at hospitality platform Oyo and battery maker Exide Industries.
UpGrad acquisition: UpGrad completed the 100% share-swap acquisition on September 1 at a valuation of Rs 1,955 crore, or just over $200 million. The final price represented a roughly 94% decline from Unacademy's $3.4-billion peak valuation in 2021.
India's electric two-wheeler makers are turning to the family scooter segment to expand their customer base, moving beyond performance products to the mass market.
Product rethink: The shift is prompting companies to rethink scooter design, with a focus on seating, storage, ease of handling, and charging.
Rizta leads Ather's family push: Launched in 2024 as Ather’s first family-oriented e-scooter, Rizta has crossed 3 lakh in cumulative sales and accounted for 76% of the company's volumes in FY26. Ather is now looking to reach a wider set of buyers through the new Konarc.
Other players in the race: Other manufacturers, including TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and Simple Energy, are also expanding their portfolios to attract households that have traditionally bought petrol scooters. Ultraviolette is also looking to enter the mass-market scooter segment.
E-scooters gain ground: E-scooter salevolumes more than doubled year-on-year to 9.78 lakh units in the first half of FY27, accounting for 20% of total scooter sales, compared with 13% a year earlier, per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data.
Geetansh Bamania, founder, Rentomojo
Rentomojo’s revenue rises: Furniture and appliance rental platform Rentomojo reported a 53% YoY jump in revenue from operations to Rs 142 crore in the September quarter, boosted by growth in its subscriber base and higher utilisation of its rental inventory. Despite the revenue growth, net profit slumped 63% to Rs 18.2 crore in the quarter.
Qualcomm layoffs may cost 1,000 jobs in India: Qualcomm could lay off around 1,000 employees in India, with senior engineers and recent hires among those being let go, industry estimates and employee accounts suggest. The job cuts are part of a global exercise and are not limited to employees with lower performance ratings, said industry watchers.
Nexera founder launches MediCash: Himanshu Rajpurohit, founder of Nexera Health, has launched MediCash, a lending venture that aims to make planned medical procedures more affordable in India through no-cost EMIs. The venture has secured a Rs 100 crore debt commitment from Assam-based NBFC Sayyam Investments.
■ New Indian mega library rocked by scandal over 'AI-generated books' (BBC)
■ 13-year-old asked AI about suicide on her laptop. It didn’t get flagged for weeks (Wired)
■ OpenAI revenue jumps to $10 billion in Q3 amid growing losses (The Information)
Also in the letter:
■ EV makers turn to family scooters
■ Rentomojo revenue rises
■ Qualcomm may cut 1,000 jobs in India
Festive online sales hit Rs 1.4 lakh crore, up 17%, but miss forecasts
Festive sales:
- Sales fell 17% YoY in the first week, but picked up in the final week on Diwali shopping.
- Festive shopping spreads beyond Amazon and Flipkart, with Myntra, Meesho and quick commerce platforms running their own sales.
- Total GMV fell short of the expected Rs 1.50-1.55 lakh crore, against Rs 1.20 lakh crore last year.
“Online festival shopping has become more distributed as more players enter the market, each with their own strengths in specific segments.”
Mobile phones lag:
- Mobile phones' share of festive GMV fell to 25% from 35% last year and 38% in 2024, amid high prices.
- Lifestyle accounted for 15-16% of GMV, while other categories, including appliances, homeware and personal care, made up 59%.
Also read | Ecommerce festive sales fizzle out on price pangs
Rapid delivery rush: Quick commerce emerged as a critical channel for D2C brands, contributing 16% of the total GMV recorded this year, up from 12% last year, as according to Datum.
After a slow start to ecommerce festive sales in October, quick commerce saw a shopping rush around micro-occasions, as consumers turned to rapid delivery for gifting, we reported on November 11.
Also read: Micro occasions fuel demand surge across quick commerce, beauty services
Gaurav Munjal steps down as Unacademy CEO, Akhilendra Kumar takes over
Unacademy cofounder Gaurav Munjal has moved from chief executive to executive chairman, handing over leadership of the edtech firm to chief business officer Akhilendra Kumar, just over two months after Ronnie Screwvala-led UpGrad acquired the firm.
Munjal to remain involved: Munjal said on Wednesday that he would continue to be involved in daily operations and work with Kumar on profitability and UpGrad's proposed initial public offering (IPO).
Who is Akhilendra Kumar: An alumnus of the Indian School of Business, Kumar has over a decade of experience in business operations and sales, and has previously worked at hospitality platform Oyo and battery maker Exide Industries.
UpGrad acquisition: UpGrad completed the 100% share-swap acquisition on September 1 at a valuation of Rs 1,955 crore, or just over $200 million. The final price represented a roughly 94% decline from Unacademy's $3.4-billion peak valuation in 2021.
EV makers turn to family scooters to drive mass-market adoption
Product rethink: The shift is prompting companies to rethink scooter design, with a focus on seating, storage, ease of handling, and charging.
Rizta leads Ather's family push: Launched in 2024 as Ather’s first family-oriented e-scooter, Rizta has crossed 3 lakh in cumulative sales and accounted for 76% of the company's volumes in FY26. Ather is now looking to reach a wider set of buyers through the new Konarc.
Other players in the race: Other manufacturers, including TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and Simple Energy, are also expanding their portfolios to attract households that have traditionally bought petrol scooters. Ultraviolette is also looking to enter the mass-market scooter segment.
E-scooters gain ground: E-scooter salevolumes more than doubled year-on-year to 9.78 lakh units in the first half of FY27, accounting for 20% of total scooter sales, compared with 13% a year earlier, per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Rentomojo’s revenue rises: Furniture and appliance rental platform Rentomojo reported a 53% YoY jump in revenue from operations to Rs 142 crore in the September quarter, boosted by growth in its subscriber base and higher utilisation of its rental inventory. Despite the revenue growth, net profit slumped 63% to Rs 18.2 crore in the quarter.
Qualcomm layoffs may cost 1,000 jobs in India: Qualcomm could lay off around 1,000 employees in India, with senior engineers and recent hires among those being let go, industry estimates and employee accounts suggest. The job cuts are part of a global exercise and are not limited to employees with lower performance ratings, said industry watchers.
Nexera founder launches MediCash: Himanshu Rajpurohit, founder of Nexera Health, has launched MediCash, a lending venture that aims to make planned medical procedures more affordable in India through no-cost EMIs. The venture has secured a Rs 100 crore debt commitment from Assam-based NBFC Sayyam Investments.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ New Indian mega library rocked by scandal over 'AI-generated books' (BBC)
■ 13-year-old asked AI about suicide on her laptop. It didn’t get flagged for weeks (Wired)
■ OpenAI revenue jumps to $10 billion in Q3 amid growing losses (The Information)
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail