Tag: Zomato

‘All riders will wear red’: Zomato rolls back green uniform for Pure Veg Fleet

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Amid a mixed response to its announcement of a Pure Veg Fleet, food delivery aggregator Zomato has said all its delivery partners would continue to wear the red uniform, rolling back a plan to introduce a green uniform for those delivering vegetarian food.

Just a day ago, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal introduced the ‘Pure Veg Mode’ along with a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ to address the concerns of vegetarians around the country and even make a few deliveries himself.

While sharing the green fleet, Goyal had said Zomato planned to add more specialised fleets for special customer needs. “For example, there’s a special cake delivery fleet coming up with hydraulic balancers which prevent your cake from getting smudged during delivery,” he wrote on X. It is not clear if those plans are still being considered as of now.

Giving an update on the latest service, Goyal wrote on X: “While we are going to continue to have a fleet for vegetarians, we have decided to remove the on-ground segregation of this fleet on the ground using the colour green. All our riders — both our regular fleet and our fleet for vegetarians, will wear the colour red.”

Update on our pure veg fleet —

While we are going to continue to have a fleet for vegetarians, we have decided to remove the on-ground segregation of this fleet on the ground using the colour green. All our riders — both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will…

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 20, 2024

Goyal said the delivery partners meant for vegetarian orders will not be “identifiable on the ground” but will show on the app.

‘Physical safety’

Explaining the reason behind junking the green uniform for delivery partners, Goyal said it would ensure that red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food and blocked by RWAs or societies during special days. “Our riders’ physical safety is of paramount importance to us,” he said.

He shared that some of the Zomato customers could also get into trouble with their landlords and “that would not be a nice thing if that happened because of us”.

“Thanks, everyone for talking about this last night. You made us understand the unintended consequences of this rollout. All the love and all the brickbats were all so useful – and helped us get to this optimal point. We are always listening, without unnecessary ego, or pride. We look forward to continue serving you,” Goyal wrote.

Social media storm

On March 19, Goyal’s announcement of a dedicated fleet for vegetarian people set off a storm of sorts on social media. Several people expressed concerns about the implications of such a decision.

“If Zomato uses different coloured boxes to deliver veg food, bigoted landlords can harass tenants if they see non-green colours. Whatever assurance of the veg fleet, if needed, must be kept inside the app only,” one user wrote.

Taking a jibe at the company’s decision, writer Varun Grover wrote: “Can you please ensure that the delivery partners and their families are also pure veg- otherwise they may just be serving khichdi after eating chicken for lunch with the same hands. Also what about the veg status of the farmers who have grown the rice used in pure veg khichdi?”

Another person wrote, “Which colour for pure vegan delivery ???? We don’t want to mix with these impur3 veg people”.

This is not the first time the company has tried to think out of the box. Zomato introduced kurtas as a new uniform option, besides the traditional T-shirts, for its women workforce on International Women’s Day on March 8.

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Zomato launches ‘Pure Veg Mode’ and ‘Pure Veg Fleet’; Details here

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Food delivery giant Zomato on Tuesday launched a ‘Pure Veg Mode’ along with a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ to address the concerns of vegetarians around the country. In a series of posts on the social media site X, the company’s CEO Deepinder Goyal shared details about it.

“India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world, and one of the most important feedback we’ve gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled,” Goyal said.

India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world, and one of the most important feedback we’ve gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled.

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 19, 2024

To solve the people’s dietary preferences, Zomato has come up with a ‘Pure Veg Mode’ and ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ on the platform, for the customers who have a 100% vegetarian dietary preference, he added.

What’s the all-new ‘Pure Veg Mode’ and ‘Pure Veg Fleet’?

Goyal shared that this mode consists of a “curation of restaurants that serve only pure vegetarian food”. Keeping in mind the vegetarian customers, this mode will exclude all restaurants that serve any non-vegetarian food item.

Not just that, the company has also introduced a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’, that will only deliver the food from “pure veg restaurants”.

“Our dedicated Pure Veg Fleet will only serve orders from these pure veg restaurants. This means that a non-veg meal, or even a veg meal served by a non-veg restaurant will never go inside the green delivery box meant for our Pure Veg Fleet,” Goyal wrote.

