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Tag: failed business

  • Why Did Foodpanda Failed and What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From It?

    Online delivery apps are doing really well. In a world where we all are constantly online and searching for a lot of information, it has become a normal activity to order online. Companies like Amazon, Flipkart and others are now going to the marketplace for every millennial. They are easy to use, convenient to scroll and a heaven for the shopaholics. They are so easy and convenient that people today are getting addicted to the technology of online delivery. This newfound business is doing really well as the whole economy is shifting to a digital place. Everything is online, choosing an item, its delivery tracking and the payments for the same.

    Not just that, entrepreneurs from all over the world then thought of inventing further in the direction. Some geniuses thought to deliver food. It was not considered a good idea in the beginning, but as people gave feedback and the delivery services improved, the idea started to seem a viable option. Then it struck, and many companies emerged to deliver food to the public.

    There was Zomato, Swiggy, Foodpanda and the likes. All of them competed for one single thing, the largest market share in the food delivery sector. As the competition for market share transformed into a war, it became necessary for some companies to vanish. This competition led to the death of many food delivery companies and led many companies to go bankrupt. One of the companies that vanished from the market was Foodpanda. This article talks about the company and what were the reasons for its failure. Let us see the story in words.

    A Little Brief About FoodPanda
    The timeline of FoodPanda
    Why Did Foodpanda Fail in India?
    Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Failure of Foodpanda

    A Little Brief About FoodPanda

    People love convenience and why won’t they? Everyone wants convenience at their doorstep and this is why it is a massive opportunity for companies to scale themselves. Food delivery is a massive convenience for people in our society.

    Foodpanda is one of the startups that aimed to deliver food to people in a convenient manner. Not just that, Foodpanda also delivered all sorts of grocery items to its users. It is an online food and grocery startup that was owned by Delivery Hero. It has a good stronghold in Asia and the headquarters lies in Singapore. As of now, it is the largest food and grocery delivery platform in Asia. It operates in about 12 markets in the continent of Asia.

    The Timeline of FoodPanda

    Foodpanda’s business strategy is an interesting read. We can learn a lot of lessons from the business line of Foodpanda. Before we go into the details of how Foodpandafailed, it is important that we know something about the timeline of Foodpanda. Here we will be looking at the humble beginnings of the company and how it went through various acquisitions on the line.

    In early 2015 the company bought full stakes in a company called, TastyKhana. Along with that, the food delivery platform Foodpandaalso gained control of Just Ear India, which was a food ordering portal.

    These were some moves that the company pulled off to increase revenue and scale of the company. The efforts did not really affect the revenue and the company even had to lay off 300 employees by the end of 2015.

    The time was tough for Foodpandaas the company even faced allegations of malpractices. There was news that mentioned Foodpandaas a non-paying restaurant service provider and there were also allegations of fake listings. At that time, the food delivery platform was based out of Gurugram and was spread across 200 cities in the country. That was a tough year, and the next year, that was 2016, Rocket India was looking for a buyer for the company. They set the price really low, at about 10 to 15 million dollars.

    A year later, in 2017 the food delivery business was acquired by Ola for a 100 percent equity and that too at a valuation of around 40 to 50 million dollars. Ola further mentioned in public that the company will further invest 200 million dollars to revive the company and make it work sharply.

    After this happened and the company started to work slowly but efficiently, they began offering discounts to lure customers to use Foodpanda. Efforts gained some momentum and people started to recognise this as a good platform to order food.

    By the end of August 2008, Foodpanda had reached 2 lakh orders per day of operations. It was a huge feat for the company and the stakeholders of the food delivery platform. But soon enough, clouds of uncertainty covered the sky.

    Next year, that was 2019, the magnitude of the orders dropped to 5000 per day, in the middle of the year. Reacting to this, Ola made a decision to stop the loss that they were expecting in the near future. Ola, the owner of Foodpanda suspended its operations in the middle of the same year. They also fired some 1500 delivery partners or delivery executives from their job to cut the expected loss in the food delivery venture.

    After that time, it is said that Foodpanda existed in a form of a cloud kitchen. A cloud kitchen was a term coined when Foodpanda acquired a company called “HolaChef” in October 2018. A cloud kitchen refers to a kitchen that is cloud in nature, which means that they only make food and they outsource the delivery and other services out of the kitchen. As a cloud kitchen business, they had three private label brands under them. In 2019, Notable names of sub-brands included FLRT and The Great Khichdi experiment.

    Why Did Foodpanda Fail in India?

    At its inception, the company was doing well, making a name for itself and was also working towards building a good brand value. By now we discussed the starting and the ending of this company which delivered food to its consumers. By now you must be wondering how the company failed. After we have thoroughly discussed the timeline in which the company operated, it is now time to see some reasons why it failed. Here we will be listing some of the most common and seen ways or reasons that failed Foodpanda as a food delivery company. These pointers are not just mistakes of Foodpanda but checkpoints for every entrepreneur trying to set up his venture.

    If you only look at the successful ventures, you will most probably be looking at fifty percent of the whole story or probably less. So, let us see why the company failed and then we will further discuss some precautions that could have saved the company.

    Now, Foodpanda was a big company, not just looking at the capital invested but the number of employees and the scale of operations was huge. Small leaking can play a big role in sinking the ship of Foodpanda but there were mostly massive issues and blunders.

    Before we discuss all the factors that lead to this downfall, let us list some of the factors that lead to this situation. There was no single factor that failed Foodpanda, in fact, there were multiple reasons. Those reasons include fake restaurants and orders, technological issues and disorganised business models, lack of leadership and massive miscommunications.

    Miscommunications

    There was a massive miscommunication issue that went on in the company. According to a report, the company’s workers were saved from the fact that the owners have left the company. Key people like Rohit Chadda and Mohit Chadda left the food delivery business back in August 2016 and for a long time, employees were not informed about this development. It was later in time when the issue magnified itself and presented itself as a massive hindrance to profitable operations.

    The company employees and workers had to face customers and calls from clients about bad operations. When they are unable to deliver food, they have to comprehend their service with free vouchers. Which was a hit to the profitability of the company. From all the instances above, we can notice that the company was suffering massive communication errors and blunders. Due to this, not only The operations were affected but the credibility and profitability were also affected.

    Fake Orders and Lack of Proper Procedures

    In another set of events, there was news that broke out. In May 2016, a fast-food chain, hailing from Mumbai ended its partnership with Foodpanda. The company complained that the food delivery partner owed the delivery service company payment of one and a half lakh.

    It was also mentioned that Foodpanda was delaying the payment without properly explaining the reasons for such delays. After the investigation, it was found that there was no record of such a transaction in the books of Foodpanda. This was a massive blunder that was taken into notice.

    To quote another instance of bad governance, we can look at the Tasty Khana case. Tasty Khana was a venture around food delivery, which was based out of Pune and was acquired by Foodpanda in 2014. The founder of TastyKhana, Shachin Bharadwaj mentioned that he was not satisfied with how the work and operations were done at Foodpanda.

    He also mentioned some reasons why he disliked the operations at Foodpanda. Reasons include no check for fake orders, lack of proper procedures in place, and financial irregularities.

    Documents with crucial data were accessible to everyone and there was mismanagement at almost every second step of operations. These points came right before the downfall started and was a surety factor of the failure of this company.

    Failed to Technologically Upgrade

    In the decade when every company moved to digital ways of doing business, Foodpanda’s shift was not strong and effective enough. Believe it or not, every company on the globe is shifting to become a technology company first and then the company which it intends to become.

    In the case of Foodpanda, they did change for the better but couldn’t follow up with the demands of a digital-centric consumer. The app was not up to the mark, there were restaurants listed that did not even exist and the whole plan of retaining customers was flawed.

    Poor Management

    Another reason was poor management, which is also a repercussion of poor communication and predictions. Customers and restaurants who were connected with the delivery company would often argue about the bad service that they provide.

    Customers had a rash experience talking to their delivery partners and delayed delivery reasons. Every enquiry that the customers made was a hit on the management team of the company. This was another reason for miscommunication which led to a vicious circle of ineffectiveness and blunders.

