Meesho Success Story: The Journey of India's Premier Reselling App

Today, one can easily launch their very own online business while sitting comfortably at their home, without investing a lot of money. Online shopping has developed significantly over the previous decade, and eCommerce companies now generate billions of dollars in monthly sales all across the globe.

People are depending on online purchasing platforms more than ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, and many are also using this opportunity to develop their online empires. The online reselling industry is no different in that aspect.

If you too are considering starting your reselling business, Meesho is a platform you can consider. Meesho is an online resale platform that allows anybody to establish a company without having to put up any money. Leading the reselling landscape of India, Meesho takes pride in reselling indeed!

Here is the story behind the popular Indian reselling platform: Meesho Startup Story, History, Founders, Mission and Vision, Business Model, Revenue Model, Funding and Investors, Competitors, and more.

Meesho Introduction

About Meesho
Meesho - How does it Work?
Meesho - Industry
Meesho - Founders and Team
Meesho - Startup Story
Meesho - Name and Logo
Meesho - Mission and Vision
Meesho - Products and Services
Meesho - Business Model
Meesho - Revenue Model
Meesho - ESOPs
Meesho - Challenges Faced
Meesho - Funding and Investors
Meesho - Investments
Meesho - Growth
Meesho - Partnership and Tie-ups
Meesho - Advertisements and Campaigns
Meesho - Competitors
Meesho - Future Plans

About Meesho

Meesho is an online shopping platform. The online reseller platform perhaps requires no introduction. It has carved a niche for itself and has gained popularity among consumers and retailers alike by making online reselling and shopping hassle-free and affordable. Meesho provides secure and timely transactions, as well as low-cost returns and shipping.

Meesho - How does it Work?

Meesho, India's largest resale platform, was founded in 2015. The Meesho app essentially connects manufacturers to resellers. Manufacturers list their commodities on the Meesho shopping app, which allows merchants to choose from any of their products and sell them to customers using social networks like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. Clothing, accessories, furniture, culinary utensils, and cosmetics producers are among the suppliers who list their products on Meesho.

Independent resellers can then choose any product from these suppliers and sell it to customers using the social media sites mentioned. It's as simple as posting a photo of the item on Instagram or writing a Facebook post to sell it. After the customer and the reseller have agreed on the purchase, the Meesho items are delivered to the buyer's home. Buyers have the option of paying with a debit or credit card or cash on delivery for a secure and quick procedure of transaction.

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Meesho - Industry

The Indian eCommerce Market is expected to develop significantly, reaching an estimated value of USD 112.93 billion in 2024, according to a Statista report analysis.

The market is predicted to maintain its upward trend and reach USD 299.01 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.5% over the forecast period of 2024 to 2029. This development trend highlights the robust expansion and considerable prospects found in India's eCommerce industry.

Meesho - Founders and Team

Meesho was founded by Sanjeev Barnwal (Co-Founder and CTO) and Vidit Aatrey (Co-Founder and CEO) in 2015.

Sanjeev Barnwal

Sanjeev Barnwal is the Co-Founder and Chief Technological Officer (CTO) of Meesho. Sanjeev Barnwal has also worked at Sony Mobile Communications as an Android Camera Hardware Abstraction Layer Architecture Designer and Developer. He graduated from IIT Delhi with a bachelor's degree in engineering and has also worked with Sony Corporation before that.

Vidit Aatrey

Vidit Aatrey is the Co-Founder and CEO of Meesho. Before Meesho, the Meesho Co-founder worked with the mobile marketing platform InMobi, where he designed growth strategies for the company. Aatrey has also seen the Operations part of the business when he was with ITC Limited. He also graduated from IIT Delhi with a bachelor's degree in engineering.

Meesho works with an employee strength of 1,001-5,000 employees in its team.

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Meesho - Startup Story

In 2015, when Meesho was started, it was known as FASHNEAR. The idea behind FASHNEAR was just like Swiggy or Zomato. FASHNEAR dealt with Fashion-related goods and allowed customers to buy clothes and fashion accessories from the shops in their locality. Local shops selling apparel and accessories could register with the FASHNEAR app, and customers could order from these local shops, and delivery persons were there to deliver the goods.