The Zomato CEO further said that this all-new initiative by the company “doesn’t serve or alienate any religious, or political preference.”

The company is now planning to add “more specialised fleets for special customer needs” shortly, Goyal said.

“For example, there’s a special cake delivery fleet coming up with hydraulic balancers which prevent your cake from getting smudged during delivery,” he shared.

“This feature will see a phased rollout in the next few weeks. We remain committed to listening to our customers, and serving our community in the best possible way,” Goyal wrote on X.

This comes weeks after the food delivery giant introduced kurtas as a new uniform option, besides the traditional T-shirts, for its women workforce on International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8.

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This foodtech stock has given a return of almost 200% in a year. Analyst expects 20% more upside

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Even as the blue-chip Nifty 50 witnessed its worst day in the past five months on March 15, shares of food delivery firm Zomato ended the day almost 5% higher.

Zomato shares will be in focus on March 18 as well since the online food delivery aggregator recently received a penalty notice of around ₹8.6 crore (the amount includes a fine of ₹4,11,68,604 along with applicable interest and penalty) for allegedly “overutilisation of input tax credit and underpayment of goods and services tax (GST)”. The order comes after an audit of GST returns and accounts by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Swiss brokerage firm UBS has given a buy call on the firm and set the target price for its shares at ₹195, which means it expects the stock to surge another 21% from the closing price of March 15.

The buy rating comes on a stock that has given a return of 198% in the past year as against the benchmark Sensex which has risen 26% during the period. In 2024 alone (year-to-date) Zomato shares have made investors 28% richer as compared to Sensex which has gone up half a percent in the same time.

In its latest brokerage note, UBS has pointed out that industry volume is up 4% on a monthly basis, which is in line with seasonality. However, its question is whether a sequential or quarter-on-quarter decline in gross merchandise value (GMV) is possible for Zomato.

It said there might be some downside to consensus estimates and that it expects the food delivery firm to grow a percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

According to UBS, Zomato’s year-on-year growth shall remain healthy and within management’s guidance of 20%.

Of all the brokerages that have coverage on Zomato, 24 suggest buying the stock while four have given it a sell rating.

Jefferies has also called Zomato a “compelling food delivery play”. Food delivery continues to offer strong growth potential and a stable industry structure should continue to drive profitability in the near term, Jefferies said. Zomato is also expecting an EBITDA break-even for Blinkit by June 2024. It is also expecting the profit pool of Zomato to become increasingly visible over the next five years. “As the franchise generates strong free cash flows, capital allocation will be a key factor to watch,” a Jefferies note said.

Last week, HSBC raised its target price on Zomato to ₹200 with a focus on Blinkit. It believes that advertising revenues will be the backbone of quick commerce Blinkit business in the long term.

HSBC also expects Zomato’s digital spend share to increase in India and, within that, platforms to gain share thereby helping Blinkit. Within this spend, the brokerage expects the share of digital to increase from 38% currently to 44% by FY27e. Many digital marketers believe this share could go up even higher, it said citing an IPSOS State of Marketing report.

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Zomato Share Price: HSBC sees 30% upside in the stock with a focus on Blinkit. Should you buy?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Zomato shares recovered from the day’s low to trade in the green territory but the share price remained volatile as was the rest of the stock market on March 12.

The swing in the Zomato share price comes at a time when brokerage firm HSBC has raised its target price on the food tech stock to ₹200 from ₹163 earlier. This means the analyst expects the stock to rally almost 30% from the closing price of March 11.

With a buy call on the stock, HSBC argues that advertising revenues will be the backbone of quick commerce Blinkit business in the long term.

“Over a long-term horizon, we believe it’s quite likely that nearly the entire EBITDA margin (EBITDA to GMV ratio) for Blinkit will be driven by advertising revenues, while the core business revenues (take-rate) will compensate for the costs,” it said.

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The brokerage note points out that advertising revenues are 3-4% of gross merchandise value (GMV) and HSBC expects this to rise to 5-6% in the next three to five years, similar to the EBITDA margin that it has in its model currently.

HSBC also expects Zomato’s digital spend share to increase in India and, within that, platforms to gain share thereby helping Blinkit. Within this spend, the brokerage expects the share of digital to increase from 38% currently to 44% by FY27e. Many digital marketers believe this share could go up even higher, it said citing an IPSOS State of Marketing report.