    Foodpanda even failed to capture all the orders that were placed for them, they were also unable to communicate cancelled orders to their restaurant partners which created a ruckus for both the parties. Using the current latest technology available, the company could not figure out an optimum and smooth customer experience, for which they had to pay a price in the future.

    Rohit Chadda, the co-founder and the MD of Foodpanda also founded another venture with the name, Ziner. In 2014 the website of Ziner showcased dates that were ditto the same as the Foodpanda servers and website. This action from the team was eyebrow-raising.

    Later in a notice, Chaddha mentioned that no data has been taken from Foodpanda, and this is a totally different venture, not relating to the other venture that he had undertaken in the past. The company founded by Chaddha has made over 300 million dollars in sales from clients like Rocket Internet and Goldman Sachs since 2012.

    More than a hundred employees from various cities left the business at Foodpanda. The resignations include those from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Gurgaon, when asked about the reasons for leaving the food delivery company, they stated poor management and lack of transparency of the company which posed a negative image for the company.

    Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Failure of Foodpanda

    There was no simple point according to the facts that prove efficiency and effectiveness in the culture of Foodpanda. Nothing worked properly up to the expected point. These loopholes can be used as a guiding light for people who are willing to amend problems and make solutions.

    There was no authority figure when this food delivery company was operating but we can now take some valuable lessons. Here we are going to list some useful advice and tips that we can learn. Let us see what are these checkpoints.

    A Proper Framework

    As the founder of Tasty Khana mentioned that the company had no sense of operations, it was a lesson right there. A proper structure of things is important, that framework has to be well built and has to be made better through iteration.

    This involves getting points on how to run a business and determining the best and most effective/efficient way of running it. The framework that we discussed just now should also essentially meet the business plan of the whole organisation. This is what good corporate governance looks like.

    Strong and communicative management is crucial too. Marketing is important but if a company only focuses on pure advertising and does not look toward building a good user experience, it will cease to exist. In this segment of business, both customers and restaurants suffered from the inability of food panda and thus, the venture failed to produce desired results.

    Communication for Structuring

    At Foodpanda, this was the centre of all issues. Employees and the management did not communicate enough. Moreover, when repercussions happened and the company faced obstacles due to bad communication structure, even then no step was introduced to improve communication.

    It was a clear sign that the company is not going to survive much. The customers, the listed restaurants and the people at Foodpanda were involved with a lack of communication which resulted in a bad working environment. No framework or strategy worked in the culture at food panda due to the lack of communication, which was the centre of the storm. This ruffled feathers of restaurants, and most consumers who shifted to other delivery apps.

    Ownership Story

    The founder of the company Foodpanda left their business and went out. Rahul Chadda and Mohit Chadda were the founders of the company which provided the company with their vision and started a venture. Their vision was worked upon as the company grew its scale but then this happened.

    Both the founders left the company and as soon as they left, the vision of the company blurred. This blur in vision caused much trauma for the culture of food pandas. This effect was magnified with less or no communication at all. Adding to this, the founders did not even do anything to better the situation. They simply left with no scope for improvement. When Ola bought the company, they were unstable themselves and they also couldn’t figure out the work that needed to be done with Foodpanda. We all know the end and the story of the downfall of this venture.

    The business world operates with a steering wheel of risk. There is volatility in every aspect of every business. There will be market conditions that you will not be able to handle but there are always options to edit the internal environment that suits the outside.

    Good internal control and management will go a long way in making a venture successful. The future is uncertain but in the face of that uncertainty, there can be some certainty, which can be bought by sheer work and commitment to building a solid culture at work.

    Foodpanda failed in many aspects in building a good inside culture. There were communication issues, there were ownership issues and much more. All these holes in the workings led to the downfall of such a big organisation and these little leaks sank the ship of the food delivery business. This massive failure can be one of the biggest learnings an entrepreneur can take and step forward in the direction of success.

    We can learn that it is really important to frame the culture at your workplace. It is extremely crucial to document everything and do everything systematically. Even if these suggestions bring little certainty in the world of uncertainty, this is a really good deal.

    Conclusion

    Online delivery companies are really doing well. They are probably the backbone of the internet economy. In such a big market, every entrepreneur is trying to put their hands on to get some profits out of the flowing water. This delivery ecosystem has emerged as a new form of a sector that is food delivery. We discussed how there are many key players in the sector who are doing really good. Food panda was one of the popular names among the food delivery apps. The company was doing well until some blunders crept into working for the company.

    We discussed that the company was incurring big mistakes in the department of communications and operations. There were issues on the behalf of the ownership of the company, key people, like the chief executive officers, left the company without properly framing the workings of the company. Many of the companies which were acquired by food panda disconnected from the board as the working was not efficient.

    From all the blunders that the company did, we can learn a lot. Every entrepreneur who wishes to set up his own venture has to read this story of a food panda. The entrepreneur can then value the power of good communication and teamwork. It is really important to understand the value of culture at work. Culture is what sets the tone of efficiency. If the company and the entrepreneur do not work towards setting up a great culture, no other accomplishments can be achieved.

    In the end, the story of the Foodpanda, from its arrival to its peak to its downfall is a really important case study for budding entrepreneurs. Failures happen so that we can learn from them and a smart person is a person who learns from other people’s mistakes.

    FAQs

    What happened to Foodpanda in India?

    Foodpanda entered India in 2015 to capture the food delivery market but failed to do so, later in 2017 the company was acquired by Ola for a 100 percent equity at a valuation of around 40 to 50 million dollars.

    Is Foodpanda working in India?

    No, Ola suspended the operations of Foodpanda in 2019 as it was facing a huge loss.

    Who bought Foodpanda in India?

    Ola acquired Foodpanda in 2017 for 100 percent equity at a valuation of around 40 to 50 million dollars.

  • Reasons Why Abof Failed to Compete Against Other Fashion Brands | Abof Failure Case Study

    The primary factor that drives any startup is not just the idea but also the ways in which the novelties are pitched in based on the market trends. Keeping that in mind it is also important to look through the various ways in which start-ups have come up and gone through the test of time by adapting and improvising their key ideas depending on market requirements.

    This article will be looking at an e-commerce platform that had to shut down due to various reasons. The highlight here is that they didn’t stop there. Today they have come back in a new form announcing their presence in relevant areas. Abof.com by Aditya Birla Group is this e-commerce website that deserves careful scrutiny of its inception, downfall and resurrection.

    Abof.com was launched in 2015 by the famous billionaire Aditya Birla. Abof stands for All About Fashion and was considered to be a significant competitor along with Amazon and Flipkart in the fashion industry. They had consolidated its branded apparel business under the label of the lifestyle retailer Pantaloons Fashion and Retail India Ltd. However a company with a strong foundation in all sense of the word had to wind up its operations and transactions by the end of 2018.

    Abof.com was the second e-commerce venture by the Aditya Birla Group that had to shut down. The first one was Trendin.com. The following are the primary reasons that led to the closing down of the firm.

    Reasons Why Abof Failed
    Efforts Taken by Abof to Revive the Brand

    Reasons Why Abof Failed

    Inability to Manage the Competition

    When Abof was launched, they had to compete with e-commerce giants like Flipkart which owned Myntra and Jabong along with Amazon and Snapdeal. As far as this matter is concerned, the company should have ideally analysed the marketing patterns of its competitors so as to respond in such a way that would help themselves improve their businesses. However, analysts who observed the functioning of Abof says that the firm failed in marketing their products efficiently.

    While companies like Myntra, Amazon, Jabong focused heavily on social media ads, re-marketing in addition to tying up with Google, Abof did not engage in these methods actively. The opportunities for the company to channelise a huge amount of money for the purpose was possible considering the fact that they were backed up by a giant like Birla.

    Failed Campaigns and Price Disparities

    In an already complicated world, it is extremely important to be the best and stand out for better sales. As far as the customers are concerned, they will go for the best deal at the best price.

