Indian Startup News 221: Amazon India's Head Just Resigned

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00:00 Amazon India's head just resigned and it is bad news for the company
02:40 Ola planning to offer dark stores as a service to tap into the quick commerce market?
03:47 Zepto moving their headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru
04:59 Oyo plans to add 25 premium hotels under their SUNDAY brand
05:42 Funding News
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Amazon India's head just resigned and it is bad news for the company**
Manish Tiwary's resignation as the head of Amazon India is a significant blow to the company, particularly as it faces intense competition in both traditional e-commerce and the fast-growing quick commerce sector. Amazon has been lagging behind Flipkart, which has surged ahead, thanks to Walmart's investment. Additionally, Amazon has struggled to establish a presence in the quick commerce space, where players like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto are thriving. Tiwary's departure raises questions about Amazon's strategy and future in India, especially as it grapples with these competitive pressures. The coming months will be crucial for Amazon as it decides its next moves in both e-commerce and quick commerce.

Ola planning to offer dark stores as a service to tap into the quick commerce market?

Ola is reportedly planning to offer Dark Stores as a Service, building a network of dark stores to support quick commerce players like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart. This strategy allows Ola to benefit from the booming quick commerce market without directly competing with established giants. With Blinkit and Zepto planning to open over 1,700 dark stores by 2026, Ola's service could play a crucial role in their expansion. More details might emerge during Ola's Independence Day event on August 15th.

**Zepto moving their headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru**

Zepto is relocating its headquarters from Mumbai to Bengaluru, consolidating its workforce as 90% of its Mumbai-based employees have agreed to move. The shift is partly due to the shutdown of Zepto's current WeWork office in Mumbai. With their recent funding round and plans to expand, moving to Bengaluru, India's tech hub, seems like a strategic decision. The company will close its offices in both cities to establish a large, centralized office in Bengaluru. This move could position Zepto for stronger growth in the competitive quick commerce market.

**Oyo plans to add 25 premium hotels under their SUNDAY brand**

Oyo is expanding its premium hotel segment by adding 25 new SUNDAY brand hotels in India by March 2025. Initially launched in 2023 with SoftBank's support, SUNDAY already has locations in Jaipur, Vadodara, and Chandigarh. Alongside SUNDAY, Oyo also introduced Palette Resorts in 2023 to capture more of the premium market. This shift from a budget-centric model to a focus on premium hotels reflects Oyo's strategy to enhance profitability, as premium hotels typically offer higher profit margins.

Funding News

This week, Indian startups raised nearly $120 Million. Highlights include:
Visit Health (New Delhi): $30 Million raised
Scimplify (Bengaluru): $9.5 Million raised in Series A round
Kindlife (Gurugram): $8 Million raised in Series A round
Punch (Mumbai): $7 Million raised in Seed round
EtherealX (Bengaluru): $5 Million raised in Seed round
Juleo (New Delhi): $2.5 Million raised from more than 180 angel investors
Burma Burma (Mumbai): $2 Million raised in Seed round
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with us:

[yasho.]

I don't know why anyone uses flipkart except for the exclusive phones...its dogshit compared to amazon, half of products are fake on there.

[sumanthsure]

Love for amazon for their service better than flipkart

[SaiKrishna-fcod]

Even though Amazon foreign company it provides better service than Flipkart. So I wish Amazon should have a better run in India. If it's not, then it's going to become monopoly.

[apurvapragya]

Yes Amazon should rise as Flipkart's service is just shit and the industry becomes monopoly instead of duopoly . It will give them too much power to do more cost cutting and worsen the experience

[Naruto-Uchiha]

It’s better if neither Flipkart nor Amazon wins the game. Rise of quick commerce players will increase the competition making market more equitable overall

[akashkumar]

Amazons Customer service is still amazing

[yashwanth.chennuru]

Time stamps are wrong
You kept last weeks time stamps in description

[SyllabuswithRohit]

Always loved the crispness and to-the-point information. Thank you for your efforts.

I think all these delivery startups are going to be between two or three players—Amazon will be one, and then Walmart.

All the others will mostly be taken over by these two. Amazon has good data, cloud, software, etc., at a global level, so Amazon is not going to leave such a big market when the middle class might become the biggest in the world. The same with Walmart.

They will bet on the future because it’s all they have.

[nileshkahar]

Talent in Bengaluru will surely be the one reason for switch.

[sarthakgupta]

Caleb and his obsession with space startups 😉, go on dude doing a grateful job for us, btw thanks for the insightful info cheers man😄

[Anderson_Roger]

I am so surprised that Amazon is lagging behind. Flipkart's service is dogshit compared to Amazon. Amazon deliver's faster, has a smoother website and after sales service is the best in the industry. What's wrong with people? Do people just shop from Flipkart because it's Indian?

[ankitkraken]

Yes, rooting for Amazon because of their better customer service nature

[Mohit-zw]

Sir, your video could be way better with the editing. This one doesn't have any motion graphics which would provide much better visuals

[kingKabali]

I was under impression that Amazon was leading. We need these sector specific market breakdown.

[mvasa]

May be good for a change of guard - timing is right. Not sure if anyone can turn this around quick - maybe an exec from Flipcart will help

[bronsonaheibam]

Flipkart product smartphone and laptop are same but other products a wholesome shit.

[indian]

Amazon and Flipkart end up squandering $100billion in India

[ankit]

Quick Commerce Lacks in One thing that is the trust in the product given to end Customer. It's just another Hype in India which will soon gone after economic slowdown.

[nss]

You guys need to make a video on poaching of talent from flipkart to zepto...over 15 people have moved across ...in the last 3 months ..all from grocery team from FK ... All are top level talent ...overall atleast 40 people have been poached in the last 2 years

[sanjaymaurya]

Anything on Flipkart and Amazon are 10 to 50 percent costly.
Ex if I want to buy a computer mouse which cost 300 in local market same thing on Amazon will sold on 500