It explained that the majority of digital spending (80%+) is distributed across search platforms (like Google), videos (YouTube) and social media (eg, Facebook, Instagram). Other platforms (like e-commerce in particular) attract a 15% share of digital spend.

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“We believe this share will rise from 15% to 18% in FY27. Digital ads on e-commerce or QC platforms like Blinkit are a lot more easily tracked compared with other platforms, like social media, and hence spenders will continue to shift their spending in favour of these platforms,” it said.

HSBC has also increased its order growth rate estimates for Blinkit to 25.4% from 21.4% for FY24-27e and GOV growth to 27.3% from 23.2% FY24-37e.

Zomato shares traded 0.26% higher at ₹155.20 on BSE at 1:30 pm.

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International Women’s Day: Zomato introduces kurtas for female delivery partners

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Food delivery giant Zomato has introduced kurtas as a new uniform option, besides the traditional T-shirts, for its women workforce. The company unveiled the new outfit option for female delivery partners on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8. Aimed at offering greater freedom and comfort to female employees, the initiative is a significant step towards enhancing their work experience,  according to reports.

Many of Zomato’s female delivery partners have found it difficult to navigate the busy Indian roads while donning Western-style T-shirts. Some delivery partners felt uncomfortable with their regular outfits and wore them over traditional sarees or suits, leading to discomfort throughout their workday, Moneycontrol reported.

Prioritising the comfort and practicality of its female delivery partners, Zomato has redesigning the delivery fleet attire to solve the challenges faced by them.

“Starting today, Zomato women delivery partners can choose to wear a kurta,” read a post on Zomato’s official handle on Instagram.

Zomato’s all-new red-coloured kurtas are designed with deep pockets on both sides and also feature intricate embroidery, ensuring both style and functionality for its female delivery partners.

With the introduction of the new outfit, the female delivery agents of the company will now have the option to choose between a T-shirt and a kurta depending on their comfort and style.

In the comment section, netizens have praised the food delivery giant for this initiative.

“Zomato, you nailed the marketing game. you touch hearts like no one else,” one user wrote. Another one added, “Even @zomato knows that nothing celebrates a woman better than a Kurta!”

A third one added, “Dekho zomato, aapne pocket de di, mujhe fan bana liya. Abhi main apke app se hi order karungi.”

Meanwhile, Zomato has collaborated with Blinkit partners Mamaearth, Aqualogica, L’Oréal Paris, and Pee Safe to curate Women’s Day self-care packages, a company press release said.

These packages feature beauty, skincare and female hygiene products. With this initiative, the company aims to support the overall well-being of its female delivery partners.

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Ant Fin Singapore sells 2% stake in Zomato for ₹2,827 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Antfin Singapore Holding on Wednesday pared a 2% stake in online food delivery firm Zomato for ₹2,827 crore through open market transactions.

Antfin Singapore Holding Pte is an affiliate of Ant Financial Group, while the latter is a part of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

According to the bulk deal data available on the BSE, Antfin Singapore Holding Pte offloaded more than 17,63,95,675 shares in two tranches, representing a 2.02% stake in Zomato.

The shares were sold within the price range of ₹160.11-160.40 apiece, taking the deal size to ₹2,827.08 crore.

After the latest transaction, Antfin Singapore Holding Pte’s shareholding has reduced to a 4.3% stake in Zomato from a 6.32% stake (as of December 2023) in the company.

Source: BSE

Concurrently, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) acquired a 0.65% stake in Zomato, purchasing 5.68 crore shares for ₹909.55 crore. Following the transactions, Zomato’s stock witnessed a 2.68% decline to ₹161.60 apiece on the BSE.

This move follows Zomato’s recent positive financial performance, with a consolidated net profit of ₹138 crore in the third quarter, largely attributed to the rapid growth of quick commerce.

Based on the December quarter shareholding pattern, Antfin Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd. held a 6.42% stake in Zomato.

In November last year, 3.4% of Zomato’s equity had changed hands in a block deal worth ₹3,326.4 crore, where another Alibaba unit, Alipay Singapore Holding Pte had a cleanout trade.