    Considering the similarity in the options given by all the competitors in the fashion industry, one of the main things that ensure the business is by making sure that the customer profit ratio is high. At the same time, it is also important to ensure the standing of the company. However, Abof approached the competitive market in a very different manner.

    It can be seen that the company didn’t follow the basic pattern wherein new ventures do the business with less profit margin at least in the initial years. The ambition to earn billions within a short span of time fell upon them in a negative manner.

    When Abof launched their site, they made it extremely clear that they will not give any kind of discount. They also added that their “target consumers are not the guy who is looking for a deal”. One thing that they forgot was that when it comes to daily wear apparel that is available in multiple places, everybody will go for the cheapest one. By the time the firm realised its mistake and introduced more than 70% off on their products, it was too late.

    Lack of Options

    One of the main intentions of this e-commerce website was to sell their own brands amidst a few other brands. In such a scenario it is very important to have a clear-cut statement that attracts customers to their particular brand instead of others.

    While pitching a new brand amidst others that are available in multiple places it is also necessary to hold the customers with them without going to another platform to avail themselves of a better deal. Such a complex intention of the company along with its stringent rules that did not give enough discounts like others further eroded the credibility and site traffic of Abof.

    The situation was further aggravated by the wide expanse of offers and varieties provided by its competitors like Amazon and Flipkart in their websites. The fewer brands and options in Abof spoke for its own downfall.

    Efforts Taken by Abof to Revive the Brand

    It did not take much time for Aditya Birla Group to recognise that the soil under their feet was flowing away. Although they had refused to provide any discounts, they had to offer up to 70% off on the products that were available on the portal.

    The company also tried to enhance their marketing game by publicising its 3D trial room to the customers via TVC. The campaign was supported in selected cities like Lucknow, Chandigarh, Patna, Jaipur. They had also tied up with popular shows. However, the campaign didn’t reach the audience as expected.

    As it became more difficult for the firm to continue, the HR director at Aditya Birla group said that considering the vastness of the e-commerce business it is a struggle to make money from the venture for some time. He also added that it doesn’t seem logical to continue when it is very clear that things are not right. December 31, 2017, was the last day of its operations.

    Even when it shut down, Abof gave a good example to the firms around. They did not abandon their employees. More than 200 of them were absorbed to other wings of the Aditya Birla Group. They were also given the option to quit along with payroll for 4 1/2 months.

    The company’s way of taking responsibility for the future of the employees who trusted the vision of the venture showed the commitment of the company towards its employers. Through effective communication and handling of the entire process, the shutdown was hassle-free which is usually a rare sight to see. They were are also not ready to stop learning.

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    Conclusion

    Today Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd have announced the launch of Abof which will now be available in other e-commerce platforms like Flipkart and Myntra through third-party sellers. By utilising the vast network of Flipkart and Myntra they are all set to expand their reach across the subcontinent and thereby introduce customers to a wide range of collections. It is hoped that the company will make a strong comeback by learning from its mistakes.

    FAQ

    Why did ABOF fail?

    Abof refused to provide any discounts on its products, Its marketing strategy failed to attract customers and it had fewer options than its competitors.

    Who owns ABOF?

    Aditya Birla Group launched fashion retail site Abof in 2015

  • Automakers That Failed To Set Their Foot In India

    With over 1.3 Billion people, India is the second most populated country in the world and when there are so many people, almost everything is larger than life here. So naturally, it is not a surprise that India is the fifth largest automobile market in the world in terms of sales. Brands like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors are already a hit in this country and are making heads turns of their customers with their amazing automobiles.

    While some brands experience immense success in the country, some of them got exposed to failure as well. In this industry, some automakers failed to make a place in the fifth-largest automobile market in the world. This article will talk about all those automakers that failed to set their foot in India and the reason behind it. So without any further ado, let’s get started.

    “Car designers are just going to have to come up with an automobile that outlasts the payments.”

    -Erma Bombeck

    Why Automakers are Struggling to Succeed in India?
    Automakers That Failed In India
    FAQs

    Why Automakers are Struggling to Succeed in India?

    Two brands that can set their name on the top automakers’ list with their powerful performance in the country are Honda and Hyundai. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are ruling the Indian market.

    On the other hand, there are some of the automakers who are struggling in our country to lay their foundation. Some of the reasons for this are listed down below:

    • Increasing fuel price is said to be one reason.
    • It is also revealed that some concessional GST rate was not allowed by the Government.
    • One of the reasons is also the higher road taxes.
    • India is a price-sensitive market and people mostly focus on small cars here, for their needs. A company has to be very precise about this.
    • Planning of the products by the automakers was poor and naturally, they were not able to adapt to the market.
    • Another reason is some of the companies are not able to judge the growth of India’s automobile market.

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    Automakers That Failed In India

    India is a country where a single company dominates more than a quarter of its sales. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are the top two companies that dominate the automobile industry. There are some global known brands who failed to set their foot in India and we are here to discuss them.

    Harley Davidson

    Harley Davidson
    Harley Davidson

    The legendary American Cruiser bike was not able to set up its brand in the Indian market. It is said that in 10 years, Harley Davidson was able to sell a little more than 27,000 units in the country. While its competitor Royal Enfield sells double the number of bikes every month. Some of the reason for this is down below:

    Not the Right Market

    India is a country that is considered one of the biggest two-wheeler markets in the world, but it is not a market for big bikes. In India, over 90% of two-wheelers are small motorcycles and scooters as they are easy to maintain as well.

    Expensive Offerings

    Another vital reason has to be the price; the most affordable bike from this brand costs somewhat 4.7 Lakh. That kind of pricing is extremely high for the people living in a country like India.

    Tough Competitors

    Royal Enfield proved to be a better companion for the Indian customers over Harley Davidson, in terms of price, lighter in weight, and easier to maintain.

    High Repair Cost

    India’s roads are somehow filled with potholes and Harley Davidson bikes are quite expensive to repair if it is damaged by potholes.

    General Motors

    Chevrolet by General Motors
    Chevrolet by General Motors

    This American multinational automotive manufacturing company is considered as one of the best and biggest manufacturers in the country but unfortunately, it was not able to establish its power in India. When General Motors first came to India, it was able to sell quite a decent number of cars but with time, the average popularity started declining. So, General Motors 2017 decided to close its operation in India. Some of the reasons that it failed in India are:

    Failed Business Strategy

    The management of a company is one of the most important factors for its survival. As per reports, decisions regarding the company took a lot of time which resulted in not being able to reach a proper strategy for the business at a time.

    Weak Dealership Networks

    The dealership networks of General Motors were quite weak. The customers’ main issue was with the dealerships as they were not that confident regarding the products of GM.

    Bad Resale Value

    GM launched over 20 different models in 20 years and also withdrew 10 of them. Naturally, the change of the model lineup affected the resale value badly, and the customer service was also not up to the mark.

    Fierce Competitors

    General Motors’ technology was not that modern. Reports said that there are cars that barely pass the emission tests. Other brands focused on updating the technology of their car and were quite fierce competitors for GM.

    Failed to Attract the Right Audience

    GM never introduced top models that are famous in other countries in India. Naturally, it was not able to attract the attention of people in India.

    Ford

    Ford
    Ford

    Probably one of the biggest shocks the Indian automobile market got when Ford decided to stop making cars in India. The products were well made and were affordable to buy as well. Still, it failed to crack the Indian market, and the reasons are down below:

    Sudden Rise in the Price Factor

    The sudden rise in the price factor of Ford is one of the reasons, the company lost its place in the Indian market, the maintenance cost started rising of the new models. This high ownership cost became a problem for the customers; which also resulted in decreased sales.

    Not Concentrated on the Right Models

    Ford didn’t concentrate on SUV when it started getting momentum. Thus it misses out on a great opportunity to use the model to encourage the brand in the Indian market.

    Wrong Investment Decisions

    The cost structure is another problem, Ford invested where it was not needed, for example, they invested in world-class factories. It was not able to meet the expectations of its potential customers.

    Lack of Proper Marketing

    Ford slugged in making its brand big in India, while other brands like Hyundai worked 24/7. This is one of the reasons, plus the aggression that was needed for marketing, was missing in Ford’s startegy.

