ShopClues Unicorn Acquired

Focus on unbranded/unstructured categories (home and kitchen, fashion, electronics, daily utility items) rather than branded electronics and fashion that dominated rival marketplaces.

Positioned as the e-commerce marketplace focused on budget customers in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, shipping to over 25,000 cities.

ShopClues targeted value-conscious consumers beyond India's metro cities.

A managed marketplace connecting a network of small online stores/sellers with consumers.

A dedicated assurance program promising a hassle-free shopping experience, including easy returns and replacement, to build buyer trust.

A free membership loyalty program rewarding repeat shoppers with 5% cashback on every order, plus tie-in benefits from partner services.

Products are screened through an extensive 5-point quality check and labeled Best Buy, Great Buy, Value Buy or Brand Authorized to help shoppers trust listings on an unbranded, unstructured catalogue.

The company's own e-commerce website was ShopClues' primary channel connecting Tier-II/III shoppers with marketplace sellers, drawing tens of millions of monthly visitors.

ShopClues gives its certified merchants a dedicated online selling space (Merchant Central) to list products and manage their stores.

Dedicated Android and iOS apps, launched in 2016, let merchants manage their storefronts and orders on ShopClues' marketplace directly from mobile.

ShopClues operated a financing platform, Capital Wings, launched in June 2015, to provide funding to its merchants' businesses.

ShopClues built and operated AdZone, an advertising product letting sellers market their products with native and custom ads within the marketplace.

Running delivery and fulfillment operations that shipped orders to over 25,000 Indian cities and towns was a core operating activity underpinning its Tier-II/III reach.

ShopClues' core resource was its proprietary marketplace technology infrastructure, which by mid-2016 hosted roughly half a million sellers.

ShopClues raised significant venture capital, including a $100M round from Tiger Global in January 2016 that made it a unicorn; it had been valued at $1.1 billion in 2015.

ShopClues built its brand as India's first and largest 'fully managed' marketplace since launching in 2012, an intellectual/brand resource distinguishing it from purely self-service marketplaces.

ShopClues partnered with GoDaddy in May 2016 to help its small and medium sellers set up their own independent e-commerce websites.

ShopClues acquired Bangalore-based mobile payments company Momoe in July 2016, integrating its payments technology into the marketplace.

ShopClues' loyalty program bundles in exclusive benefits from outside consumer brands, extending its value proposition beyond its own marketplace.

Sale of services (marketplace commissions/fees to sellers) was the dominant share of revenue from operations.

ShopClues' total expenses for FY18 were reported at $66.41 Mn (INR 481.44 Cr), down nearly 10% year-on-year as the company pursued cost discipline.

Employee benefit costs were ShopClues' largest identifiable expense line item, reported at $15.32 Mn (INR 111.12 Cr) in FY18, down 8% year-on-year.

Marketing spend was another major cost line, with advertising and promotional expenses of $17.93 Mn (INR 130 Cr) in FY18, trimmed by nearly 10% from the prior year.