“Sanjeev and I fulfilled every role during this period. We did the inventory of every shop, spending entire days taking photos of all the products and cataloging them on our app. I also worked as the delivery person in the beginning because I wanted to hear my customer’s feedback firsthand." Vidit said speaking about FASHNEAR's initial days.

However, soon the founders started to notice some flaws in the FASHNEAR business model. Some major drawbacks they noticed were that consumers were not very concerned about buying clothes from local shops. Besides, the shop owners also wanted to increase sales by selling their products online in different locations of the country rather than selling their products locally. These problems inspired Vidit and Sanjeev to work on a better business model. By the end of 2015, Fashnear was renamed as 'Meesho'.

The founder duo visited many shopkeepers and resellers to identify their problems. They noticed that many shopkeepers were already selling goods through WhatsApp, but their reach was limited because they delivered their goods only locally. They also found out that most of the shops registered on Meesho were operated by women, and these women sold their goods out of their homes rather than in any physical shops.

Meesho's business model has been built considering these facts and issues, and currently, with Meesho, women can comfortably start a reselling business from home without owing any inventory. Meesho also empowers small shops and manufacturers to deliver their goods across the country, while Meesho takes care of the delivery of the products, facilitates COD options, and ensures that consumers can seamlessly return the products if they wish.

Thus, Meesho serves as a bridge between suppliers (manufacturers and shopkeepers who list their products on Meesho), resellers, and customers. Meesho also helps suppliers manage their inventories.

Meesho - Name and Logo

Meesho New Logo: The company's new logo depicts "Aam" as hospitable and welcoming while reflecting "Jamuni"'s relationship with desire. The company's position as a comprehensive platform serving the daily needs of Indian shoppers will be reinforced by this rebranding initiative, which will also increase its attractiveness and resonance with consumers.

Meesho is owned by "Fashnear Technologies Private Limited."

Meesho - Mission and Vision

Meesho's mission is to "Democratise Internet Commerce for Everyone."

The company's vision is to "enable 100 million small businesses in India, including individual entrepreneurs, to succeed online."

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Meesho - Products and Services

Meesho products and services are:

Meesho Superstore

Meesho relaunched Farmiso as Meesho Superstore in its rebranding attempt on April 5, 2022. This was done to focus on the customer demands of everyday needs in Tier 2 markets and beyond that.

The company boasts of the fact that it has successfully managed to expand its grocery service to 6 states within 9 months.

This rebranding and integration of the Meesho grocery app Farmiso to the main Meesho app is quite significant and is in line with the quest for super apps, which are to dominate the Indian and global digital ecosystem soon. Furthermore, with only 0.5% of the grocery sales happening digitally, it is really important to note that Meesho has a massive market that it can tap into.

Meesho Mall

Meesho is taking a significant step forward with the introduction of 'Meesho Mall,' aligning with its 'User First' approach. This strategic expansion signifies Meesho's dedication to meeting the diverse needs of the Indian population. 'Meesho Mall' will offer a wide range of products, including branded items, aimed at enhancing the shopping experience for Indian consumers.

Meesho - Business Model

Meesho's business model deviates little from the direct-to-consumer (D2C) paradigm. In contrast to the direct-to-consumer (D2C) paradigm, which involves producers selling products directly to customers, Meesho functions as a platform that facilitates transactions between businesses, namely between manufacturers and reselling business owners.

These resellers work as go-betweens, bringing together producers and final customers. Meesho essentially operates in a business-to-business (B2B) environment. The corporation made this adjustment in 2021, moving away from its original reseller-centric model. Meesho no longer just facilitates transactions; instead, it helps companies increase sales, earning fees and commissions in the process.

Meesho - Revenue Model

Meesho earns money from different resources; some of the prominent ones are:

Commission

The commissions Meesho charges from the vendors have been a major source of their revenue. When a reseller sells a product on the Meesho platform, the seller of that product will be charged a certain percentage of commission. The commission-based business is similar to those of e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and others.

