Indians have really been warming up to credit cards lately. More than a 100 million credit cards are in circulation in India as of now. And this rise has a lot to do with the benefits customers get: cash back deals and reward points that you can collect and redeem for anything from flight tickets to stays at fancy resorts. But between the two, cashbacks are a more straightforward method of making the most of your credit card. Availing reward points, on the other hand, requires a combination of s...
May 27, 2024•10 min•Ep. 236
In this week's Daybreak Special episode, hosts Snigdha Sharma and Rahel Philipose speak to The Ken's Shivani Verma about her investigation into Pharmeasy's dubious business practices. The once IPO-bound company is under the scanner for its 'unethical' ways of upselling alternative medicines and supplements. Everyone – from Pharmeasy's own pharmacists, to the doctors who call behalf of the company to validate a customer's prescription – are under pressure to sell these supplements. The saga began...
May 24, 2024•27 min•Ep. 235
Thanks to Swiggy and Blinkit, it’s gotten to a point where getting everything – from your groceries to a literal water cooler – delivered to your doorstep within minutes has become pretty routine. Something we expect. But there is so much going on behind the scenes to make that delivery possible. Like one executive told The Ken, it’s a combination of solid logistics and precise inventory management. Pulling that off with just groceries that you can easily throw into a carrier and strap on to a b...
May 23, 2024•11 min•Ep. 234
If you were flying sometime last month, you may have noticed, staff from Digiyatra, the contactless, biometric entry system at airports, were repeating the same thing over and over again to passengers at the entrance: “The old app is discontinued, please download the new app.” Passengers were only given this information at the airport. None of them received any notifications or SMSes. Apart from inconveniencing passengers, this also sent alarm bells ringing among some of them. Because, think abo...
May 22, 2024•10 min•Ep. 233
No other payment aggregator has been able to pull off what Phonepe has in less than a year. Its nearly 50 per cent market share is obviously a huge draw for new merchants. And in the last couple years, its been able to onboard some pretty big names like Bharti Airtel and IRCTC. But the bigger the client, the more ruthless their demands. At the end of the day, they are only loyal to the aggregator that promises them the lowest prices and highest success rates. So how does PhonePe make sure that i...
May 21, 2024•13 min•Ep. 232
The lure of appearing on the popular reality show on national television is so strong that even startups that already have been funded by VCs and institutional investors want to get on Shark Tank. In fact, investors themselves are asking their founders to go on the show. Money or funding is not the goal for these startups. It's the marketing opportunity they want. But Sony, the producer of the Shark Tank is trying its best to make sure that the show doesn't lose its real purpose: to be an invest...
May 20, 2024•9 min•Ep. 231
Contrary to its name, the US-based skincare brand 'The Ordinary' pulled off something pretty extraordinary when it was launched in 2016. From the beginning, it was all about transparency. It veered away from fancy packaging, instead opting for simple labels that list out all of the main ingredients, or 'actives', that were used to make the product. And just like that, the brand managed to demystify active ingredients for everyone! This kicked off somewhat of a skincare revolution around the worl...
May 17, 2024•29 min•Ep. 230
CP Plus, one of the most popular CCTV camera-makers in India, gets 80% of its supplies for its parent company, Aditya Infotech Ltd (AIL), from the Chinese security-equipment manufacturer Dahua Technology. Dahua and Hikvision, another Chinese surveillance-tech firm, are facing sanctions in the UK, US, Australia, and other countries, for their connection to the Chinese government. But in India growing surveillance tech market, both these companies enjoy more than a 50% market share. And bringing t...
May 16, 2024•12 min•Ep. 229
A few days ago Meesho closed the first tranche of its $600 million funding round by securing $275 million. The e-commerce unicorn has impressed investors lately thanks to its sustainded operating growth and the reduction in its monthly burn rate. Over time, the platform has built a kind of dominance in India’s smaller cities and towns that become the envy of its competitors —all thanks to its super affordable unbranded products. But now, Meesho wants to boost its profits. For it, it's relying on...
May 15, 2024•9 min•Ep. 228
You may be surprised by how often bank lockers are robbed. According to Finance Ministry data, close to Rs 200 crore has been stolen from locker facilities in the last three years alone. This is pretty disconcerting, especially considering that for the longest time the bank locker has been considered the safest place to store your most precious valuables. It also doesn’t help that every aspect of locker management in banks – from actually opening your locker, to eventually closing it – is extrem...
