In line with its goal to build a formidable live events business, food-tech major Zomato has hired Kunal Khambati, the former head of live events and Intellectual Property at BookMyShow. This comes shortly after Zomato acquired Paytm Insider, the fintech’s entertainment ticketing business, in a deal valued at Rs 2,048 crore.
Khambati, who has been with BookMyShow for over seven years and was responsible for organising key events such as Lollapalooza, has, however, not officially announced the move. Prior to BookMyShow, he has spent a decade with media and entertainment firm Percept, which organises the popular electronics dance music festival Sunburn. Khambatia was the associate vice president of marketing strategy and sales at Percept when he left in 2016.
Zomato has been beefing up its Going Out business vertical with new hires as it prepares to launch the vertical in a separate app called District, post the acquisition process is over. The new app will include restaurant booking, live events ticketing as well as holiday rentals.
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Two of Zomato’s former executives Rahul Ganjoo and Pradyot Ghate, who had left a year ago, have recently rejoined the company in the Going Out vertical. Ganjoo used to be the head of new business at Zomato while Ghate has held roles across product, tech, and growth teams. Last year, the company also hired Zeenah Vilcassim, former marketing director of Bacardi India, to spearhead its live events business.
In its recent Q1 results, Zomato highlighted its opportunity to build a third large consumer business, besides its core food delivery vertical and quick commerce arm Blinkit. “We believe that there is an opportunity to further expand our going-out offering, building on top of our dining-out business,” its CEO Deepinder Goyal had said.
Zomato’s dining-out business is currently operating at a run-rate of more than $500 million annualised GOV (gross order value) and is already profitable. The going out space could potentially include movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, and staycations.
In Q1, Zomato’s Going Out vertical recorded revenue of Rs 95 crore, which is 126% more than the same period last year, while its adjusted Ebitda stood at Rs 10 crore. The GOV for this vertical more than doubled to Rs 1,268 crore during the quarter.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
