Social commerce unicorn DealShare’s co-founder Vineet Rao has stepped down from his role as chief executive officer as the company pivots to a hybrid model.
“Vineet will work with the board to help identify the right CEO to lead this mission,” DealShare said in a statement.
“He will also continue to work with and advise the board in respect to the new leadership.”
The firm, founded in 2018 by Rao, Sourjyendu Medda, Sankar Bora and Rajat Shikhar, offers groceries, essentials and home care products mostly in tier-II cities and beyond. The company targets middle and lower-income groups through a community group buying model.
With the funding crunch and slowed growth, DealShare has expanded its offline presence too as it looks to show profits to its investors.
The company reported a loss of Rs 431 crore in the financial year ended 2022, over sales of Rs 1,933 crore, according to data accessed by VCCEdge, the data intelligence platform of VCCircle.
“In its continuous quest to drive profitable growth, DealShare aspires to pivot to a hybrid online and offline model to enhance its services, and increase its customer retention & share of wallet,” the statement said.
In January, it had to lay off close to 100 employees, or around 6% of its then 1500+ workforce. This was done as a part of its “business restructuring plan” to sustain growth. It toned down its plan for geographical expansion, and the newer spheres of the business that it planned to invest into.
The company has also started selling private-label products. It currently has 8 brands across 16 categories in this business.Since November 2022, it has committed over Rs 1,000 crore for its private label business.
Now, in the latest pivot the company is targeting the offline segment too to sell through a hybrid model.
DealShare, owned and operated by Merabo Labs Pvt. Ltd, last raised almost $130 million as a part of its Series E funding round from Tiger Global Management, Alpha Wave Global (managed by Falcon Edge Capital) and others last year in January 2022.
The round came about six months after its raised $144 million in July 2021 from Tiger Global, WestBridge Capital, Alpha Wave Incubation, along with partners of DST Global, Matrix partners and Alteria Capital.
