Godrej Nature's Basket on expansion mode, adds 3 more stores

Running high on its expansion spree, Gourmet foods retailer Godrej Nature’s Basket has recently announced the launch of 3 more stores to its bouquet. This will make the total number of stores in the country to 36. The new stores have been launched in Gurgaon, Pune and Mumbai.

Commenting on the same, Mohit Khattar, MD, Godrej Nature’s Basket said, “Godrej Nature’s Basket has been a pioneer in the gourmet space for a while now and through our successful Pan- India online operations we have been able to hit our targeted revenue levels.”
“We are now happy to introduce one new store each in Pune, Mumbai and Gurgaon in order to cater the needs of discerning consumers better in select catchments in these cities,” he added.
 

Over the past year, the chain has expanded its existing retail stores in Delhi and Mumbai to larger spaces and has grown exponentially on its eCommerce model after the launch of its PAN India operations in September, 2015.  With its new omni-channel strategy, Nature’s Basket is looking to grab new and emerging markets of the country.

Despite the fact that it delivers only non-perishable products in tier-II and tier-III cities, the average spend on an order is Rs 1,500, claims the company.

Foodpanda join forces with IRCTC to offer meal during rail journey

Online food ordering marketplace Foodpanda has recently announced its partnership with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to give rail passengers food ordering services from its restaurants during the journey. The order food will be delivered via Foodpanda at the train stations.

The pilot to this service will soon start from New Delhi Railway station and will extend to other cities like Mumbai, Bangaluru, Pune and Chennai.

Travelers will have to place orders through Foodpanda app 2 hours prior to the journey. While placing order, the customers will need to give various details including their train details, timing and seat number so FoodPanda delivery boys can deliver the food before train’s arrival time.

The partnership is surely a big positive for FoodPanda as well as train travellers. For FoodPanda, they will get advantage of their platform being opened up to millions of train travelers, which can help them scale their business aggressively. Also, for train travelers, they will now have wide variety of food available on train, literally from every major restaurant in the city. Not to mention benefit of all the discounts that Foodpanda offers on their app.

Over last few months, IRCTC is trying to bring about a change in the way food is served to train passengers. Just a few days back, Indian Railways announced that they will be gradually phasing out Pantry cars from all the trains and will consciously push for eCatering and Takeaways. A senior Railway official had said, “This is a long-time plan of the Indian Railways. The idea is to introduce e-catering at all stations and reduce dependency on private caterers who are in charge of pantry cars.”

Telangana tourism launches luxury yacht rides

Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) have launched two new catamaran yachts for the Hussain Sagar Lake at Lumbini Park in Hyderabad. TSTDC has introduced the luxury ride package with these two new boats, which will be priced at Rs 100 per person. The boats can accommodate 12-15 members per trip. Additionally, TSTDC has also launched party packages priced at Rs 2,000 per hour at these luxury boats. The party packages will begin post 8:30 PM and can be availed up to 12:00 AM.

The boats will not only provide a luxurious ambience to tourists but also have a lower seating which is closer to the water during the ride. The inauguration was done by Sania Mirza, brand ambassador for Telangana State. The new catamaran boats have been procured from the USA and will be available to ferry the public at the Hussain Sagar Lake. TSTDC owns the largest water fleet in India amongst the state tourism departments, about 95 which comprises small and big boats.

The corporation operates leisure based cruises and water sports at different lakes and rivers of the State, Parasailing activity at Hussain Sagar etc., which are very popular amongst the local crowd as well. Currently the state tourism development corporation already operates one mechanical large boat as a ferry to the Buddha statue. TSTDC also runs 3 cruises 2 AC and 1 Non AC for parties and rides on the lake. TSTDC has also introduced a jolly ride with these cruises – with a carnival style folk and cultural song and dance presentation during the ride. It operates a Jetski and speedboat as well to cater to the tastes of adventure enthusiasts.

Walmart to open more cash-and-carry stores in Andhra Pradesh

US retail giant Walmart Store Inc has recently announced that it will open 15 more cash-and-carry stores in Andhra Pradesh and will set up a centre for sourcing agriculture products from local farmers around the vicinity.

Commenting on the same, Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India, said, “the company has three stores in the state and it "plans to open another 15".
“Walmart India would engage in areas like working with small farmers, and investing in training,” he added.Aiding employment in Andhra Pradesh, some of countries retail chain giants such as Walmart India, Future Group, Spencers and Arvind have signed MoUs with the government and will invest 1,500 cr for the same.
 

When asked about the ease of doing business in India, he said both at the centre and the state several steps are visible in this direction.
"The efforts are visible. The events on the ground do take time and I believe that in the next 12-18 months, we are going to see some significant results visible on the ground itself," he said.

With more and more international brands are betting big in Indian retail horizon, this step by Walmart surely targets at cementing its pole position in country’s retail space. Walmart India owns and operates around 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in 8 states across India. The first store opened in Amritsar in 2009.

Grofers winds up operations in 9 cities

Hyperlocal grocery startup Grofers has finally decided to shut down its operations in nine cities of the country. The company will no longer serve in the following cities: Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Ludhiana, Mysuru, Bhopal, Rajkot, Nashik and Bhubaneswar.

A couple of months back, the company halted its operations in some parts of Delhi NCR due to some operational hiccups and employees in Noida stopped working following layoff speculations.

Even company’s CTO, Varun Khurana has resigned from his post barely a month after the firm secured a massive $120 million funding.

 

The company saw a massive three-fold jump in its valuation with $115 million in July 2015 compared to that of $33 million in February 2015.

The latest round of funding also saw participation from Apoletto Asia, the personal investment vehicle of DST Global's partners, including Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, and its existing backers. The startup is currently valued at about $400 million (Rs 2657.2 crore).

Many retailers and eRetailer have claimed 2015 as ‘the year of eCommerce’ but despite the huge turnarounds and achievements, the industry has also seen a spate of failures. No doubt, companies like Paytm, Flipkart and Snapdeal ran high on their expansion spree and talent acquisition, there has also been some noteworthy resignations and operational shutdowns.