As per the company's website, a 0% commission is charged from the suppliers on all product categories. No commission is charged from the resellers.

Logistics

Meesho offers logistics services to the suppliers and charges a fee for the same. The Meesho team is working on reducing the logistics charges to increase the profitability of the sellers.

Advertisements

A portion of Meesho's revenue comes from advertisements. As the number of sellers on the platform is increasing, sellers who want to highlight their products in front of the resellers and customers on the platform pay a certain amount for advertising their products.

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Meesho - ESOPs

Meesho has announced its largest Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback scheme to date, with a total of Rs 200 crore (about $25 million) as per the news report of March 13, 2024.

With prior buybacks of $1 million in February 2020, $5 million in November 2020, and $5.5 million in October 2021, this is the horizontal e-commerce unicorn's fourth buyback. This project has the potential to benefit about 1,700 current and former employees, ranging from junior executives to senior leadership positions.

Meesho - Challenges Faced

Meesho faced several difficulties in the early going that are common for a young company in the online retail space. Online retail is becoming more and more popular, but there are still a lot of challenges to overcome, like limited transaction possibilities, shipping limitations, and shortages of supplies. The CEO underlined Meesho's decision to forgo keeping inventory in their warehouses to promote small businesses from the beginning.

But these difficulties were made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in terms of supply chain interruptions. Meesho and other companies in the industry continued to face difficulties even after the government took action to loosen mobility constraints.

Some of the other challenges faced by Meesho are:

Pandemic-caused Challenges

COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on Meesho's business, which prompted the company to concentrate on building logistical networks in the face of inconsistent state laws. Closings in the fashion sector led to a shift in focus toward selling necessities like groceries and masks to sustain resellers. To support resellers and build trust in the face of uncertainty, a microcredit strategy was implemented.

Change in Strategy, Huge Cash Burn, and No Profit

Meesho changed its business model from social commerce to business-to-consumer (B2C) in response to fierce competition from Flipkart and Amazon, substantial financial burn, and little profit. To reorganize the supermarket industry and guarantee its long-term viability, layoffs took place.

Meesho Layoffs

To streamline operations, Meesho let go of 150 workers in April 2022 and 251 in May 2023.

Significant Counterfeit Issues

Meesho had to deal with counterfeit goods, which led to legal lawsuits and quality assurances to protect its brand and customers' faith.

Meesho Smear Campaigns

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Meesho - Funding and Investors

Meesho has raised $1.4 billion in 13 rounds of funding. Their latest funding was raised on May 6, 2024, from a Venture - Series Unknown round.

Here are the funding details:

Meesho - Investments

Meesho's investment in Elenas is a clear indication of the company's faith in the business—it has supported Elenas twice. Meesho first contributed $2 million on October 15, 2020, as part of the seed investment round. Meesho strengthened its support by contributing a further $6 million on March 4, 2021, during the Series A investment round, building on this promise.

This follow-up investment demonstrates Meesho's faith in Elenas' potential and ambition.

Meesho - Growth

Meesho's growth highlights are:

• It has over 50 lakh products as of August 2024
• It has 650+ product categories as of August 2024
• The company has 11 lakh+ sellers as of August 2024
• Meesho has 14 crore+ customers as of August 2024
• It has served 19,000+ pincode as of August 2024
• It has 1.1 million resellers as of March 2023
• Meesho has passed 14.5 crore app downloads as of 2023
• It has more than 20,000 manufacturers from more than 500 towns

Financials

Meesho announced it became profitable in June 2023 and the company expects to be fully profitable for the entire fiscal year by FY25 or FY26. Its adjusted losses dropped by 97%, reaching INR 53 crore for the fiscal year ending in March 2024.

In FY 2024, Meesho's revenue grew by 33% to INR 7615 crore, compared to INR 5735 crore in FY 2023. Total expenses increased by 8% to INR 8150 crore. Net loss reduced significantly by 82%, from INR 1675 crore in FY 2023 to INR 305 crore in FY 2024.

