CM.COM is a company from the Netherlands that has been in the market since 1999. They established their presence in Dubai in 2018, where Wael founded the regional branch. CM.COM’s core mission is to help businesses communicate more effectively with their customers. In this interview, Wael shares the driving force behind his team at CM.COM and offers insight into their latest product, HALO.
Used car platform Spinny has increased the size of its ongoing funding round to $170 million, up from $131 million, with the entry of WestBridge Capital, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investor is expected to put in around $35–40 million in primary capital.
Spinny enables both the buying and selling of quality used cars through a full-stack platform model. It manages the entire supply chain, including vehicle inspection, refurbishment, documentation, and financing.
The round has also seen the entry of US-based Accel Leaders Fund as an investor in the company. The existing backers, Elevation and Tiger Global, are also said to have increased their stake.
In December 2021, the company also roped in cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar as a strategic investor and brand ambassador.
The firm’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 3,725.02 crore in FY24, from Rs 3,259.78 crore in FY23.
During the same period, its losses declined by 28% to Rs 590.37 crore.
The second-hand car industry is undergoing a slowdown with industry experts projecting single-digit growth of 8-9%, lower than the 10-12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) reported in the last few years.
News Credits:- FINANCIAL EXPRESS
THG Fulfil has announced it will install 430 state-of-the-art T-sorting robots from Libiao Robotics at its warehouse in Manchester in the UK in a bid to increase operational capacity by 75%.
The T-sorting robots are set to be operational in September 2025 and will enable THG Fulfil to handle around one million units per day, bolstering its operations ahead of this year’s peak season.
According to Libiao, its robots have a sorting accuracy of up to 99.9% and its system is engineered to sort for multiple destinations simultaneously, with electroplating robots operating on optimal paths to maximize sorting efficiency.
Tom Killeen, COO, THG Ingenuity which owns THG Fulfil, said, “We have always believed that fulfilment is a core driver of customer excellence and brand reputation. Our collaboration with Libiao further solidifies our commitment to providing brands and retailers with industry-leading, scalable automation solutions that optimize everything from pick and pack to final-mile delivery, ultimately enhancing customer experience and driving loyalty.”
Jason Zhang, VP of sales – Europe, Libiao, added, “We’re excited to partner with THG Fulfil, showcasing the elegance and scalability of Libiao Robotics’ solutions. Our compact, modular robots enable rapid plug-and-play deployment. With THG Fulfil as our UK distribution partner – leveraging their vast retail network and warehouse automation expertise – we look forward to expanding Libiao’s reach across new industries.”
Author Credits:- HAZEL KING
Parcel and postal technology INTERNATIONAL
The EUROSPAR store concept, marking the return of the SPAR brand to Finland after nearly twenty years, offers a diverse selection of affordable groceries that meets customers’ shopping needs in one place.
“In Finland, the EUROSPAR supermarket concept and its vivacious store appearance are based on the international EUROSPAR store format and elements, which have been developed in accordance with best practices and successfully operate around the world,” says Harri Koponen, Vice President, Store Network and Concept for Tokmanni Group’s operations in Finland.
The EUROSPAR supermarket, which opened on 12 June in Ylöjärvi and offers an extensive grocery selection, is just the beginning. Tokmanni, the SPAR licensee in Finland, will renew all of its food departments selling fresh food to align with the international SPAR brand. Tokmanni will introduce more SPAR products from around the world to shoppers of its 204 Tokmanni stores.
The combined retail space of Ylöjärvi’s Tokmanni and EUROSPAR supermarket is around 6,000m2 of space, with the EUROSPAR supermarket being over 2,000m2. Customer service at Tokmanni and EUROSPAR stores in Ylöjärvi is provided by a team of around 50 retail professionals.
Local food or food products from small producers or other local companies are available at the EUROSPAR supermarket in Ylöjärvi. This is complemented by a variety of product offerings reflecting the international SPAR brand and shopper interest in diverse cuisine solutions.
The EUROSPAR supermarket product selection was determined by listening to customers. Both local and other domestic products in the range reflect tastes from around the world.
Tokmanni’s partnership with SPAR International and the very extensive procurement channels formed together with SPAR licence holders in different countries worldwide offer Tokmanni an excellent opportunity to sell SPAR private label and other daily consumer goods that are of great interest to customers all over Finland.
Tokmanni is also exploring opportunities to operate a grocery business with SPAR formats in some Tokmanni stores, in addition to those that already sell fresh food. However, at this time, Tokmanni’s main focus is on the SPAR product ranges in all Tokmanni stores, as well as in stores that already sell fresh food, gradually transforming them to align with the SPAR concept.
News Credits:- SPAR international
E-commerce business Meesho’s board of directors has given its go ahead for its conversion into a pubic entity as the business moves towards readiness to launch an initial public offering.
“The company is currently exploring various strategic alternatives for its long-term growth and value enhancement, which may include, at an appropriate time, an initial public offering of its equity shares and listing on a recognised stock exchange in India,” wrote Meesho in a filing with the Registrar of Companies, ET Retail reported. “While the board of directors has not yet approved or initiated any IPO process, the company intends to maintain readiness from a regulatory and compliance perspective to enable such an offering when deemed appropriate.”
