Retail

Urban Company sees revenue soar 103% in FY20; to launch new arm of online extracurricular activities for kids


Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap), on Tuesday, reported a surge of 103% in its unaudited operating revenues in FY20 over FY19. The firm clocked Rs 216 crore in FY20 from Rs 106 crore in FY19. The firm’s revenues are largely earned from commission fees on every transaction facilitated by its platform.

In FY20, the firm changed its accounting method from I-GAAP to IND-AS accounting method. As per I-GAAP accounting method, its operating revenues in FY19 were Rs 116 crore which rose to Rs 242 crore in FY20. The net booking value of all transactions through the Urban Company platform grew 138% from Rs 385 crore in FY19 to Rs 918 crore in FY20.

The company highlighted that the beauty and wellness vertical contributed to approximately 55% of its revenues in FY20.

Abhiraj Singh Bhal, co-founder, Urban Company told ET Digital, “55% of our revenue came from the beauty and wellness vertical. The reason behind this growth is a combination of the convenience of getting the service at home and our ability to deliver a good quality experience to our end consumers.”

He added that these home services in post-Covid world will only accelerate as it will be done in a controlled environment of consumers’ homes and people safer in their homes.

When asked if firms like Urban Company will intensify competition for brick-and-mortar stores and salons in a post-Covid world as home services will increase, Bahl dismissed the idea saying they are instead planning to partner with these workers.

“We don’t look at them as a competency. We are aggregators and we want to bring on board the best of the local economy, the best beautician, best barbers, best plumbers and take them to end consumers. So we actually think that this is the right time to accelerate our partnerships with the local economy. We don’t see that as a competition but as a future partner,” he said.

Bahl highlighted that for FY21, the firm is focusing on the health and safety of its customers. Urban company has implemented a comprehensive set of eight safety protocols, including the usage of masks and gloves, mandatory use of the Aarogya Setu app, daily temperature checks, single-use sachets and disposables, sanitization of all tools before the service delivery, no services in containment zones, health and safety training of its service partners and cashless transactions.

The Covid-19 crisis has given the company an opportunity to launch its new service of disinfecting and sanitizing public and private areas such as homes, workplaces, private offices, shops, and commercial establishments.

“We launched the service last month and it is seeing a lot of traction and success. A lot of commercial establishments and even government offices are using this service,” he said.

In the meantime, Bahl revealed that in the next two to three weeks, Urban Company is planning to launch its new arm of providing online extracurricular activities for kids such as learning music and foreign languages.

Expanding their portfolio of helping gig economy workers, Bahl said they will be hiring extracurricular experts for the same and this will be more of white-collar nature.





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