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    Conclusion

    The Automobile market in India is a huge one, one needs to concentrate on various structures to make their brand a successful one in the country. The automakers that failed in this country are a big lesson for those automakers that wanted to make the 5th largest automobile market a hub for their brand.

    FAQs

    Which Indian car companies are closing?

    Ford, General Motors, Fiat, and Harley had exited the Indian automotive market.

    Which car company stopped making cars in India?

    Ford India closed its operation in 2021 due to huge mounting losses.

  • The Rise And Fall of Clubhouse – Is Clubhouse Already Losing Its Popularity?

    The world we live in is a place where now nothing seems impossible. Whatever we had hoped for, is turning into a reality now. Our life is nothing less than a sci-fi movie. One of the prime elements of this new world is social networking sites. It not only helps us to communicate with each other, which is the most significant thing but also other relevant things as well. We get to share our ideas, photos videos basically our entire lives on these platforms.

    Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp are just some of the most popular social networking sites of this era. Like their name, it helps us in socializing with people, even with those who live in some entirely different part of the world.

    One such social network is Clubhouse, a unique way of communicating with people. In this article, we will talk about the rise and fall of Clubhouse and how it has affected Social Media altogether. So let’s not wait any more, and get started with the business.

    “If you are on social media, and you are not learning, not laughing, not being inspired, or not networking, then you are using it wrong.”

    ―Germany Kent

    What is Clubhouse?
    Features of Clubhouse
    The Rise of Clubhouse
    The Fall of Clubhouse
    Competitors of Clubhouse
    How Clubhouse Changed The Environment of Social Media?
    FAQ

    What is Clubhouse?

    Clubhouse was founded in the month of March of 2020 by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth. At first, it was only available for iOS users but now android users can also use this app. This app provides the users with an option to listen to their favourite celebrities and influencers as if they are on a phone call.

    Here, people discuss various topics where users also get to be a part of it. At first, it was an invite-only app, where people can only use it when they got an invite from a user only, but now anyone can join the platform and use it according to their wish. it can assist groups of thousands of people.

    Here, people can use their voice to connect with people, tell stories to update them about their life and get to know and meet interesting people. It was launched during the initial period of Covid-19 when everyone was confined inside their home.

    Although the popular social media apps helped in keeping people connected, there was a lack of human touch. The audio-based social media gave a real feeling and a touch of humanity.

    Features of Clubhouse

    Some of the special features of the Clubhouse app that makes it unique and interesting for the users are down below:

    • The app asks its users to make a profile, where they can put their own information for other users to know about them.
    • This voice chat app is divided into rooms where communication takes place, the topic can be anything. The rooms are dedicated to different topics and it has a name a list of members.
    • A user can grow their business with the help of this app, as it helps you find the desired potential customers for your business.
    • The clubhouse provides its users to hold meetings with a huge audience where they can indulge themselves in the topic. The number of people can be 5000.

    The Rise of Clubhouse

    With its exclusive features at a time of where people were confined inside their homes, it was able to entice the people, and naturally, the app created frenzy amongst the social media users. The Clubhouse kept on trending in the year 2020 and also at the initial months of 2021.

    Global Monthly Installs of Clubhouse
    Global Monthly Installs of Clubhouse

    Businesses that were intended to connect with their audience in a more personal way. When the app was alone available for iOS users, it had over 10 million downloads. Such was the popularity of this app that, NFL collaborated with it and made a space where people were able to participate in a conversation especially related to football.

    Clubhouse NFL Collaboration
    Clubhouse NFL Collaboration

    There were a number of reasons why the app was a huge success, amongst them probably the biggest one is that it helps to connect with your favourite celebrity. Jared Leto, Justin Bieber, Oprah Winfrey, Kevin Hart, Drake, Mark Zuckerberg, and others are on the list of celebrities.

    As the video was not present, it created less distraction and was able to offer its users quite a great service. Its exclusive feature of the invite-only option, where one can join a conversation if they are invited by an already involved user was also a reason for its rise.

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    The Fall of Clubhouse

    The app saw a sudden rise in the market but it also experience a sudden downfall as well. As per reports, Clubhouse saw a 70% decrease in their average monthly users. According to some surveys, this downfall is the result of people returning to the somewhat ‘new’ normal life.

    It can be considered as a one-time wonder because during the lockdown people craved for actual human conversation and this app has done quite a lot in that field.

    People now don’t have that time to indulge in this conversation when they can now have actual ones. The number of notifications can also be considered a nuisance that makes people avoid this because it always sends some kind of notification and this may become a reason for irritation for people.

    Clubhouse Notifications
    Clubhouse Notifications

    Other popular social media app started introducing this audio feature in their platform and become their competitors. Twitter introduces sound space, Instagram introduced an option where you can go live without turning on the video, communication is possible only through sound. Facebook Live audio rooms are also considered a huge competition.

    As mentioned above, Clubhouse disabled its invite-only feature and now anyone can join the space of their preferred topic. Somehow, it has lost its exclusiveness, which led to the downfall of the app.

    Competitors of Clubhouse

    Some of the popular competitors of Clubhouse are:

    • Twitter Space
    • Discord Stage Channels
    • Facebook Live Audio Rooms
    • Telegram Voice Chat
    • Reddit Talk
    • Fireside
    • Leher

    How Clubhouse Changed The Environment of Social Media?

    Clubhouse is definitely not the first audio-based social media platform, but it certainly was the most famous one because it came at a time of need, the pandemic era. This app coerces other popular social media platforms to introduce the audio feature in their app so to entice the audience and become a competitor of Clubhouse. This bought a change in the social network industry.

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    Conclusion

    Although there are people who are still using Clubhouse the hype has died down and anyone can see that. With several competitors in the market that are already established brands, if a new app is not able to hold its exclusivity, it is bound to happen. If Clubhouse wants to go back to its initial days, then it must introduce some new features that will be able to catch the attention of people and will be able to engage them with the platform.

    FAQ

    Is Clubhouse losing popularity?

    Yes, the downloads of the app have started falling drastically. The social media app had 10.6 million installs in February 2021, 2.9 million in March, and 873k in April.

    The Clubhouse became popular as it was an exclusive invite-only app, and during times of covid, it helped people to stay connected in a more personable way.

    Is Clubhouse still invite-only?

    No, the app is no longer invite-only, anyone can join Clubhouse.

  • Why did Nearbuy Fail? Tips to Keep in Mind for the Coupon Websites

    Today is the time when we have everything on our phones. Any product or service we need, we have an app for it.

    The startups begin by providing their products and services online. But there are other people as well who have stayed in the offline markets only.

    So now apps even enable to bridge the gap between customers and local entrepreneurs. Nearbuy came up with software solutions to bridge this gap and develop a connection between the two.

    Nearbuy provides information about spas, events, restaurants, and more. It helps the customers as well as the businesses to discover and connect with each other.

    About Nearbuy- The Indian Lifestyle App
    Foundation of Nearbuy
    How Does Nearbuy Work?
    How Nearbuy Makes Money?
    What Challenges Did Nearbuy Face?
    What are the Reasons for Nearbuy’s failure?
    Few Tips for The Coupon Websites
    FAQ

    About Nearbuy- The Indian Lifestyle App

    Nearbuy Homepage
    Nearbuy Homepage

    Nearbuy is a lifestyle application that helps to connect customers with various businesses. It offers discounts, cashback offers, and information about various services. These include restaurants, spas, movie theatres, gyms, salons, and more.

    It provides amazing offers that allow the customers to save money every time they visit a restaurant, watch a movie, and others.

    Nearbuy helps you to explore your own or a new city. It helps you to discover the hotspots around you.

    Foundation of Nearbuy

    Nearbuy was founded in the year 2010 as Groupon India. The founders of the company included Ankur Warikoo, Snehesh Mitra, Sumeet Kapur, Sachin Kapur, Ankur Sarawagi, and Ravi Shankar. It has its headquarters in Gurugram, India.

