India’s multi-billion-dollar retail industry (slated to reach nearly $2 trillion by 2030) is mostly an unorganized one. Nonetheless, it has been growing and evolving steadily over the years as technology came to its aid – India’s organized retail market has grown by nearly 50% from 2012 to 2020.
Now, India’s retail industry will see some of its leading businesses, which have grown and expanded tremendously with the evolution of India’s online retail ecosystem, be part of, and operate as, one group brand. Going forward, the AceVector Group will have, as part of it, Snapdeal, integrated retail-tech SaaS platform Unicommerce, and House of Brands Stellaro Brands.
In a LinkedIn post, Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl informed the same, adding that the AceVector Group will combine innovation in distribution channels, digital-first consumer brands and SaaS platforms.
Snapdeal itself has had a rather tumultous ride. Along with Flipkart, Snapdeal too catapulted to peak in early days of India’s startup ecosystem. However, with Amazon entering the fray and coming with an uncountable pool of cash, Snapdeal’s business went down the hill. Lack of additional fundraise meant Snapdeal went through some of the worst times in its history since founding, having to curtail operations, make lay-offs and pivot its entire business model.
Things took a turn to the better though, when Bahl announced a ‘Snapdeal 2.0’. He wrote about the same in detail in an editorial on The Tech Portal. You can read the same here.
So why this consolidation now? Bahl outlined, saying, “Given the scale already achieved by these individual businesses and the size of the opportunity that lies ahead, it is appropriate for us to formalise a group structure that highlights the broader scope of opportunities we have been pursuing as a company along with the distinct nature of each business, beyond our e-commerce marketplace – Snapdeal.”
Just because they are part of a group company does not mean that there will be any changes in the leadership of the three brands. Snapdeal and Stellaro Brands will continue to be led by its President, Himanshu Chakrawarti and its leadership team, while CEO Kapil Makhija and his leadership team will continue to help Unicommerce.
This brings us to the next question, how will these three businesses contribute to the success of the AceVector Group? All three of them are strong players in their own right, having carved a niche in the market and withstood the intensifying competition. Snapdeal requires no introduction, serving quality products without burning the pockets of customers, having a presence beyond the metropolitan cities, and growing like clockwork.
Unicommerce’s SaaS solutions help brands run automated, paperless warehouse operations and sell across multiple marketplaces, and enable retailers to offer a unified purchase experience to end consumers that are interacting with the brand in an omni-channel world. Processing over 450 million orders annually, it has a presence in 14 countries and has, as part of it, 2000 stores, 7000 facilities, and 160 network integrations. Like Snapdeal, it has clocked strong growth (100% in enterprise clients in FY22).
Coming to Stellaro Brands, it develops brands that offer high-quality goods that are more pocket-friendly (the perfect choice for budget-conscious customers).
Stellaro builds these products based on consumer insights, which are gathered through live discussions, customer feedback, and using data science and analytics to understand what they want and need through their online behavior.
