Meesho has become one of the few startups in India’s fledgling e-commerce industry to turn a profit, helped by cost cuts that included a round of recent layoffs.
According to Dhiresh Bansal, the chief financial officer of the Bengaluru-based online mall, which offers everything from clothing to jewellery and electronics, July brought in a meagre profit. Sales for the business, which has the support of SoftBank Group Corp., Prosus NV, and Meta Platforms Inc., totaled US $ 406 million in the six months leading up to June, according to Bansal.
The start-up reduced spending on server infrastructure, marketing, and client acquisition in May in order to break even. Around 250 staff were also let go. According to the executive, it concentrated on value-added services for merchants, like shipping and product processing.
Meesho competes against Walmart Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in the expanding Indian online retail market, which Deloitte predicts will increase from US $ 70 billion this year to US $ 325 billion by 2030.
Before deciding to pursue a public listing in India, the company wishes to devote its attention to profitability, growth, and attracting users for a while.