    Nearbuy is a management buyout of its parent firm Groupon. In the year 2015, it received investment from Sequoia Capital India. With this, the company rebranded itself as Nearbuy in India.

    This step intended to cater to the needs of the Indians in a specific manner. Chief Executive of Groupon India, Ankur Warikoo believed that it would be better to follow a specific path for local Indian markets rather than the global path.

    How Does Nearbuy Work?

    Nearbuy provides a platform for the customers to get deals and discounts with service providers. To enjoy these deals, a customer has to first register on the company’s website or app.

    After registration, a person can look for deals according to their preference. When a person finds a service of their choice, they can buy it at a deal price. Then the customer receives a coupon that they have to present to the service provider.

    In this way, a customer enjoys the services at a discounted price.

    How Nearbuy Makes Money?

    Nearbuy allows offline businesses to sell their products and services online. It provides a platform where businesses can list their services and make sales.

    The businesses get a platform to market themselves and gain customers. Nearbuy receives a commission from the service providers on every service sold via the platform. It offers amazing discounts and deals which attract the customers. This enables the businesses to make more profits and thus, more commissions for Nearbuy.

    In this way, Nearbuy acts as a mediator between the customers and businesses.

    What Challenges Did Nearbuy Face?

    The toughest challenge for Nearbuy was to create a place for its belonging. The company faced troubles in explaining its services to the users.

    Nearbuy has been looked upon as a platform that gives discounts. It aimed for more than it. Ankur Warikoo explained its aim as to take offline businesses online. The platform is meant to help the customers discover, buy, and save at the same time.

    The company wanted to make the Indian consumers explore the offline markets in a new way. To make people understand this was the biggest challenge for the company.

    Few consumers could understand the importance of it. The rest on the other hand didn’t like to understand its importance.

    What are the Reasons for Nearbuy’s Failure?

    India is a market where customers love to enjoy discounts. Nearbuy was here to help with it. But still, the company could not attract many users. This made Nearbuy unable to stand strong on its own.

    Some reasons why Nearbuy failed are:

    • It was difficult for the company to make people have a proper understanding of its services.
    • The virtue of a discount-oriented platform was quite limited in India. This made Nearbuy unable to attract and keep customers.
    • A large part of Indian consumers did not deal in online money transactions. This made the platform useless for a large number of customers.
    • Nearbuy saw great success in its early days. With this, they expanded their services in more cities. All this required more merchants and money. But the company could not gain enough consumers. This derived the company of its transactions.
    • Another important reason for its failure was that it was not a necessity. It did not solve any major problems of the users. It means it was not adding a significant value to the customers’ life.
    • Indian customers have a deep love for discounts. They demand some extraordinary deals that they cannot find anywhere else. Nearbuy could not offer that amount of satisfaction.
    • Platforms like Paytm, Amazon acted as their competitors. These gained more trust among the people. Thus, almost robbed Nearbuy with its users.

    In 2017, despite its funds, it could not stand alone and grow. So, it got acquired by Paytm in December 2017. Now, Nearbuy has Paytm as its parent organization.

    Few Tips for The Coupon Websites

    The coupon websites do not solve any major consumer issues. So, they need to remember certain tips to grow well. These include:

    • The best tip is to find niche opportunities. The competition in the discount areas is too high. It is good to select a niche and provide the best deals possible in it.
    • Make use of affiliate sales. It is important to know the interests of the people and offer deals accordingly. This helps to acquire a bigger audience.
    • When your site offers a discount, make sure it’s bigger than others. If not, then customers don’t need your website.
    • Use effective discount keywords. This will help to target the right audience and gain their support.
    • Indulge in email listings. This will help you to turn your site visitors into email subscribers.

    Conclusion

    Over the years, Nearbuy has seen a great number of ups and downs. It helps people in saving money with its various deals and discount offers. It acted as a bridge between the customers and offline businesses.

    In this way, the company helped offline merchants to earn more sales. Also, it helped the customers to explore the best things to do, buy and enjoy them. With its success and failures combined, it continues to function under its parent organization, Paytm.

    FAQ

    What is Nearbuy?

    Nearbuy is a lifestyle application that helps to connect customers with various businesses. It offers discounts, cashback offers, and information about various services.

    How much did Paytm buy Nearbuy for?

    Paytm acquired Little Internet and Nearbuy for Rs 272.31 crore.

    Why did Nearbuy fail?

    Nearbuy failed in India as it did not solve any major problem of the consumers and people weren’t looking or craving for deals platforms in India.

  • Why Jeff Bezos considers Fire Phone Failure a Good Thing?

    These are the words of the richest man on earth, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. He loves failure, because he knows very well that the only way to success is through failures. That is why he didn’t mourn the failure of the earlier launched innovation Fire phone. The phone failed deliberately but it wasn’t something that can move the roots of Jeff. He is not one of the easily shaken souls. Here in this article we will articulate the story and learn about the whole episode.

    “We are working on much bigger failures right now” – Jeff Bezos

    What is Amazon?
    How was the Fire Phone Idea ignited ?
    The Fire Phone
    What made Fire Phone unique from normal phones
    The Fall of Amazon Fire Phone
    Why does Jeff Bezos consider Fire Phone Failure a good thing?
    FAQ

    What is Amazon?

    You must be living under a rock if you don’t know what Amazon is. Amazon is the world’s biggest E-commerce platform founded by Jeff Bezos. It also focuses on cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence and digital streaming. It quite literally covers the whole world, by the enormous impact it creates.

    How was the Fire Phone Idea ignited ?

    Can you tell which is the most famous device to read books digitally ? Well, if your answer is ‘Kindle’ then you are right. Kindle is the brainchild of Amazon and essentially a brainchild of Bezos.

    As you may already know, Amazon was built on the foundation of selling books online. In further that direction, Jeff innovated and anticipated digital reading that led to Kindle.

    Just after witnessing the popularity of Kindle, Jeff decided to disrupt another segment, known as the smartphones. The entrepreneur decided to make a phone that will disrupt the market with its specificities.

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    The Fire Phone

    Jeff Bezos with Fire Phone
    Jeff Bezos with Fire Phone

    On June 18, 2014 the Fire Phone was unveiled for the first time to the public. At the first glance it really looked like any other phone in 2014. So the physicality of that phone was not much of a show starter. However the cool thing was the experience that the phone provided.

    What made Fire Phone unique from normal phones

    Fire OS

    Fire Phone - Fire OS
    Fire Phone – Fire OS

    An operating system free of the Google elements, that’s unique. The reason behind this uniqueness is that we all know Google dominates the android market in the world. Amazon did something different with that, it tried to make its own OS, a redesigned app tray, settings, framework everything new. A new app store, a new UI, to match the new elements of the Fire Phone.

    Dynamic perspective

    Fire Phone - Dynamic Perspective
    Fire Phone – Dynamic Perspective

    This is the biggest “flex” that the phone showcased. Fire phone can be said to be the first phone with a dynamic perspective. Amazon can be said to be the first brand to scale it. The phone had depth, that means you can actually tilt the phone left to right and see the sides of apps, maps, images etc. That can even be used as a gesture to move through book pages or any list.

    This was the innovation that Jeff wanted to present to the world. A new way to navigate through your phone. This was the creative challenge that Jeff posed in front of the engineers.

    The basis of this dynamic effect was that it used the phone camera to constantly track the user’s head to tilt the screen according to the head angle. As some people opposed questions on its practical uses, This was seen as such a unique innovation.

    Firefly

    Fire Phone Firefly
    Fire Phone Firefly

    The scan and search anything option was another bright LED to the belt. Amazon added this feature to strike a tough competition to the other smartphones. The Firefly option is a feature that you can use to scan and search almost any item with your camera.

    Some people argued that this was an amazon promotional feature and to be honest, it was. More than that it was one of the uniqueness that the phone entailed.

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    The Fall of Amazon Fire Phone

    Amazon didn’t released the sales figures for any of its devices, but based in part on its quickly declining prices, it announced a $170 million write-down; analysts have judged it having not been commercially successful. Amazon ceased production of the Fire Phone in August 2015 and discontinued sales soon after.

