Meesho turns profitable in July on order volumes, monetisation rate
SoftBank-backed value-commerce platform Meesho clocked a profitable July on a consolidated level. The company has dialled down marketing spends and employee costs with an increased focus on growing categories beyond fashion.
Bengaluru-based value commerce platform has said the company attained profitability for the month of July 2023 at a consolidated level for the first time, riding on the back of growing order volumes and monetisation rate. The company had previously mentioned that it was looking to attain profitability in 2023, with growth in advertising revenue on the platform.
In a statement, Meesho said that it was profitable across all divisions and categories at a profit-after-tax (PAT) level. It did not disclose specific numbers, stating that revenue grew by 54% over the last 12 months.
The startup unicorn had reported losses to the tune of Rs 3,247 crore for FY 2022. The company is yet to file its earnings for FY 2023.
Meesho said that the order volumes on the platform grew by 43% over the last 12 months, touching over a billion orders, with 85% of them coming from repeat customers. Known to primarily target value shoppers in Tier III and IV cities, Meesho’s non-fashion categories grew by 120% over the last 12 months.
The company has also reduced costs, dialling down on customer acquisition cost (CAC) and marketing spends by 80% year-on-year. The company let go of 15% of its employee base in May as part of cost-cutting measures.
“As the first horizontal ecommerce platform to achieve profitability in India, we remain committed to driving sustainable growth, democratising ecommerce for everyone and unlocking the true potential of India's heartland,” said Vidit Aatrey, CEO and Founder of Meesho, in the statement.
The company—valued at $4.4 billion in a recent report by Fidelity—has emerged as a strong contender to Flipkart and Amazon, beating the latter in sales volume during last year’s festive season. Meesho has raised nearly $1.06 billion in equity funding from marquee investors including SoftBank, Prosus, Sequoia, Fidelity, Facebook, and others.
The platform claims to have 140 million transacting customers and processes 3.5 million orders a day. Meesho does not charge commissions from its sellers and offers categories ranging from apparel, electronics, home decor and kitchen, and other small value items.
Edited by Kanishk Singh