Making the conversion from a private limited company to a public limited company is needed for a business to prepare for an IPO in India. Along with this transition, Meesho is also undertaking the moving of its domicile from the US to India. As part of this, the business has applied to the National Company Law Tribunal to approve its domicile change, the Economic Times reported.
Once Meesho is officially based in India, the renamed entity ‘Meesho Limited’ will become the parent company of the e-commerce platform. Backed by SoftBan, Tiger Global, and Prosus, Meesho’s gross merchandise value run rate totalled $6.2 billion, according to a report by brokerage CLSA in March this year.
Author Credits:- Isabelle Crossley
FASHION NETWORK
Nayax is a global payment company, they operate in over 100 countries worldwide. It provides end to end cashless solutions across several sectors, with a focus on three main verticals: unattended domain, attended retail, then Nayax’s energy which supports EV charging. Nayax primarily operates in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Yinon provides in depth insights into Nayax’ s plan for the Middle East region.
Marco gives the audience an insight into Amazon Ads and provides a brief overview of how the platform works, particularly from the perspective of a seller onboarding onto Amazon Ads. When asked whether the solution is limited to sellers in the UAE or available in other markets, Marco explains that Amazon Ads has a presence in four marketplaces: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey, where both sellers and vendors can offer their products to customers.
MONEYHASH is the Middle East and Africa’s first leading payment orchestration platform. It offers a single API plugin for merchants. Maram goes into detail about Moneyhash and how it works, explaining what brought Moneyhash to the Middle Eastern market. She also discusses what led Moneyhash to participate in SEAMLESS.
After tasting success in fashion retail with Pantaloons, Kishore Biyani set his sights on capturing the grocery market and established Big Bazaar.
Kishore Biyani, the founder of Big Bazaar– India’s first retail store– and the Pantaloons clothing brand, was once called the ‘retail king’ of India as his chain of retail stores earned hefty profits, often registering daily earnings well in excess of Rs 30 crore or more. However, a single mistake toppled the retail empire built by Kishore Biyani, bankrupted him, and sent him to the deepest pits of obscurity.
The story begins in 1983, when after finishing college, Kishore Biyani decided to start his own venture, instead of joining his father’s business. In college, Biyani found that stone wash trousers were wildly popular among young men in those days, and fabric’s demand was increasing in India at a rapid pace.
Realising the demand, Biyani purchased 200 meters of the fabric from Jupiter Mill, and sold it to earn a hefty profit. However, soon Kishore Biyani stumbled upon the idea of manufacturing and trading fashionable stone wash trousers instead of selling the fabric to other manufacturers, thus establishing the Pantaloons brand.
Pantaloons grew at a rapid pace, and soon opened its first retail showroom in Kolkata, where the brand launched women’s and kids’ clothing along with men’s apparel. The store’s light colors, lighting, and the overall look and feel, were designed to evoke a calming shopping experience, and soon Pantaloons made Kishore Biyani the undisputed king of fashion retail in the country.
After tasting success in fashion retail with Pantaloons, Kishore Biyani set his sights on capturing the growing grocery market. Biyani observed that people only spend about 8 percent of their income on clothes, and decided to sell groceries, stationery, food items, and jewelry along with clothing.
Biyani’s unique plan was to make everything, from clothes to groceries and kitchen essentials, available to consumers under a single roof, and thus Big Bazaar, India’s first retail store, was born.
Big Bazaar was targeted towards the growing middle class, so instead of an expensive, posh-looking store, Biyani decided that his retail store would have the feel of a regular grocery shop, where the sales persons were dressed in regular clothes, instead of bow ties and suits. The name Big Bazaar resonated with the common man, and made enhanced its appeal, and soon the brand grew into a behemoth that minted over Rs 30 crore on a daily basis.
Kishore Biyani wanted to compete with local grocery shops, so his strategy revolved around offering cheaper prices than traditional grocery stores.
Beyond Big Bazaar, Biyani wanted to establish a place where consumers could shop for all types of goods under a single roof, and thus opened the Central Mall in Bengaluru in 2004. The 20000 square meters mall had everything from footwear to home decor, food, grocery, jewellery stores, food courts, restaurants, pubs, and movie theaters.
Biyani’s Future Group– the holding company which had all his brands like Big Bazaar, Central Mall, Easy Day, and Pantaloons, under its umbrella– had the largest share in India’s retail sector, and made Biyani the ‘retail king’ of India.
After conquering the retail industry, Kishore Biyani desired to venture into every business which directly dealt with the consumer, but this proved to be downfall because his unplanned expansion resulted in mounting debt which ultimately swelled to over Rs 12000 crore.
Soon, Biyani was forced to sell the Central Mall for Rs 476 crore, and while Big Bazaar kept going for year despite large debts, its sales crashed, and so did Biyani’s retail empire, during the 2008 recession. In March 2019, Biyani sold the Pantaloons brand to the Aditya Birla Group for Rs 1600 crore, while banks froze the assets and shares of Future Group after he failed to clear debts.
Later, Kishore Biyani sold Big Bazaar to Reliance Retail– Indis’s largest retailer run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani. Reliance has now renamed Big Bazaar to Smart Bazaar.
At the peak of his business success, Kishore Biyani had net worth pegged at USD 1.78 billion in 2019, according to Forbes. However, after bankruptcy, his current wealth is believed to be a fraction of the fortune he once owned.
Author Credits- Gazi Abbas Shahid
India.com
