| Nse: Matrimony | Bse:540704 |
|---|---|
|
Sector |
Internet |
|
Market Cap (In crores) |
Rs. 2268.75 |
|
52-week H/L(Rs.) |
1242/361 |
Recollect the famous dialogue of the movie Band BaajaBaarat,
“recession hoya inflation, Shaadi to honi hi haina aur log lakho kharachte rahenge.”
You can relate to this if your an Indian.
Do you know? India, too has a Mark Zuckerberg among us? You don’t. Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO of BharatMatrimony.com. I felt he was much more like him when I realized the reason behind his idea of launching a communal site transindia.com. in 1997. It was a commonly uncommon idea back then. The purpose was similar to Zuckerberg’s to connect with one other better around the world. Here, it was to stay connected with the Tamilian community!
So, how did an accidental entrepreneur’s startup business boost, persuade, and become one of India’s good brand advancement companies?
Let’s look out!
Industry Analysis
We all know how the Internet has become the 4th necessity of our generation. We love to be on the Net for a long time and enjoy the access of privacy in a room of 100 on our phones. Whether it’s starting a B2b business or ordering a Pizza online, the Internet is spreading like an Air, Available everywhere!
So, why not for arranging marriages? As per the recent research, it was observed that search on matrimonial sites is the 12th most popular activity on the Internet.
Ordinally, parents look for good matches for their children suitable for religion, caste, physical features, education, etc. Further, our generation redefines Love as a bond were respecting each other’s choice of work and space. But, eventually, to find someone where both alleys meet within a constraint time makes matrimonial agents fail.
Mobile verified profiles, confidentiality, categorized profiles based on caste and religion, availability of screening system, easily accessible customer care centers, horoscope matching, availability of free and paid registrations (offline and online), etc. have transformed this industry into a more than 1000 crore club and is efficiently expanding over the years.
Incorporated on the 13th of July 2001 as Matrimony Services.com Private Limited, the company pioneered India’s online matchmaking space with its flagship brand BharatMatrimony.com. The company provides all matrimonial-related services online/offline and presents excellent grooming, bridal decoration, fashion, mandap decorations, lifestyle, and personal life. It is one of the few companies (other than jeevansathi.com, shaadi.com) in India listed on the National Stock Exchange with a realized return of nearly 230% in 8 months amid Covid-19.
Market Penetration
Despite Shaadi.com being the oldest online matrimony company in India, Matrimony.com is a leading dominant with a market share of nearly 60% in online matrimonial business with an overall 4000 employees. Search engine optimization (SEO) and the launch of the 4th generation of broadband cellular network costing just Rs.2000 a year with unlimited access led to people’s shift from Desktop usage to Mobile Data on a large scale. Also, mobile companies like Samsung, Vivo, Mi made smartphones available at prices below Rs.15000 helped the online internet industry to expand further. Matrimony.com saw all these coming in and knew being efficient to new technologies and digital marketing is a roadmap for survival and growth.
Have you heard someone saying, We are happy in our marriage! What?
We have heard of happily married but not a marriage without compromises, unnecessary pressures, or conflict of choices with our parents. Does it exist really?
Yes, Matrimony.com’s business model has made it possible, and their customers have happily agreed to it!
The company followed a Micro Market strategy, where the products/ services were tailored following targeting a niche group of people. Apparently, by launching different websites and applications for people according to Status like EliteMatrimony.com, Linguistic like Marathi Matrimony, Religion like Muslim Matrimony and community like Brahmin Matrimony per preferences. It also provided services to busy young individuals by assisting them in finding a good match and generating feedback. This distinct feature was backed by initiating surveys from individuals who had faced problems in their marriages like women not allowed to work after giving birth, issues with in-laws, understanding disputes, etc.
A database of 4.60 million free and more than seven lakhs paid customers on board and nearly 30000 addition every day leads to trafficking of privacy and frauds. As we are Indians, we do know how we expect bad things to happen first, then good! Matrimony.com does understand our native nature and has facilitated its operations based on Artificial Intelligence. With the help of A.I. and ML, privacy and securitization of accounts are assured with avoidance of duplicated proxy accounts. Recommendation engine affiliates CRM (Customer Relationship Management)- helping the teams to segment and personalize the proper product pitching to customers.
Competitive Analysis
- Ambiguity – Hypothetically, imagine if you are asked to enter into Blackhole to travel back and forth in time. A definite Yes! Because you would be able to refine your life you desire it to be. Similarly, Matrimony.com believes your marriage is a turning point in your life. Therefore, it ensures you with 100% verified profiles, Mobile verification, Address verification, Citizenship, Dietary Habits, Likes, Dislikes, Income verifications, any past criminal records, displaying recent photos, etc., without hampering it.
- The total revenue of Matrimony alone stands combined with jeevansathi.com and shaadi.com.The company reported a profit of 295 crores in FY20 against an Rs. 390 crores decline of 30.43% than the previous year. The decline was attributed to an increase in advertising and marketing expenditure of 33.30% for future growth. Moreover, the company saw a steady growth of 1.01 million free registrations in FY20. As a result, it maintained the EV/EBITDA ratio of 32.01 as of 2019 with an increasing Book Value of 12.2% Y-O-Y. Nalanda India Equity Fund, a Singapore-based investment firm, surprisingly raised its stake from 8.3% to 9.9%.
- Trust on Matrimony – The company’s highest revenue is generated from EliteMatrimony.com. A matchmaking website for affluent customers. The package of services costs Rs. 20000 to more than 22 lakhs. It includes tie-up contracts of other marriage services like Mandap decoration, wedding cinematography, Fashion designers, etc. The trust is built on high-class consumers by Assisted team members through visualization and analytic expertise management. Services provided by MatrimonyMandap.com, Matrimonybazaar.com has ratings on their list given by none other than father of ratings – CRISIL. VOILA!
- With nearly 0.26 total debt and free cash flow of more than 600 crores and valuation of shaadi.com near 500 crores, Matrimony can easily acquire it and become a show stopper of matrimonial business, right?
NO! The reason for this is their Business Model. Let’s take the example of Flipkart and Myntra; the acquisition stimulated growth and expansion. If you buy a shirt from Flipkart, you cannot wear until forever.
Remember, the famous dialogue of Yeh JawanihaiDeewani – Shaadi is dalchawal for 50 saal until you die…… So, here if a consumer pays for services and gets married! Boom, the account is closed. So, this is not a Recurring business.
Technical study
Matrimony has undoubtedly given a CAGR of more than 10% in 3 years and a Return on Invested Capital of 10.57% in 2019-2020. But the company has always been on the lower side of the brink due to the increasing dominance of regional websites and vigorous campaigning of “ANGRY BRIDES” by its competitor. Until the last year of 2020, It became a catalyst when the statistics stated an increase in marriages in China, Singapore, and India after lockdown.
Conclusion
It’s weird how the company with sound financials and strong market strategy has not been trading with good price momentum. This reminds me words of W.D.Gannin his book ”Truth of the Stock Tape” that the stock market is an accurate barometer of business conditions. Stock declines when business booms for a certain period to discount future depressions (COVID – 19) and rises after a certain degree of correction.
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Very insightful and true🙌