R|T: The Retail Times – Shopify’s bet didn’t pay off

Shopify co-founder and CEO at Shopify Summit in 2020.
Plus: Has the scooter boom finally gone bust?

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Shopify’s Q2 2022 growth continued to slow amid changing e-commerce market conditions (BETAKIT)

Shopify has posted its Q2 2022 earnings, pulling in $1.3 billion USD as the company’s growth continued to slow amid shifting e-commerce conditions. The results come one day after Shopify laid off 10 percent of its employees.

Said Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke in a memo to employees: “It’s now clear that bet didn’t pay off.”


Amazon jumps on revenue beat and rosy guidance for third quarter (CNBC)

Revenue growth of 7% in the second quarter topped estimates, bucking the trend among its Big Tech peers, which all reported disappointing results prior Thursday. Apple, along with Amazon, beat expectations. Amazon said it expects to post third-quarter revenue between $125 billion and $130 billion, representing growth of 13% to 17%.


Fable raises $8.4 million CAD Series A to fuel move beyond tableware (BETAKIT)

With its Series A funding, Fable plans to expand into the United Kingdom (UK), open new retail locations, and offer a wider selection of home goods products.

“All the little items that sit around your home, that make a house a home—we want to make those pieces,” Fable co-founder and CEO Joe Parenteau told BetaKit in an interview.


Apple narrowly tops estimates as iPhone fares better than feared (BNN BLOOMBERG)

Revenue rose 2 per cent to US$83 billion in the period, which ended June 25, compared with an average analyst prediction of US$82.8 billion. Earnings amounted to US$1.20 a share, topping the US$1.16 projection. The company didn’t provide guidance for the fourth quarter, continuing an approach it adopted at the beginning of the pandemic.


Check out these Canadian tech venture funding reports for Q2:

All data sourced via briefed.in. BetaKit is a briefed.in Tech Report media partner.

From seed to fork: building better food systems through impact investing (BETAKIT)

“It has to start with providing all people—emphasis on all—with enough food and nutrients to nourish themselves,” said Ran Goel, founder of Fresh City Farms in Toronto. “That is the foundation. Then the question becomes: how do we do that in a way that can essentially carry on indefinitely into the future?”


Gorillas on track to raise $250m at reduced valuation: report (SIFTED)

The speedy grocery company has been trying for months to raise funding in order to extend its runway as a downturn in public markets makes private investors more cautious, especially in loss-making companies. At the end of May, Gorillas cut 320 jobs and this month closed down a rider platform, Street Fleet, which provided riders to Gorillas and Delivery Hero.


Real estate auction platform Unreserved files $25 million lawsuit against real estate associations (BETAKIT)

Unreserved is suing the Canadian Real Estate Association, the Ontario Real Estate Association, the Ottawa Real Estate Board, and Penny Torontow, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The startup is contending that the organizations as well as Torontow and Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, defamed the company through statements published on YouTube and in the Ottawa Citizen, respectively. These allegations have not been proven in a court of law.


Tiger Global-backed Missfresh stops paying salaries as it runs out of cash (FINANCIAL TIMES)

Missfresh, a Chinese grocery delivery startup once valued at $3 billion, told hundreds of employees that it had run out of cash, as a group of unpaid suppliers protested at its Beijing offices.


Bikayi’s Disarray: Sequoia, YC-Backed Startup Hit By Fraud Allegations, Seller Exodus (INC42)

According to multiple sources, revenue has dried up in recent months and sellers were deplatformed in early 2022, after which it had to resort to audits and internal investigations, resulting in several terminations and resignations.


Zomato drops to all-time low as lock-in period ends (TECHCRUNCH)

The stock dropped to as low as 46.15 rupees (58 cents) apiece, giving the company a market cap of $4.5 billion, far below the $13.2 billion valuation it accrued on its debut day a year ago and also below the $5.4 billion valuation at which it raised money in a January 2021 financing round as a startup.


Tech-enabled fulfillment company Darwynn closes $20 million pre-seed round (BETAKIT)

Darwynn said its storage solution uses robotic shuttles to travel independently from each storage level, riding on narrow rails. The startup said these robots are able to retrieve stored items at high speeds, ranging from 200 to 700 lines per hour.


VCs Squandered Billions On Scooter Startups. Markets Think They’re Worth A Pittance (CRUNCHBASE)

Early adopters saw scooters as a fast, fun and cost-effective way to get around. Non-adopters saw them as a quick way to end up in the ER. Motorists mostly wished they’d get off the road.

Fast-forward a few years, and it’s apparent this bet hasn’t gone particularly well, with Bird now a penny stock, bringing broader scooter company valuations down for the ride. While scooters are still around, any expectations of solid returns from investments on the space are not.


Ex-Shopify merchants aim to ease supply-chain headaches for online sellers (THE LOGIC)

Dan Li and Sam Chuang started Shypyard in early 2020 to help small and mid-sized online merchants manage their supply chains. They announced an oversubscribed seed round on Wednesday led by Alphabet-backed Gradient Ventures with participation from Canadian angel investors.


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