Zomato's name change, Shein’s Indian comeback, & Pine Labs' playbook 🙇🏻♂️
This week’s "must-know" business insights for you.
We are back with our new newsletter, which covers three important business topics in one issue. Today, we discuss Zomato’s name change, Shein’s Indian comeback via Reliance, and Pine Labs’ payment dominance.
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Zomato’s name change to “Eternal” 🛵
First, some context.
Zomato is changing the name of its parent company from 'Zomato Ltd.' to 'Eternal Ltd”. The board has approved this, and now, they’ll also change the ticker on the stock exchange accordingly. This got the company trending on socials (again). Don’t worry, though—the app name stays the same. Btw, this is the second name change in the company’s history, as it started as “Foodiebay” back in the day.
Why all this effort?
The company wants to send a clear message: the main focus is no longer just about food delivery. With new verticals like BlinkIt (quick commerce), District (events), Hyperpure (B2B supplies), and Bistro (10-minute deliveries), they're building a broader ecosystem of customer solutions. This move will help set clear expectations in the retail market, positioning the company to shareholders as a house of brands rather than just a single brand. By the way, Zomato might soon join the Nifty 50 when the reshuffle happens.
Fact.
Deepinder has said multiple times that BlinkIt (the quick commerce) will eventually outgrow Zomato (the food business). And it looks like that’s already happening.
Have we seen this before?
We've seen companies change names all the time—Facebook to Meta, Twitter to X, and here in India, UrbanClap to Urban Company and Grofers to Blinkit. It’s not just about a new logo; it’s about aligning internal teams and signaling to the world that the company’s focus has shifted completely. A move that creates deeper ripple effects as the company scales.
Shein’s Indian comeback via Reliance 👚
First, some context.
Shein, known for its affordable pricing and trendy women's apparel, is making a comeback in India. The company’s app, along with other apps like TikTok, was banned in India. However, the sale of branded products from Shein through other channels was allowed. The company is making a comeback through India’s leading retailer, Reliance Retail.
What is happening differently now?
The new Shein India app, which launched last Friday, is backed entirely by Nextgen Fast Fashion—a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. Nextgen handles everything on the platform, from manufacturing to marketing to sales, using a network of Indian manufacturers, most of which are MSMEs as per the sources. So the upside for the ecosystem is that it will help create a network of MSMEs in India by aggregating demand.
Fact.
There is no equity ownership of Shein in the Indian company and the app "Shein India" has been developed by Reliance Retail and every bit of data also remains in India.
What’s in for Reliance?
Reliance is putting in significant effort and will also pay a good license fee to Shein. But why? The logic is simple: India’s fast fashion market is expected to be $50 billion big by FY31. Fast fashion is expected to account for 25-30% of India’s overall fashion retail sector by then. This move puts serious pressure on competitors like Zudio, Flipkart, and Myntra. Plus, with Reliance Trends and Ajio already in their arsenal, they’re covering every segment of the market.
Pine Labs payment dominance 💸
First, some context.
Pine Labs, a 27-year-old company, has quietly become a powerhouse in India’s offline organised POS (point-of-sale) space. Handling over ₹90,000 Cr in transaction volumes and clocking ₹1,300 Cr in revenue, Pine Labs is also gearing up for one of the biggest fintech IPOs. But what did they crack? Let’s dig in.
The top-down & offline first penetration.
Pine Labs took a top-down, offline-only approach, targeting modern trade giants like Future Group, Shoppers Stop, Croma, and McDonald’s from the start. Unlike Paytm (bottom-up) and Razorpay (online-first), Pine focused on big retailers who value operational stability over minor cost savings and prefer convenience. This strategy unlocked massive distribution potential with a higher LTV (lifetime value) from the same users.
Fact.
Today, Pine Labs is expanding its focus to smaller retailers and the online space, aiming to capture a larger slice of the market. By doing so, they’re stepping into direct competition with players like Razorpay, Paytm, Innoviti, and other fintech players.
The “full-stack” insight.
Pine Labs began as a petrol pump payments company, but their key insight over time was clear: Don’t just offer a payment device—offer a complete business solution. They recognized that retailers needed more than just a card-swiping tool, so they built a comprehensive stack of services, including inventory management, billing, working capital, and more—well ahead of the competition of that time. Their devices became so good that banks began partnering & pushing them to their merchant networks.
Retention Masterstroke.
Pine Labs doesn’t want its retailers to go to any other company for any payment solution. That’s why they have offered every value-added service imaginable by acquiring multiple companies over the years. Done massive acquisitions for online payments (Plural, Setu, & Qfix), gift & prepaid cards (Qwikcilver), and retail store staff care (Saluto Wellness).
Fact.
For the prepaid card and gift card market, Pine is the market leader with ~80% market share. Btw, the acquisition sprees are happening rapidly in fintech, with every big player trying to tap into different market segments. (check below)
Btw, we even launched a detailed breakdown of Pine Labs on our YouTube channel.
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