The company made headlines in September 2022 when it disclosed its financial statements after nearly an 18-month delay, with losses increasing to Rs 4,588 crore and sales remaining at Rs 2,428 crore.
BYJU’S will not renew its branding partnerships with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), the ICC (International Cricket Council), and FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) as it seeks to cover costs and become profitable in FY23, according to the company’s founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos.
“The largest optimization that you will see over the coming few months is that you will see us dramatically reducing down branding because we think we have achieved the kind of brand awareness which is essential for the segment as well as for the firm. “As a result, you will notice us exiting some of those branding contracts,” Byju Raveendran told Moneycontrol.
In September of last year, the company made headlines when it released its financial statements after nearly an 18-month wait, with losses increasing to Rs 4,588 crore and revenues falling to Rs 2,428 crore.
“Some of the partnerships will not be renewed. We have many partnerships with BCCI, ICC, and FIFA, and by discontinuing these branding activities and not renewing them, you are putting yourself at risk.
The year 2022 was tough for the edtech major. Following the release of its financial results, the corporation announced the layoff of 5% of its workers in October. And just as the Bengaluru-based corporation appeared to be entering a period of relative peace following major layoffs to focus on capital-efficient expansion, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) investigated it for suspected hard-selling and mis-selling of its courses to students.
Furthermore, when the corporation announced Lionel Messi as the brand ambassador of its non-profit effort, it received a lot of anger.
Raveendran told Business Today, “The last six months were hard, but the next six years are going to be terrific.” He also stated that the corporation has “shifted from simply an expansion to sustainable growth.”
The creator of the edtech unicorn revealed that WhiteHatJr was the most difficult of BYJU’s six acquisitions.
BYJU’S paid $300 million for WhiteHatJr in 2020. Raveendran stated that at the time, extending this offer felt reasonable given the company was receiving proposals worth more than $300 million. Furthermore, he stated that the Karan Bajaj-led company was doing well at the time.
“It’s simple to claim today that we shouldn’t have made that purchase. We have not been able to resolve the issue of student acquisition costs. As a result, we’ve struggled with the WhiteHat Jr acquisition, which I’ve accepted.”
He stated that, in addition to WhiteHatJr, other acquisitions, such as Aakash Institutes, had been successful. He stated that Aakash has grown threefold and Great Learning, another company acquired by BYJU’S, has increased double.
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