Zomato’s shares have more than doubled from their IPO price of ₹76 after the street rewarded the food delivery company after it turned profitable. It has now delivered a positive bottomline for three quarters in a row. Zomato also received multiple brokerage upgrades after turning profitable.

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Antfin Singapore set to sell 2% stake in Zomato for ₹2811.82 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Antfin Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd is set to sell 2% stake in Zomato for ₹2811.82 crore, sources told CNBC-TV18.

Antfin Singapore, which is an affiliate of Alibaba is expected to sell 17.64 crore shares which is equivalent to 2 % stake in the company.

The floor price of the block deal has been set at ₹159.4 per share which is equivalent to 3.9% discount of the closing price. A lock in period of 90 days has been fixed for Antfin Singapore.

Zomato closed at ₹165.85 on BSE on Tuesday. The multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company has a market capitalisation of ₹1.44 lakh crore.

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Zomato, Apollo Hospitals among companies with higher number of women on board

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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At a time when women constitute just a fifth of the total directorships in India Inc, there are some outliers with a higher number of female representations on their boards. While women directors outnumber men in eight companies, there are another 15 firms in which they have an equal say as their male counterparts. To be sure, the study includes companies with a minimum revenue of ₹100 crore.

The list includes a diverse range of companies, from the food delivery platform Zomato to Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Godrej Consumer Products, Hindustan Zinc, and Cummins India, among others. While the state-owned HMT tops the list with three out of the four directors being from the female category, Brightcom Group and SBC Exports have 60% and 71% women participation on their boards.

With a total directorship of 3,608, women currently account for 20.2% of all independent directors in India. As of February end, the country’s 2,278 listed companies had a total of 17,853 independent directors, according to the latest available data from tracker primeinfobase.com.

Interestingly, more than half, or 1,187 companies in India, are essentially complying with the rule by having just one woman director, whereas another 771 companies have two women directors on their board. Furthermore, four to six women are designated as directors in 58 companies, and the remaining 209 companies each have three women directors.

Surprisingly, a decade after the Companies Act 2013, which made it mandatory for all companies to have at least one-woman director on their boards, there are still 43 companies that have yet to comply with the regulation.

Obviously, the list features many state-owned companies as they lead the unenviable list of diversity stragglers. The names like UCO Bank, BEML, Bank of Maharashtra, Bharat Dynamics, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers are some of them with zero women participation on the board.

However, the initiative that came with the Companies Act has somewhat helped narrow the gap in gender participation. About 10 years ago, women occupied just 6% of boardroom seats in NSE500 companies.

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Zomato, BHEL, PNB, others may see inflows up to $1.2 billion as part of MSCI adjustments

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Stocks like Zomato, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Punjab National Bank, DLF and others are likely to see inflows towards the close of Thursday’s trading session as part of the MSCI adjustments.

Brokerage firm Nuvama Alternative and Quantitative Research mentioned that pre-positioning in most of these stocks has already taken place, therefore, these stocks could see a significant spike in volumes towards the last 30 minutes of trade.

Nuvama Alternative is estimating that India can witness passive FII inflows worth $1.2 billion, which includes names in the Standard and Small Cap indices.

Post these adjustments, India’s weightage in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index will reach close to its historical high of 18.2%, from the current 17.8%.

While shares of PNB may receive inflows worth up to $187 million, according to Nuvama Alternative, BHEL and NMDC are likely to see inflows worth $165 million and $161 million respectively.

While the five names mentioned above will be included in the MSCI Global Standard Index and hence the inflows, stocks like Zomato, DLF, MRF and others will see inflows courtesy an increase of their weightage on the index.

Dr Reddy’s, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC AMC, Lupin, Astral, Paytm and Bandhan Bank are some of the other names which will see some inflows in the final 30 minutes of Thursday’s trading session.

On the flip side, Jio Financial Services and Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) will see outflows worth $81 million and $24 million respectively, due to a reduction of their weightage in the index.

Other names like Balmer Lawrie, Cello World, Cyient DLM, Honasa Consumer, IREDA, Netweb Technologies and others will be included in the MSCI Smallcap Index. On the other hand, Torrent Power, RVNL, Barbeque Nation will be excluded from that index.

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