    Why does Jeff Bezos consider Fire Phone Failure a good thing?

    “If you think that’s a big failure, we’re working on much bigger failures right now — and I am not kidding,” he said. “Some of them are going to make the Fire Phone look like a tiny little blip.”

    All these words show the bright and healthy innovation potential that Amazon has in store. Jeff has such a positive outlook towards even a big failure like this. He says that a small amount of win pays for all the losses.

    Jeff is famous for his attitude that he showcases even in adverse situations. What really matters for people is to experiment and embrace failures. This mental model goes well with corporations too.

    Companies who fear failure do not go much ahead in the world. It is with the positive outlook towards a failure what makes it a stepping stone for growth or success. Jeff does this thing well.

    He has nearly created billions of dollars of failures within Amazon, None of them matters to him. He says experimenting runs through Amazon’s veins and it is quite evident with his views and his past experiment’s track records.

    Conclusion

    If we talk about Jeff Bezos for more than five minutes, we all will feel motivated and this article will turn into a motivational speech. The reason is simple because of the wonderful personality that the person has, or gained through years of hard work.

    It is not just some sort of being at the right moment at the right time, It is more than that. If you have read the article with your full consciousness then the secret would have unfolded in front of your eyes.

    Speaking of the Fire phone, it was truly a fire. Many people argue that the phone could have been an app because customers would be comfortable interacting with that. Whatever it was, we can largely see it as an experiment that came out of Jeff’s brain and failed which truly didn’t matter.

    The Fire phone flight ended with losses of dollars and earnings of smartphone knowledge. The world is always witnessing such flights and failures but all it takes into account is the try.

    FAQ

    What are the key characteristics of Jeff Bezos?

    Jeff Bezos is a Big Thinker, He has very high standards, he is Strategically Patient and is an Amazing Learner.

    Has Jeff Bezos had any failures?

    Yes, Jeff Bezos has faced many failures from which the biggest failure is the Fire phone.

    How did Jeff Bezos start Amazon?

    Jeff Bezos began developing the software for the site, which he called Amazon.com. It sold its first book in 1995.

  • 6 Reasons Why Quibi failed in less than a Year | Quibi Failure

    Surviving in the market with so many competitors around is pretty tough. Many companies don’t even run a month before they shut down! And among these, one of the biggest failures was Quibi. You may not even hear about this company. But this is of a very recent time- 2020.

    In early 2020, the co-founder of Quibi- Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the directors of DreamWorks Animation studios announced that Quibi company is shutting down, within 7 months of its launch! Sounds scary, right?

    Quibi was basically a video streaming service platform with its original environmental content of environmental, developed by Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Meg Whitman, a former CEO of Hewlett Packard raised over $1.75 billion for the company- Quibi.

    Similar to the original content created by Netflix and Amazon Prime, Quibi also took a step forward and produced its own category of shows and movies. Although Quibi made only five to ten minutes of episodes, it charged $4.99 per month.

    With such a great mindset and planning, you might be wondering what went wrong with Quibi? Well, to clear this we have presented this article. Let’s get started!

    What went wrong with Quibi?
    Reasons that led to the Failure of Quibi
    FAQ

    What went wrong with Quibi?

    Katzenberg and Whitman are incredibly successful businessmen but when it comes to streaming services, they don’t have the right instincts. This became clear with their ultimate creation- Quibi.

    Quibi was launched in times of pandemic, 2020, with the concept of giving people good content of merely 10 mins which they can watch anytime and anywhere like a doctor’s waiting hall, public transport, and others. But what they forgot was all these could not be possible in the pandemic.

    Quibi
    Quibi

    Quibi entirely targeted the youth as they always find new content. But as the pandemic struck, people considered watching long-term content which was available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others.

    The biggest cause of failure of Quibi is considered the awfully smaller audience and very few numbers of downloads. Apart from this, Quibi made many more mistakes like low social media presence and others.

    Also, Quibi had huge competition around in the market which caused it major losses.

    We have discussed the key reason for the failure of Quibi. Let’s get on with it!

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    Reasons that led to the Failure of Quibi

    Awful Content Creation

    Any video streaming platform requires content that keeps the users interested. Especially when it comes to the title, as that is what is going to convince the audience to watch the show and to subscribe to the platform. But, Quibi created a whole set of mediocre content that was not given any brief thought upon.

    Although the developers spent a lot of money and effort but still could not pull out the standardized content. The shows on Quibi’s were extremely ordinary and the audience did not find anything interesting.

    High pricing

    Being such a mediocre content provider, Quibi’s pricing was pretty expensive. Its price was around $5 for a normal subscription and $8 for a non-advertising subscription. These were very very high for a terrible content provider such as Quibi.

    Failed to Attract Audience

    In today’s time, there are tons of platforms that are incredibly interesting and user-friendly. People are spending great time at Netflix, scrolling TikTok and Instagram. That’s why for any other similar company to gain an audience needs to provide such services that the users cannot refuse.

    Quibi failed in providing such service and grew the users’ count on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.

    No-specific Goal

    Competing with Netflix and other streaming platforms, Quibi did not have any specified goal. With such bad content in comparison with other streaming platforms, Quibi needed something to beat the opponents.

    But unfortunately, Quibi failed in all aspects of a good video streaming platform and did not even provide any valid or reasonable reason to convince people to download it.

    Internal Problems

    Quibi had major internal problems between the two founders. According to The Wall Street Journal, Whitman even threatened to leave when found out that Katzenberg was dictatorial which weakened her authority and humiliated her.

    Apart from this, Whitman and Katzenberg, both didn’t have any idea on how people use their phones for streaming purposes. They did not actually understand the concept of Netflix and TikTok. In such wide competition in the market, one needs the proper strong strategies and planning so that it could thrive in the market. But Quibi failed on all grounds!

    The Pandemic

    The biggest drawback of Quibi was it came out in a pandemic. All the planning and strategies of Quibi were based on public places and gatherings. And these were highly restricted in the times of the Covid-19 crisis.

    Quibi failed to adapt to such major changes and formulated a low social media presence and bad content without any effective marketing. The main reason behind all these failures was poor management, low insights on consumer behavior, needs, and wants.

    Quibi was meant to be shut down even without the pandemic. The company did not have any proper functioning of management.

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    Conclusion

    The company with no proper planning and ideology, Quibi was implied to fail. And that’s what happened! Quibi failed, basically from all aspects. With no adequate leadership, poor content, no customers preferences and extremely disturbed management Quibi was nothing but a disaster.

    Although the founders invested a great sum of money but with no idea how a video streaming platform runs, it all became worthless.

    FAQ

    Who is the founder of Quibi?

    Jeffrey Katzenberg founded Quibi in 2020.

    How much money did Quibi lost?

    Quibi lost over $1.75 billion in less than 6 months.

    Why did Quibi failed?

    The reasons why Quibi failed were vast. They included burning through too much cash, poor content, high prices, missing features, personal issues between the founders, as well as legal troubles.

  • Why did Dunkin Donuts fail to set its foot in India? | Dunkin Donuts Failure

    TBH, Nothing brings people together life a Good food, and when it comes to Indian food culture then it’s a feast for sure. As it is cited India is a diverse country with profuse mélange languages, cultures, customs and cuisines, say, South Indians focus on Sambar & Idly, whereas North Indian prepares Roti & Sabzi. Besides, We adopt western culture into our lives in many ways such as their lifestyle, political systems, technologies and cuisine.

    For instance, People love to eat French fries, burgers, waffles, pizza and doughnuts as a result many MNC fast-food restaurants have incorporated in India such as KFC, McDonald’s, Dominos, BurgerKing and Dunkin’ Donuts. But, some businesses aren’t going well in India due to its waning survival factors in the market. Pertinent, Dunkin’ Donuts is one such MNC, that didn’t go well in operating profit in India.

    Dunkin Donuts is known for its recipe in preppering coffee and doughnuts as well as a quick-service restaurant worldwide. The company initiated their services back in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts and was founded by William Rosenberg covering over 12000 stores all over the world.