Meesho - Partnership and Tie-ups

Meesho has partnered with many companies: some of the prominent ones are:

Rural Development Ministry of the Union Government

Meesho has partnered with the Rural Development Ministry of the Union Government to promote and market goods made by Self Help Groups (SHGs) from different parts of India, including handloom and handicrafts. Through this partnership, SHGs will be given more opportunities to market their goods while also being empowered and given a platform to do so.

Vision and AI Labs of IISC

Meesho and the Indian Institute of Science's (IISc) Vision & AI Lab (VAL) have signed a one-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This collaboration seeks to help Meesho advance research in key areas like multimodal large language models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (AI).

“We use AI for product recommendation, product ranking, making listing easy for sellers, suggesting price points to sellers, etc,” said co-founder and CTO Sanjeev Barnwal.

LazyPay

Meesho has joined forces with LazyPay in a partnership designed to enhance the checkout process, providing shoppers with seamless and faster transactions and ultimately improving their overall shopping experience.

Cashfree

The company has partnered with cash-free payments and is set to introduce a feature that allows for instant refunds on cash-on-delivery (COD) orders processed through its platform, streamlining and expediting the refund process for customers.

iCubesWire

It has a partnership with iCubesWire and with this collaboration it will take steps to to improve product discoverability for Indian consumers, enhancing their online shopping experience.

Plum

Meesho and Plum, a platform for employee health insurance, have partnered strategically to raise the bar for employee benefits and care.

We Hub

We Hub has formed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Meesho to support female entrepreneurs in reaching financial independence by providing them with increased market exposure and prospects.

Meesho - Advertisements and Campaigns

Meesho announced the launch of its "Sahi Sahi Lagaya Hai" campaign in September 2021 to appeal to the tier 2 markets and beyond. Through this campaign, Meesho highlights how its consumers benefit from a wide range of products across diverse categories at affordable prices from sellers all across the country with the help of the Meesho app.

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Meesho - Competitors

Some of Meesho's major rivals are:

• Volusion
• Elenas
• DealShare
• GlowRoad
• Shop101
• Huboo
• Drop

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Meesho - Future Plans

Meesho stated in an interview that the company plans to go public in the following 12 to 18 months, as per the news report from August 2023. This action demonstrates the company's faith in its business plan and preparation for the next stage of expansion. Meesho would get more funding and market exposure via a possible stock market offering, which would strengthen its position in the e-commerce industry.

Meesho aims to onboard 10 million small businesses by 2027, a significant increase from its current seller base of 1.3 million. This goal represents a ten-fold expansion.

FAQs

What is Meesho shop?

Meesho, which was formed as "meri eshop", was founded as a social commerce platform in 2015 by Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey, and operates as an online reselling app for users. Meesho has recently started pivoting an eCommerce model.

What does Meesho do?

Meesho, based in Bengaluru, is an online reseller platform that aspires to build an environment where anybody can establish a business with no financial investment.

Who are Meesho founders?

Meesho was founded by Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey in 2015.

When was Meesho founded?

Meesho was founded in 2015.

Which companies do Meesho compete with?

Volusion, Elenas, DealShare, GlowRoad, Shop101, Huboo, and Drop are among Meesho's major rivals.

How to close the Meesho account?

You can easily close your Meesho account, and there are 3 convenient steps you can follow to do it:

• You can email the company
• You can call the company and ask them to close your Meesho account
• You can message the Twitter or Facebook handle of the Meesho company to delete your account

What does Meesho supplier offer?

Meesho supplier helps the Meesho sellers to sell online to 14 crore+ customers at 0% commission.

How to log out from Meesho?

You can log out from the Meesho supplier app without any hassles just by clicking on the Log Out option.

What is the Meesho customer care number?

The Meesho care number is 080-61799600.

What are the Meesho return charges?

Meesho return charges for the customer, if the product is returned within the SLA, is 0.

Is Messho an Indian company?

Meesho is an online shopping platform owned by the Indian company Fashnear Technologies Private Limited.