Workers at Indian online-shopping major Snapdeal near Mumbai. Photo: Subhash Sharma for The National
Workers at Indian online-shopping major Snapdeal near Mumbai. Photo: Subhash Sharma for The National
Workers at Indian online-shopping major Snapdeal near Mumbai. Photo: Subhash Sharma for The National
Workers at Indian online-shopping major Snapdeal near Mumbai. Photo: Subhash Sharma for The National

Amazon's India rival Snapdeal reports higher sales ahead of IPO next year


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Snapdeal, the Indian e-commerce start-up backed by SoftBank Group, filed preliminary documents for an initial public offering, adding to the rush of tech companies looking to debut on the country’s exchanges amid a record-breaking stock market rally.

The New Delhi-based company plans to raise 12.5 billion rupees ($165 million) through the sale of new shares, according to its draft red-herring prospectus, or DRHP, filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. In addition, existing stockholders including SoftBank, plan to sell as many as 30.77 million secondary shares.

Snapdeal, founded in 2010, once rivalled Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart in the burgeoning India market, but fell behind as its deep-pocketed competitors invested heavily to grab market share. Revenue from operations dived 44 per cent to just 4.7bn rupees in the year ended March 2021 as the two bigger players eroded its share of the market. Its loss narrowed by more than half to 1.25bn rupees.

Snapdeal has refashioned itself to stand apart from its bigger competitors and focus on value-driven e-commerce. The company, whose other backers include eBay and Sequoia, recorded operating revenue of about 2.4bn rupees in the six months to September 30. It reported an 82 per cent jump in net merchandise value, a measure of sales volume, to 3.74bn rupees in this year’s fiscal second quarter versus the final quarter of last year.

Snapdeal’s IPO, targeted for early next year, comes after a record year for India market debuts. Food-delivery pioneer Zomato set off the rush to market, followed by successful offerings from the likes of FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which operates the Nykaa beauty business. One97 Communications, which runs digital payments giant Paytm, pulled off the largest IPO in the country’s history, at $2.4bn, but its shares quickly tumbled.

On Tuesday, MapmyIndia, a digital mapping company that works with Apple and Amazon, surged more than 50 per cent on its first day of trading.

Founded by Kunal Bahl and childhood friend Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal began as a deals website before expanding in online retail. In 2017, as the company struggled, Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank, one of its biggest backers, pushed the founders to merge with archrival Flipkart. Mr Bahl and Mr Bansal ultimately decided not to proceed with the deal, requiring them to focus on reducing their cash burn.

The decade-old start-up, also backed by BlackRock, Temasek Holdings and eBay, has since shifted its business model to focus on Bharat – the non-English speaking, non-affluent, non-urban and non-tech savvy bulk of India’s population. Amazon and Flipkart tend to cater to big-city buyers, selling big-ticket items like premium smartphones and high-priced electronics.

Snapdeal sells table mats, tummy trimmers, beard grooming oils and fleece blankets, all under $5. More than nine-tenths of the 60 million items it lists are priced under 1,000 rupees.

During the most recent festival season, Snapdeal’s sales volumes grew 254 per cent in the fashion category, 101 per cent in the kitchen category and 93 per cent in the beauty category, according to a company release in early November.

Axis Capital, BofA Securities India, CLSA India and JM Financial are among the book runners for the IPO.

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

The Laughing Apple

Yusuf/Cat Stevens

(Verve Decca Crossover)

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Habib El Qalb

Assi Al Hallani

(Rotana)

Votes

Total votes: 1.8 million

Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes

Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes 

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

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Manchester United's summer dealings

In

Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million

Romelu Lukaku (Everton)  £75 million

Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)  £40 million

 

Out

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released

Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer

Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million

 

 

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT

1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 1:39:46.713
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 00:00.908
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 00:12.462
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 00:12.885
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 00:13.276
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren 01:11.223
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez, Force India 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon, Force India  1 lap
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber 2 laps
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Full list of brands available for Instagram Checkout

Adidas @adidaswomen

Anastasia Beverly Hills @anastasiabeverlyhills

Balmain @balmain

Burberry @burberry

ColourPop @colourpopcosmetics

Dior @dior

H&M @hm

Huda Beauty @hudabeautyshop

KKW @kkwbeauty

Kylie Cosmetics @kyliecosmetics

MAC Cosmetics @maccosmetics

Michael Kors @michaelkors

NARS @narsissist

Nike @niketraining & @nikewomen

NYX Cosmetics @nyxcosmetics

Oscar de la Renta @oscardelarenta

Ouai Hair @theouai

Outdoor Voices @outdoorvoices

Prada @prada

Revolve @revolve

Uniqlo @uniqlo

Warby Parker @warbyparker

Zara @zara

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

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SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES

Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm

Pieces of Her

Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick   

Director: Minkie Spiro

Rating:2/5

While you're here
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Updated: December 21, 2021, 12:05 PM