    Why didn’t Dunkin ‘Donuts do well in India?

    Usually, Indians follow a soft food diet for breakfast, whereby kichadi or idly is considered to be palatable food to have first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, nobody is willing to consume sugar-contained fast food for breakfast, repercussions may leave you an upset stomach.

    That’s where, Dunkin Donuts incorporation made its existence in India in 2012, intending to thrive the sale of doughnuts and coffee all over the nation. But ultimately failed to perceive the Indian food culture which they have followed for centuries.

    Items in the menu
    Food Culture in India
    Price
    FAQ

    Items in the menu

    Dunkin Donuts’ menu is somehow sound tedious for Indians, as the restaurant serves doughnuts  as their main dish. Where we prefer eclectic food to one ilk of food with different flavours.

    For instance, KFC contains a variety of fast-foods such as burgers, salads, wraps, Chicken wings, Beverages, sandwiches and more. Whereas Dunkin Donuts menu follows a confined food list for the customers that ends with no choice and go for doughnuts.

    Dunkin Donuts
    Dunkin Donuts 

    In order to thrive in the Indian food market, KFC played well in bringing up Indians’ favourite item- Chicken buckets that hyped the margin of the company till now.

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    Food Culture in India

    As said, Indians usually go for savoury food, as India is largely known for spices, masalas and curries. They prefer eating Dosa, paratha or idli in breakfast and not something sweet like doughnuts. Moreover, India follows different cuisines in different regions, where Dunkin Donuts overlooked the expectation of people in fast food. Whereas, we prefer chai (Tea) to some iced beverages or espressos.

    Indian Food - Dosa
    Indian Food – Dosa, Idli, Medu vada

    Price

    Price is the main factor, which determined the burgeoning branches of Dunkin Donuts in India, where the brand sells two doughnuts whose average cost is around 600 rupees, which is quite overpriced when compared to the budgeted price of an average salary individual.

    Paradoxically, Starbucks- The world’s largest coffee house, succeeded in its market in India even though the restaurants have premium-priced products, where the company agreed to a joint venture with Tata and operated over 2000 stores in India.

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    Conclusion

    Spicy and flavourful foods are what Indians love to have. Doughnuts are not the food the Indians would like to consume often. Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the biggest coffee and food chains in the world. And it is booming in other countries, but Dunkin’ Donuts didn’t understand the taste of Indians. People here prefer spice over sweet.

    People love trying new food, so there are still chances for doughnuts in the market. But will Dunkin’ Donuts get prosperous in India like the other countries is a question that only time can answer?

    FAQ

    Who owns Dunkin Donuts in India?

    Jubilant FoodWorks owns Dunkin Donuts in India.

    What is Dunkin Donuts?

    Dunkin Donuts is an American coffee and doughnut company.

    Who is the founder of Dunkin Donuts?

    William Rosenberg is the founder of Dunkin Donuts.

  • What Happened to Hike Messenger?

    Nothing fails like a failure, isn’t it? And when a made-in-India technology succumbs to global competition, it hurts even more. But let’s not get emotional or philosophical about it because that’ll blur our perspective through which this case must be studied & analyzed.

    In short, This Happened to Hike Messenger –

    Hike shut down its messaging service, by shifting its focus to two new social products—Rush and Vibe. It was rebranded as Hike Sticker Chat with a sticker-centric experience in April 2019. (Know the detailed perspective in the article ahead!)

    Is Hike Messenger an overnight success story that had to fail due to its own business, technical inadequacies? No.

    Was Hike’s success a fluke, a marketing gimmick, a modern day fad that lost its appeal over time? No, it wasn’t.

    Then did it give in to the pressures of business from its rival tech giants WhatsApp & WeChat? Most likely yes!

    Having said that, we must know that it isn’t easy to list down top 5-10 reasons for the supposed failure of a well established, popular, financially sound co… especially in a demography like that of India. It is so big & so diverse that there could be multitude of explanations as to why a good business idea/model failed.

    Let’s try & capture a Few reasons of Hike’s failure keeping this inherent truth in mind.

    Lets find out! What actually happened to Hike Messenger?

    The Rise of Hike Messenger
    Hike – India’s Fastest Growing Unicorn?
    The Fall of Hike Messenger
    Hike Messenger – The Road Ahead
    Hike Messenger – FAQs

    The Rise of Hike Messenger

    Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder Hike
    Hike Messenger Highlights and Growth

    Hike within a few months of its launch in Dec 2012 by Bharti Enterprises, caught user’s fancy (users which comprise mostly youth below age 30) almost immediately. Millions of users got on it, 70 M by the end of Oct 2015. WhatsApp was picking up slowly but surely in India at the time. India being a huge market, there was undoubtedly enough space & scope for another co. to succeed. Hike did just that. It kept adding millions of users month over month with addition of cool smart features like free unlimited SMS called Hike Offline, in-app news, cricket scores, personalized stickers store unlike any other app; and added many superior tech features over time such as Hike ID, Hike Wallet, Hike Direct, Hike Web (some of these outperformed WhatsApp) to enhance user experience while keeping user privacy & security intact.

    So what went wrong? Why couldn’t it sustain its user base unlike its rival WhatApp? What was unique about WA? Was it just the fact that it captured the booming market of mobile phone users before tech cos. could even realize and anticipate the potential of more than 1 billion market? Probably yes. Let’s analyze further.

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    Hike – India’s Fastest Growing Unicorn?

    Hike was being hailed as the youngest startup in India to get a unicorn title, with a valuation of over 1 Billion within just 4 yrs of launch i.e. around Aug 2016. Hike was most certainly the best & biggest competitor of other widely popular Instant Messaging apps. Then came Jan 2016, when Hike revealed to press that Facebook blocked an option in its ads which allowed users to visit Hike website. FB gave no confirmation but it admitted that certain products & services can’t be advertised on its platform. Smart business decision you’d say but cutting out competition from a Co. born on the land you’re doing business in, puts the blame on the state’s unfavorable policies, inadequate regulations & not-so-friendly business environment yet, more than it does on the company. But all is not so grim, Indian startup community has begun to get its fair share of financial, policy boost.

    Journey of Hike Messenger – An Indian Messaging App | Founder | Origin
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    The Fall of Hike Messenger

    On January 6, 2021, Hike informed its users that it will be shutting down its messenger and were given a deadline till January 14 to migrate their data.


    Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder of Hike Messenger did not clearly mention the reason behind this move but tweeted on Jan 10, 2021 about it vaguely as follows-


    It is a fact though, given the dominance of American tech giants globally. There isn’t another China in the world, to refuse to bow down to USA’s shrewd business practices, as yet. Even Hike’s marketing team has to share the blame for its failure. Because while WhatsApp was growing leaps & bounds, why didn’t Hike get its fare share? Why wasn’t it as conspicuous & as much talked about as its rivals WA, Telegram or Signal etc? Why wasn’t there enough buzz around it?!

    All in all, the fall of Hike is as remarkable as its rise. Needs detailed study, if the start-up scene in India has to improve.

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    Hike Messenger – The Road Ahead

    Hike, the super app may have closed its flagship IM brand but it hasn’t gone out of business or ideas. It has split up into Vibe by Hike & Rush by Hike – its two next generation apps for its loyal user base. Vibe is a community based social media platform enabling friendship & dating over secure & verified platform. Rush is an online gaming app. Well, these apps will sure have takers but given the current market scenario which is flooded with such apps…Hike sure has to innovate to set its foot in the market even if doesn’t aim to beat Tinder or Nintendo.

    Conclusion

    Therefore, however deeply & multifariously you look into the reasons for a big Co’s success or failure, you are bound to miss an important development or phase that must have contributed to it.

    Nevertheless, if you’ve an idea you trust, and willing to take risks, there are sea of changes taking place in every business / industry, especially in technology. India is on the road to development, and in the fast lane. Hence every innovation counts in bringing along the revolution that’s happening in digital space & beyond.

    Last word – Failure sure hits hard like a rock, but if you use these very rocks & turn them into what they call ‘stepping stones’, you might meet success at the very next juncture. And a budding entrepreneur must always remember that there’s never a last opportunity, just a lost one!

