While retail investors may have taken a fancy for both the new-age stocks, mutual funds were seen dumping shares of soaring Zomato’s parent Eternal while aggressively accumulating its rival Swiggy, even as the food delivery war intensifies and one stock rockets to fresh highs while the other struggles to move ahead.

Even as Eternal shares surged 17% in July and touched a fresh 52-week high of Rs 319.80 on BSE last Friday, mutual funds were busy booking profits worth an estimated Rs 1,700 crore last month by offloading 5.4 crore shares, according to data from Prime Database and Nuvama.

Meanwhile, they poured Rs 1,400 crore into Swiggy, snapping up 3.43 crore shares of the stock that’s down over 26% year-to-date.

The contrarian bet appears to be a classic case of buying the dip and selling the rip. While Eternal has delivered a stellar 14% return year-to-date and hit fresh peaks, fund managers seem to believe the rally has run its course. Conversely, Swiggy’s brutal 26% decline appears to have created a buying opportunity that institutional investors can’t resist.

Zomato vs Swiggy

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund led the Zomato exodus with Rs 810 crore in sales, closely followed by Mirae Asset’s Rs 820 crore disposal. Other major sellers included Kotak and SBI Mutual Fund. However, not all funds joined the selling spree. Axis Mutual Fund bucked the trend with Rs 375 crore in purchases, alongside Motilal Oswal and HDFC.

On the Swiggy front, the buying brigade was led by Mirae Asset, HDFC, SBI MF, Bandhan, and Invesco.

The timing couldn’t be more telling. Eternal’s 17% July surge came after a robust 21% rally in June, suggesting fund managers are taking profits after a strong run. Meanwhile, Swiggy managed just a 1% gain in July despite the heavy institutional buying, highlighting the stock’s current struggles.

What should investors do?

Goldman Sachs remains bullish on Zomato, raising its 12-month target price to Rs 340 from Rs 330 and reiterating a Buy rating with 25% potential upside. The investment bank raised its FY26E-30E revenue estimates by up to 11%, driven by strong demand trends in quick commerce.

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“On the back of 1QFY26 results, our food delivery GOV/revenue estimates are higher by 1-2%. We raise our FY26E-FY30E quick commerce GOV estimates by up to 9% due to strong demand trends,” Goldman Sachs noted.

Jefferies has turned even more optimistic, upgrading Eternal to Buy after earlier concerns about competition proved “unfounded.” The brokerage highlighted management’s significantly positive commentary, especially on quick commerce.

“Progress in Q/C suggests that our concerns on competition, which led to the d/g in Jan-25, were unfounded; we now u/g to BUY,” Jefferies said.

For Swiggy, the Street sees a turnaround brewing. Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy, noting that “Q1 profitability marked the trough” and expecting easing competition ahead.

“With a pause on dark store expansion in ST and easing in competition (JEF view), Q1 profitability marked the trough. Swiggy however remains prone to high volatility due to a low margin base,” the brokerage cautioned.

Morgan Stanley has “lowered projections of consolidated adjusted EBITDA losses for F26-28” while HSBC values the entire Swiggy business at $11.4 billion or Rs 430 per share, with the food delivery business alone worth $8 billion.

Author Credits- Nikhil Agarwal
msn

UK parcel delivery company Evri has partnered with second-hand fashion marketplace Vinted to offer customers free reusable packaging in dedicated Evri ParcelShop locations in the UK.

In an initial eight-week trial, the packaging will first be available in more than 100 ParcelShops across the UK, growing to almost 300 throughout the trial. It is aimed at providing customers with a quick and free packaging solution at drop-off, and with a reusable alternative by which to ship their parcels.

The packaging has been designed to fit a medium sized Vinted parcel and has been created with two adhesive strips, supporting Vinted buyers and sellers.

The trial is part of a wider expansion of the partnership between Evri and Vinted Go, with both businesses reporting recent periods of significant volume growth.

Evri recently announced a significant investment in its ParcelShop and locker network, with plans to double its size to 25,000 locations by 2030. The companies says that the packaging could be rolled out across more of the Evri’s ParcelShops if it proves to be a success.

Vinted’s delivery arm Vinted Go recently signed a four-year extended contract with the Yorkshire-based delivery company to make it even easier for Vinted members in the UK to be able to ship their items.