May 14, 2024•14 min•Ep. 227
When Gaurav Munjal started Unacademy, the edtech unicorn, he hated the offline coaching business. Edtech companies have tried to stay away from offline because of a number of reasons like low profit margins and huge capital. But with the edtech downturn, Gaurav Munjal, finally admitted to the press that he’d been wrong and had overestimated the online business. This came at a time when Unacademy's online business was free falling. So the edtech shifted focus to its offline coaching network which...
May 13, 2024•12 min•Ep. 226
When it comes to debit cards and ATM networks, no one can beat the State Bank of India. But being the market leader of debit cards in India is actually turning out to be a problem for the public lender. With Indians becoming more open to credit cards and UPI swamping the market, debit cards are dying a slow death. In fact, a lot of industry experts agree that debit cards, in their current physical form, may actually become obsolete in the coming decade. And by being the biggest player in this ma...
May 10, 2024•12 min•Ep. 225
With increased competition within the country, the world leader of Ayurveda brands, Dabur, is looking to acquire and expand. It wants to change its story and focus on a new target consumer. For example, the company's toothpaste brand Dabur Herb'l Charcoal recently collaborated with Disney for its Star Wars franchise and hired Darth Vader as its chief innovative officer. Just last year in October, it also acquired a 51% stake in Badshah Masala, one of the country’s leading spices companies. But w...
May 08, 2024•12 min•Ep. 224
Aditya Birla Fashion is arguably one of India's most complex listed retailers. It has dozens of really diverse fashion brands and retail formats under it. On one hand it has high-end luxury labels like Sabyasachi and Tarun Tahiliani, and on the other, it also owns the retail chain Pantaloons and labels like Allen Solly, and Louis Phillip — names that we all know because they are accessible to most people. Now, you would think this we-have-something-for-everyone strategy must be working out great...
May 07, 2024•14 min•Ep. 223
A few years ago, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had set a target of 40% growth across all categories for Flipkart. But in 2023, it was still stuck at 20%. So the company is now on a mission. It wants to push growth, gain market share, and turn a profit. So in January this year, Flipkarts top execs along with the CEO came together for a meeting to outline a roadmap for 2024. Krishnamurthy wanted Flipkart to introduce a loyalty programme for top spenders, give out more incentives to ensure cust...
May 06, 2024•10 min•Ep. 222
Even though EV sales just make up a fifth of the Tata Motors’s overall sales, the automobile-maker is still the reigning giant of India's growing EV ecosystem. It is also leading the cab industry’s shift to EVs . Over the next 3 to 5 years, it has promised to sell at least 50, 000 EV four wheelers to cab companies. Based on the deal made over a year ago, half of them are meant for Uber. But it's been over a year since the deal with Uber and only 4000 Tata EVs are up and running in Uber's fleet? ...
May 03, 2024•12 min•Ep. 221
Nearly half of India’s 200 million workforce that is over the age of 45 suddenly has the sword of an involuntary retirement hanging over their heads. These are loyal employees from sectors like pharma, retail, manufacturing, and banking who are dealing with shorter career spans but for whom retirement is not a voluntary choice. Those aged between 40-60 years are facing long periods of joblessness after quitting or losing a job. But finding a job has become increasingly difficult for them and it ...
May 01, 2024•11 min•Ep. 220
In the last decade or so, French retailer Decathlon has managed to completely change how most of us shop for anything sports and fitness related. It replaced mom and pop sports stores by becoming a one-stop shops for all things sports and fitness related. Cult.Fit wants to pull off just that with the help of its in-house athleisure and fitness equipment brand, Cult.sport. But it doesn’t help that it’s been a pretty rocky ride for Cult.Sport this far. The brand hasn’t really taken off the way Cul...
Apr 30, 2024•15 min•Ep. 219
More people switching to Electric Vehicles (EVs) is not just great for our environment, it's great for hackers too. As EVs become more popular, hackers are constantly looking for opportunities to exploit the widening network of digitally connected vehicles. Between 2018 to 2021, incidents related to breach of cybersecurity in the auto industry rose by more than 200%. And it is only going to get worse in the coming years. In India though, it is not much of a concern yet due to the low penetration...
Apr 29, 2024•9 min•Ep. 218
A damning investigative report about Swiggy recently revealed how the foodtech giant has been depriving its delivery workers of their health insurance coverage if their ratings fall. It comes at a time when the company is prepping to make its stock market debut to raise more than a billion dollars. Earlier this week, Swiggy also got the official green flag for the IPO from its shareholders. But so far, only its food delivery business is profitable. So now, the company is running on overdrive to ...
