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With over 100 firms, crowded home services space may soon consolidate
NEW DELHI: With one home services startup being launched every week in the past two years, there are about a 100 now that send handymen – electricians, plumbers,
NEW DELHI: With one home services startup being launched every week in the past two years, there are about a 100 now that send handymen – electricians, plumbers, carpenters, car cleaners, house-helps and beauticians, among others – to your home.
However, 100 companies mean the sector is already crowded. “At the end its about who builds the right ecosystem of supply and services,” said Rachna Nath, head of digital consulting at KPMG.
Other segments have also gone through a similar cycle, be it e-commerce, taxi aggregation or online food delivery.
With online commerce moving from buying products to services, the sector has also seen investments — UrbanClap has raised $37 million (around Rs 250 crore).
But companies, such as, Justdial, Quickr, Olx and Sulekha have for long listed services of handymen on their website. “Merely listing is not enough. The new startups want to control the entire supply chain” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consultancy firm Technopak.
UrbanClap has over 35,000 people offering 100-odd services, doing 5,000-6,000 daily transactions. It bets on four things – sending the right people, charging the right price, training them and assuring quality service. “We want every Indian consumer to find the right professional for any kind of service they need,” said Varun Khaitan, co-founder of UrbanClap.
“The last generation of websites did not reach the villages,” said Aseem Khare, founder and CEO of Taskbob.
But Amit Kumar of Zimmber isn’t worried about consolidation. “Some companies have shut down and some more will go away as the market matures.”