    Hike Messenger – FAQs

    Hike App is from Which Country?

    Hike is a messaging app originated in India. It is headquartered in Delhi.

    Who is Hike Messenger Owner?

    Kavin Bharti Mittal is the founder and CEO of Indian instant messaging app Hike, and also the son of business tycoon Bharti Mittal

    What happened to Hike Messenger?

    Hike Messenger is Officially Shut down and has been removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store

    When was Hike Messenger Launched?

    Hike Messenger was launched in 2012.

    What is Hike Messenger App?

    Hike was essentially a cool messaging platform for chatting with funky and killer stickers that came in to innovate the messaging world

  • Reasons Behind The Thomas Cook Bankruptcy Case | Thomas Cook Case Study

    Thomas Cook Group was a British travel company which operated as both, an airline company and a tour and travel firm. The Group was founded after the merger of Thomas Cook AG and My Travel group in 2007.

    However, the brand “Thomas Cook” is 178 years old and was trusted by travellers globally. Recently, Thomas Cook Group collapsed due to a lack of funds. They have announced their bankruptcy. We tried to find out what were the reasons behind the Thomas cook bankruptcy case. Here’s a Thomas cook case study or Thomas cook bankruptcy case study for you!

    News About Thomas Cook Bankruptcy Case
    Global Travel Industry
    History of Thomas Cook Group
    Reasons Behind Thomas Cook Bankruptcy Case
    Why Thomas Cook India is Safe?

    News About Thomas Cook Bankruptcy Case

    Thomas Cook Group collapsed on Monday, 23 September 2019. This caused 22,000 losing their jobs which include 9,000 people from the UK.

    More than 150,000 travelers who were on holiday, lost their trip home.

    On 26 September 2019, the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that they have scheduled over 70 flights on Thursdays (26 September) to bring back 16,000 travelers who were on their holiday to different countries. Their program would continue until 6 October. They have more than 1000 flights planned to schedule for 10 days.

    The last Tweet from Thomas Cook

    Global Travel Industry

    The Travel Industry is one of the biggest service industries in the world. Over 1.45 Billion people travel in a year globally. It is expected that the number of travelers in 2019 will be 3% to 4% more than that of 2018. With the increase in the disposable income of people, the travel industry can expect to grow at a higher rate. Some of the few industries which are the pillars for the Travel Industry are:

    • Transportation (Flight, Trains, Car rental, etc.)
    • Accommodation (Hotels, hostels, camps, etc.)
    • Food (Restaurants, Clubs, Bars, etc.)
    • Entertainment (Shopping, Casinos, Concerts, etc)
    • Finance (Insurance, Banking, Loans, etc.)

    Without all the above industries, it is not possible to imagine the travel industry in this era.

    The following factors have either changed or promoted the travel industry in recent years:

    Online Booking

    With the help of the Internet, it has become so easy to access all the information and book everything online.

    Personalized Experience

    Many hotels now provide personalized services based on the choices of the customers.

    Automation & Robots

    The trend of making hotels automated with the help of machines and robots to serve people has changed the whole industry. Although, many people think that it would be creepy to be in such a hotel many travelers still looking for some new experience.

    Influencers

    There are a ton of influencers and especially vloggers who keep travelling and showing new places to people which influences people to travel more.

    These were just a hand full of the reason but there are a lot of factors which promote traveling and Internet stays at the top.

    History of Thomas Cook Group

    Thomas Cook Case Study
    Thomas Cook, Founder of Thomas Cook & Son

    Thomas Cook Group is the oldest travel agency in the world which was founded in 1841. Thomas Cook founded the company by helping people travel by train. He was a part of the Temperance Movement (A movement against Alcohol) and arranged meetings for the movement and carried temperance supporters from one British City to another.

    At the same time, he founded the Thomas Cook Travel Agency and worked as the middle man for the travellers. Around 1860, the company was arranging foreign trips and was the first one from the country to take people to the US & Europe. It even arranged many world tours for travellers.

    When Thomas Cook was succeeded in arranging many trips, he became sure about this business and bought a shop on Fleet Street, London, and started selling travel accessories along with travel arrangements. In 1872, Thomas formed a partnership with his son and renamed the company to Thomas Cook & Son. Thomas’ son, John Mason Cook provided expertise for the commercials of the company.

    Thomas Cook & Son old office - Thomas Cook Case Study
    Thomas Cook & Son office

    Thomas retired in 1878 and John Mason and his son were now responsible for the business. By 1888, the company was able to establish its offices in various countries. By now, the company was developed in terms of its services. They were able to arrange many activities in other countries for their travellers like Opera, Mountain climbing, etc.

    The company then ran by the family members only and remain the same until 1924 when it was renamed to “Thomas Cook & Son Ltd.” after getting limited liability status.

    The third generation of the family was even more successful as travel became more popular. However, the company was sold to Hays Warf Cartage Company in 1942. After few decades, it was then acquired by the British Government and was renamed to “Thomas Cook Group Ltd.“

    Between 1974 to 2001, Thomas Cook Group Ltd. was acquired by many companies until C&N Tourist AG acquired it and renamed it to “Thomas Cook Group AG“. Later in 2007, Thomas Cook Group AG was merged with My Travel Group to form “Thomas Cook Group Plc“.

    Why Did Thomas Cook Collapsed?

    Reasons Behind Thomas Cook Bankruptcy Case

    Why Thomas cook failed? Some of the reasons which led to the failure Thomas Cook Group and caused Thomas cook bankruptcy case are:

    Funding

    The major and the most obvious reason for the collapse of Thomas Cook is that they were not able to secure the funding of £200 million or almost $250 million. If the company would have received the amount of funding, it could have easily survived instead of getting bankrupt but due to lack of funding led to the Thomas cook bankruptcy case.

    The Debt

    Thomas Cook had a debt of over $2.1 Billion. It is the reason the investors backed out of investing in the company. The bosses of Thomas Cook even met many lenders and creditors in London but failed to raise any funds. Again investors backed which led to the Thomas cook bankruptcy case.

    The Model

    The business model of a travel agency depends on segregating the different aspects of travelling and packing it into one travel package. However, with the easy and direct access to any service through the internet, the travel package, or going through a travel agency has become obsolete.

    Airline Expenses

    Thomas Cook was a service travel company that even provided flights to travellers. However, operating an airline is not an easy task. An airline company needs a lot of funds to bear its running cost. Costs like fuel, maintenance, crew, etc. need to be fulfilled.

    Brexit

    The company is calling it the top reason for the collapse. In May 2019, the CEO of Thomas Cook, Peter Frankhauser said: “the Brexit process has led many U.K. customers to delay their holiday plans for this summer.”

    And of course, one reason for its failure is the common reason for most of the business failure, resisting change. Thomas Cook was unable to adapt the changes according to the new generation and ended up collapsing.

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    Why Thomas Cook India is Safe?

    Even though the whole world is shocked by seeing the 178 years old company collapsed, Thomas Cook India is still doing business as always.

    The reason behind it is that Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. was acquired by Fairbridge Capital Ltd. is a subsidiary of Canada-based company, Fairfax Group.

    Hence, Thomas Cook India is totally safe and still operational. However, they have put this warning to let the users know that their company is independent of the brand of Thomas Cook.

    Thomas cook bankruptcy case study
    When you visit Thomas Cook India website, it shows this message

    Even though Thomas Cook India is still operational, they have seen a sudden downfall in their share price. Their share price decreased by 5.23%.

    Conclusion

    Thomas Cook has been a great business since its birth. The company changed the way people travelled. In the age when it was a luxury to travel to another city, the company made it possible to easily travel to other countries. Along with its travel business, it has also been a great financial company for travellers.

    However, everything has an end. So, it is an acceptable truth and not a surprise that the company ceases to operate anymore. Even though the travel industry has grown as a whole, but it has also evolved in the process. So, if any company has to survive in any industry, they need to adapt change according to the generation. I hope you learned something in this case study of Thomas Cook.

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