Lightspeed India reposted this
I'm a big fan of "value retail". Time and again, a new platform with value based positioning has been able to carve out space in a competitive market with very large incumbents. Their offering has been simple - significantly (30-40% at least) lower prices than incumbents. They have squirmed their way to a large outcome. This has happened across categories, without a doubt. Meesho came eight years after Flipkart/ Amazon with their average order value being <INR 350 vs INR 1k+ for market. They're at $5B GMV RR. Zudio rose from <INR 150 cr in 2017 to INR 6000 cr+ currently with ASP of <INR 500. Lab grown diamonds are 60%+ cheaper than mined diamonds while being physically/ optically/ chemically the same. From 2016 to 2023, they expanded market share from <5% to 50%+ (by volume). Janaushadi stores (Govt operated pharmacies selling "generics") rose < INR 150 cr revenue in 2017 to INR 2400+ revenue RR in 2024. They sell 50-70% lower priced medicines. Physicswallah rose to $200m+ revenue in 4 years with ~20% of incumbent's pricing. Globally, late entrant Temu rose to $40B GMV RR within 2 years on the back of low pricing. Imagine threatening Amazon's territory But low pricing as a strategy is an outcome. It looks simple but behind it lies extremely complex inputs that make it possible. It involves opening up exclusive low priced supply and creating the most optimized and lean operations to squeeze out every penny. - Temu/ Shein had access to China's low cost manufacturing capabilities, longtail China suppliers who weren't able to monetize well in China's competitive domestic market, regulation of De minimis in US where they don't pay import duty taxes via air drop shipping - Zudio did end to end manufacturing in-house at low TAT at reasonably low MOQ that enabled entire inventory refresh in < 2 months, leading to limited inventory losses. They made a strong call of spending zero on marketing/ branding - Physicswallah spent 8 years to conquer YT led distribution (45m+ subscribers) leading to limited CACs vs incumbents who spend 30-40% of their revenue on sales / marketing (via feet of street) - Meesho opened up "direct from manufacturers" supply with their low (zero) commission model - LGD/ Janaushadi are both product innovations (same quality at exceptionally low prices) Because of this, it's nearly impossible for incumbents to replicate the low pricing strategy almost instantly. As they are not just mimicking the prices but also tightly run operations, new supplier partnerships, marketing advantage. If you want to disrupt pricing for a market, an ideal question to ponder on is how will your supply chain enable that..