Claire Phelan, head of e-commerce partnerships at Evri, said, “We’re thrilled to be the first UK delivery carrier to be able to support Vinted’s trial of reusable packaging. By stocking this at almost 300 of our Evri ParcelShops, it provides their army of sellers with an efficient and reusable solution by which to send their parcels. And, as we forecast issuing over 100K units of Vinted’s reusable packaging during the trial, its multi-use feature is fantastic, giving buyers the opportunity to re-purpose.”

Vytautas Atkočaitis, vice president of Vinted Go, said, “By collaborating with selected carrier partners including Evri to provide free and reusable packaging, we hope to encourage our members to opt for packaging that is suitable for repeat use and fits the size of their items better.”

Author Credits- ALASDAIR MORTON
Parcel and postal technology INTERNATIONAL

Nike Inc.’s sneakers are front and centre at Foot Locker Inc. stores once again as the long-time partners rebuild a relationship that had frayed in recent years.

Foot Locker is positioning Nike’s running shoes in the lead columns of the men’s sections in its stores — in front of rivals such as On, Hoka, Adidas and New Balance for the first time in two years, according to Matthew Boss, an analyst at JPMorgan. Nike had previously been positioned behind all those brands.

“Our recent fieldwork points to Nike product placement returning to pole position,” Boss said in a note to clients.

The two companies are mending ties after Nike heavily pulled back from Foot Locker under its previous chief executive officer in order to prioritise its own stores and online shop. Nike products once accounted for about 75% of Foot Locker’s total purchases, but that number dropped below 60% in 2022. Nike’s strategy hurt Foot Locker’s business for years.

Nike’s current CEO, Elliott Hill, has vowed to work more closely with wholesalers. As part of that push, Foot Locker is working on expanding its Home Court basketball sections developed in tandem with Nike. Foot Locker plans to add the sections to 100 stores around the world by 2026.

Hill is refocusing Nike on its sports products and looking to boost sales of running products around the brand’s Pegasus, Vomero and Structure shoes. Nike had ceded ground to its many competitors in running while it pushed lifestyle sneakers.

In May, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. agreed to acquire Foot Locker in a $2.4 billion deal — an agreement that would combine two of the largest sports chains in the US.

News Credits – FASHION NETWORK

LuLu Retail has announced its H1 2025 financial results, delivering a solid 9.1 percent year on year increase in net profit to $127 million. The revenues rose to $4.1 billion (up 5.9 percent YoY), and like-for-like sales increased by 3.8 percent, driven by robust performance across key categories.

In Q2, the company reported revenues of $2 billion, up 4.6 percent YoY with a strong sales growth. This performance was bolstered by continued growth in the private label and e-commerce categories.

LuLu’s private label grew 3.5 percent YoY, accounting for 29.7 percent of retail revenue, while e-commerce maintained its momentum with sales up 43.4 percent YoY to $108 million, representing 5.6 percent of retail revenue. The gross profit increased 6.5 percent YoY to $468 million. The EBITDA grew 7.6 percent YoY to $204 million.

LuLu Retail has declared an interim dividend of $98.4 million (3.5 fils per share), corresponding to a payout ratio of 78 percent of H1 2025 distributable profits — consistent with the IPO dividend policy.

Meanwhile, LuLu’s Happiness loyalty program added 1 million new members during the quarter, bringing the total membership to 7.3 million.

LuLu opened seven new stores in H1, in addition to four more in July, taking the total to 259. Its full-year target of 20 new stores remains on track.

“Our steady and resilient H1 2025 performance is a testament to our well-established growth pillars, enabling record sales and margin improvements. We expect our growth momentum to persist as we focus on expanding our store network, launching new outlets, enhancing operational efficiency, and unlocking further potential through private label and e-commerce offerings,” said Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu Retail.

Regional performance

In the UAE, LuLu’s largest market, the Q2 revenue was up 9.4 percent YoY, driven by continued high demand for fresh food and supported by LuLu’s omni-channel strategy. In Saudi Arabia, the revenue grew 3.8 percent YoY, aided by strong electronic goods sales and new store openings. Meanwhile, in Kuwait, the revenue grew by 4.9 percent YoY, showing a consistent positive performance.

News Credits- ARAB NEWS

The GCC in India will play a central role in driving efficiency, innovation, and growth for over 60 million customers worldwide, the company said in a statement.

News Credits- DECCAN HERALD