šā”Sneakerhead Boom & Denim Love
Logistics Consolidation, Flipkart's Chess Move, Coffee Cash Crunch
Minister Piyush Goyal just shaded Indiaās D2C and q-comm scene hard, accusing founders of being stuck in delivering munchies while China plays big-boy tech with EVs and AI. His exact words, "Dukaandari ka hi kaam karna hai?" landed like a midnight Swiggy order: late-night spice with extra burn!
Aadit Palicha (Zepto) responded with receipts on jobs and taxes, Ashneer Grover went nuclear with a savage eco-before-gyan clapback, and Mohandas Pai flipped the blame back to Sarkari support (or lack of it).
Rant over. Time to unpack the D2C Scene.
šļø Marketplace Buzz
Delhivery acquired Ecom Express at an 80% discount. Last year, Ecom Express was flying high with a ā¹7,000 cr valuation and IPO ambitions. Today, it's settling for a fire sale at just one-fifth that price. The villain? Client concentration: over half its FY24 revenue came from one player (rumoured to be Meesho). Lesson served cold: never put all your parcels in one basket.
Flipkart's dark stores expanded to 14 cities. Flipkart Minutes isn't playing catch-up; it's playing speed chess. With 200+ dark stores across 14 cities and plans to hit 550 before its 2025 Big Billion Days, the Walmart-owned giant wants your groceries, smartphones, and shampoos at your doorstep before you finish scrolling that Liberation Day-penguin meme.
Kirana stores, India's OG quick-commerce players, are finally getting a weapon upgrade. Kiko Live, a kirana-focused live-commerce app, is stepping up to help neighborhood stores fight back against q-comm giants like Zepto and Blinkit. Think TikTok meets your trusted dukaan (sorry minister!) wale uncle.
Salary hikes are hitting e-commerce like it's payday. Attention, e-comm pros, your next appraisal might actually match your expectations (finally!). EY forecasts e-commerce salaries in India to see the highest hikes in 2025. Time to polish that LinkedIn profile.
š D2C Snippets
Boba Bhaiās brewing a 6x boom, and itās just getting started. With plans to triple that next year, the bubble tea brand is riding a caffeine-and-chew high. Once an IG darling, now a serious F&B blitz.
Choked by an aggressive offline expansion and overstuffed inventory, Sleepy Owl Coffee hit a cash crunch that nearly took it under. But now, against all odds, itās clawing its way back. From near-death to next phase, this oneās a comeback story worth sipping on.
Remember when roll-up e-commerce felt like the future? Yeah, it's still kicking. Evenflow Brands raised fresh funds from Venture Catalysts and friends to breathe new life into their D2C aggregator ambitions.
Freakins, the Gen Z-loved denim brand, snagged an investment from leading VCs. Denim innovation, digital-first strategies, and body-positive vibes equal growth. Dialling up the denim game in style.
From grandmaās recipes to VC menus Sweet Karam Coffee just raised $8M. The brandās bet on nostalgic South Indian snacks is clearly paying off. Crunchy margins, spicy scale, and a taste of tradition with every bite.
Ayurveda's poster child Kapiva is back in the market, this time hunting for Series D capital. With PE backing already in place, the brandās ready to scale its herbal hustle and deepen its wellness footprint. Immunity mightāve been a COVID trend, but Kapivaās betting itās a long-term lifestyle.
From Shark Tank fame to mall racks, The Bear House just bagged ā¹50 Cr to take its menswear game offline in a big way. The plan? Expand retail footprint, sharpen brand play, and turn every urban dude into a well-dressed believer.
Olympic champ PV Sindhu isnāt just smashing shuttles, sheās backing Better Nutrition, which just raised ā¹10 cr in seed funding. With India waking up to functional foods and clean-label everything, this brandās aiming to make nutrition smarter, tastier, and mainstream.
š¢Power Talk
āNeed help, not thisā - Mohandas Pai
š Reads & Recos
Overheard: "We paused Meta adsā¦ and even store footfall dropped." From a ā¹100Cr+ brand with offline presence in 43 cities. Website drives just 4% of revenue but a 2-week Meta pause hit Amazon, Myntra and physical stores. Sounds too good to be true? Go check this thread
Resellers like Find Your Kicks and fresh D2C brands like Comet are cashing in, turning Indiaās sneaker obsession into a $6B market that's sprinting faster than a limited-edition drop. Step into the story.
Your closet is the new long-term investment. Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail says consumption isn't just seasonal, it's a multi-decadal runway. They've pegged five key growth themes for India's >ā¹12 lakh cr apparel market. Have a look.
Deloitteās 2025 Digital Media Trends report explores the latest ways social media is disrupting the entertainment landscape. Packed with interesting stuff like 56% of Gen Zs and 43% of millennials surveyed report that social media content is more relevant to them than traditional content like TV shows and movies.
š„Thatās all for this week! As always, share this with your fellow D2C hustlers, and letās keep the community growing.
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