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9 stories for “labour”

Empty festive gift boxes and ribbon spools on a packing table under warm evening light

Opinion · Retail

Why festive hiring and beauty capital signal real demand

Seasonal headcount at Myntra and minority cheques for indie beauty brands show merchants still bet on physical and digital tills filling up.

The Desk · 25 Sep · 4 min read

Stacks of cardboard cartons and packing tape rolls on a warehouse floor under fluorescent lights

Ecommerce

Myntra hires 26,000 seasonal staff for Big Fashion Festival

More than double last year’s festive army fills fulfilment centres and last-mile routes as October sales ramp up.

Ananya Rao · 25 Sep · 4 min read

Empty retail aisle with festive decorations hanging from the ceiling

Opinion · Retail

Why festive capacity and MDR will decide October margins

Hiring blitzes and new payment costs land together just as festive tickets swell; the shop floor will sort winners fast.

The Desk · 17 Sep · 4 min read

Rows of packed grocery shelves and delivery crates inside a compact urban warehouse

Ecommerce

Amazon India eyes 300 cities and 3,000 quick-commerce stores

Late entrant pushes micro-fulfilment and urban centres; Prime free speed raises the bar for Blinkit Zepto.

Ananya Rao · 16 Sep · 4 min read

Stacks of folded casual wear and shoe displays on simple metal fixtures in a bright store

Retail

Reliance Retail bets on 1,000 Yousta stores in two years

Value brand sits at 55 outlets in 27 cities; race with Zudio tightens real-estate and youth pricing.

Meera Iyer · 16 Sep · 4 min read

Parked delivery scooters outside a small urban warehouse at early morning

Ecommerce

Blinkit leads top-10 cities with 969 dark stores

Eternal unit accounts for 27 per cent of mapped outlets and over 34 per cent nationally, giving it the density edge that keeps riders busy and AOV rising.

Ananya Rao · 31 Aug · 4 min read

Rows of labelled plastic bins on roller racks inside a narrow fulfilment room

Opinion · Ecommerce

Why dark-store density now decides the q-comm P&L

Minutes overtaking Instamart on nodes is not vanity; it is the only lever left once discounting fatigue sets in.

The Desk · 29 Aug · 4 min read

Opinion · Ecommerce

Q-commerce is a grocery company now. Stop calling it a startup category.

The 10-minute war is over as a novelty. What remains is retail: rent, shrinkage, labour, and who owns the evening slot in a hundred Indian cities.

The Desk · 20 Aug · 6 min read

Worker picking groceries in a night-time dark store

Ecommerce

Blinkit is no longer a side quest. It is Eternal's company.

Zomato's parent is discovering what every marketplace learns too late: the 10-minute grocery habit pays the bills the 30-minute meal no longer does.

Ananya Rao · 17 Aug · 7 min read