Meesho Is Catching Up

Sebastien Callebaut -

The Most Downloaded Shopping App Worldwide

According to app analytics company Apptopia, Meesho was the most downloaded shopping app in the world during the first half of this year, with users praising its usability, variety of products and affordable prices. The app, which is only available in India, has 127 million downloads compared to 81 million for Amazon and 50 million for Flipkart (for the same period).

  • Meesho aims to dominate the market for basic commodities like apparel and home items that are frequently offered in unorganised retail, which makes up as much as 85% of India's retail market
  • This while Amazon and Flipkart are "primarily for the upper 1%-5% of the population" focusing on more expensive products like cellphones and televisions

The Upstart With Still A Long Road Ahead

Meesho was established in 2015 and has raised $1.1 billion from investors including Meta, the Vision Fund of SoftBank, Sequoia Capital India, and the venture capital firm B Capital Group (founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin). Meesho is not yet profitable and is estimated to be worth $5 billion.

  • Meesho still has a long way to go before it catches up to Amazon and Walmart, who have invested more than $22 billion in India collectively since 2014
  • According to a research note from AllianceBernstein, each generates over $20 billion in yearly online sales in India, accounting for almost 60% of the country's online sales. Meesho accounts for $5 billion, or 7% of all sales in India
  • It is worth noting that e-commerce in India is still in its early innings as it only accounts for 5% of total sales, versus 14% for the global average

A $ 570m Raise At A $ 4.9B Valuation

Following a $300 million Series E fundraising round in April 2021, when it was valued at $2.1 billion, Meesho raised $570 million in its Series F funding round in September 2021. The investment round, which was co-led by Fidelity and B Capital Group, increased the startup's total raise to over $1 billion.

  • Since then, new funding conditions have soured and Meesho has had to lay off 150 employees (and might need to fire another 150 employees)
  • Meesho was spending around $45 million each month to attract new clients and expand its business, but insiders claim that it is unable to continue at this rate without raising further funding

Disclaimer

Please note that this article does not constitute investment advice in any form. This article is not a research report and is not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future returns. Investors have to conduct their own research before conducting any transaction. There is always the risk of losing parts or all of your money when you invest in securities or other financial products.

Credits

Photo by Yash Bhardwaj on Unsplash.