Apr 26, 2024•10 min•Ep. 217
A few weeks ago, retail chemists got together to draw BJP's president JP Nadda's attention to the dangers of e-pharmacies. AICOD urged BJP to promise to include this ban in their election manifesto, along with a ban on discount advertising. They said e-pharmacies should be done away with nationwide to protect public health and prevent drug abuse among the youth. However, this isn't the first time that offline chemists have approached the government to express their woes against e-pharmacies. In ...
Apr 24, 2024•12 min•Ep. 216
When you think of the average unicorn-status startup, PocketFM — a homegrown audio streaming platform — is somewhat of an anomaly. Its main claim to fame? Very dramatic, borderline NSFW Hindi fiction audio series’. Its content can best be described as ‘masala’ entertainment. And yet, millions of listeners tune in every day to listen to stories like ‘I love you monster’, or ‘Karan Arjun reloaded’, or ‘Millionaire Ghar Jamaai’. While all this may not be your cup of tea, it has really worked for Po...
Apr 23, 2024•14 min•Ep. 215
In the last few years, companies like Everest that manage cab fleets have become the silent battalion in Uber’s army of cabs. In fact, 90% of Everest’s fleet is with Uber. This, of course, has helped Everest grow its revenues and both seem to have found their relationship to be mutually beneficial. Everest gets to run its assets on a high demand platform. And for Uber, it become so much easier to manage its cars. So Uber is deepening its ties with Everest, especially with Uber Green in mind. But...
Apr 22, 2024•11 min•Ep. 214
Last month, the Reserve Bank of India directed credit card issuers or banks to not sign exclusive contracts with card networks, like Visa and Mastercard, that restrict them from using other networks. The RBI did this because it said consumers deserve to have the freedom of choice. This new rule will be effective from early September and it will change the credit card game as we know it. For starters, the American card network giants Visa and Mastercard who together have been dominating 90% of th...
Apr 19, 2024•10 min•Ep. 213
In 2021, Campus Activewear took away the top spot in India's athleisure-footwear market from Puma, thanks to its affordable and trendy sneaker offerings. And by May 2022, it became a publicly listed company. Within a span of five months after its listing, its valuation shot up to a staggering US$2.2 billion. However, two years later now, its market capitalisation has nosedived to under US$890. The reason is a combination of factors including the slow down in demand and also, an ever-increasing n...
Apr 17, 2024•14 min•Ep. 212
Just like every Lok Sabha election in the last 72 years, millions of people will vote for a new government over the next couple of weeks. But there is one thing that really sets this election apart. Never before have political parties actively used Generative Artificial IntelIigence at this scale. It is a turning point in India’s electoral evolution. Some AI startups in India have been developing hyper-personalised voter experiences for political parties. This comes at a time when Gen AI tools l...
Apr 16, 2024•13 min•Ep. 211
In January, the RBI, more or less killed Paytm Payments Bank. But Paytm Bank was the backbone of its loan business, the same business that helped it recover from its post-IPO bloodbath. Now, Paytm’s lending partners, on whom its loan business is dependent, are spooked They dont know if they should continue working with Paytm. Meanwhile, Paytm is doing its best to save what it can but Paytm Payment Bank is currently in limbo. Last week, Survinder Chawla, the MD and CEO of Paytm Payments bank also...
Apr 15, 2024•12 min•Ep. 210
Phone calls from Bajaj Finance offering loans are almost inescapable and lately, the non-bank has faced quite a backlash for it. But telecalling has been an enduring sales channel for the company which boasts of a loan book worth $28 billion. And despite the massive size of its loan book, it’s been growing at 30% for years. Now this rate is seeing a dip through. Bajaj needs to maintain a 26-27% growth rate. Meanwhile, shifting its loan sourcing to its digital assets is going to take a while. So ...
Apr 12, 2024•12 min•Ep. 209
It's been over a year since the govt launched Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The idea was to build the world largest e-commerce platform to check the monopoly of giants like Amazon and Flipkart. From ride-sharing and food delivery, to groceries, the platform can be used to buy and sell anything. The platform is close to hitting the 50 million transactions mark now. And what stands out about it is its fascinating pricing strategy that makes ordering food on it as much as 45% cheaper th...
Apr 10, 2024•16 min•Ep. 208
Lat week, the struggling edtech giant Byju's laid off another 500 of its employees. This came along with a salary delay of three consecutive months. In his email to employees two months ago, Raveendran had written, “I have been moving mountains for months to make payroll, and this time, the struggle was even bigger to ensure that you receive what you rightfully deserve." With the latest round of layoffs though, the employee count at Byju’s has gone down from 15000 at the end of last year to arou...
Apr 08, 2024•10 min•Ep. 207
