Paytm has been heading down a sloppy path straight downhill, with all the scams and low profitability, not to forget the PIL filed recently against it in Delhi High Court. Unfortunately, its share of misfortune doesn’t seem to come down, as reports have flooded in that amidst many officials leaving the digital payments company, its former COO of Paytm Mall and current COO are leaving the company.
The Great Downfall of Paytm
Many employees have left Paytm after it has shifted its focus from consumer-facing business. The former COO of Paytm Mall, Amit Sinha and the current COO of Paytm, Kiran Vasireddy are to leave the company, reports clarify. The cashback-based business model isn’t working for Vijay Shekar Sharma’s e-commerce venture.
Paytm and Paytm Mall have managed to find themselves among a lot of mishaps, leading to decline in its profitability by 3.4%. Due to no gain in profitability and loss of confidence from its customers, its major stake holder Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., shows unwillingness in funding it further.
Starting with the e-wallet business, Paytm flourished during the demonetization phase. It’s then competitors MobiKwik and Freecharge weren’t strong enough, giving it an easy path for dominance. Despite this, Paytm couldn’t maintain the momentum in an ideal manner.
Once the momentum of demonetisation died, Paytm couldn’t accelerate its business, as people moved towards cash again and its feat was seen as an opportunity by Google Pay and PhonePe. With simpler UI and UPI ecosystems, Google Pay outnumbered Paytm big time in 2018, while PhonePe did the same this year.
Apart from cashbacks, Paytm had no unique proposition to offer to its consumers, hence the loss in confidence. The fundamental problem Paytm has to address is the absence of a sustainable product-market strategy. The lack of control over inventory, logistics and experience dented its image, leading to poor traction.
The Exit in Leadership
A series of exits at the senior leadership since the past year has been a major contributor to Paytm’s downfall. Earlier this month, Bhushan Patil, a senior leader responsible for boosting Paytm’s cross-border business resigned. Alibaba Group’s senior director Bharti Balakrishnan, leading fashion and kitchen categories at Paytm Mall, also stepped down.
Senior vice presidents Saurabh Vashishtha and Amit Bagaria, Chief marketing officer Shankar Nath, Rohit Sood, the Vice president of FMCG and grocery business, have been among the top exits of last year.
The worst of it all, the former COO of Paytm Mall and current COO of Paytm, Amit Sinha and Kiran Vasireddy have already put down their papers and shall vacate their seats by the start of August.
Leadership has always been the most essential asset of any company dreaming to achieve big. The loss of such top officials from Paytm is yet another wound, encircling all the ones which it is currently battling.
This is an exclusive story from Entrackr
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