Sugar's valuation plunge, copper prices surge, the Arcil IPO and more

In this week’s wrapup, we discuss what went wrong with Sugar Cosmetics, whether glass bottles can fill the gap left by aluminium, the Arcil IPO, rising copper prices, and Aditya Birla’s foray into the wires and cables industry.What went wrong with Sugar Cosmetics?Sugar Cosmetics once looked like the perfect poster child for India’s D2C beauty boom.

Investors bought into the story, and by 2022, the company had reached a valuation of around ₹2,700 crore. But today, that valuation has fallen by nearly 80%.So what went wrong?Well, the problem lies in the fact that building a popular beauty brand is much easier than building a profitable one. Sure, Sugar’s digital-first strategy helped it acquire young consumers, but as more brands copied the same playbook, advertising, influencer, and customer-acquisition costs kept rising. And because cosmetics aren’t bought frequently, it can take a long time to recover what a brand spends to acquire each customer than from what they earn from one sale.So, does this just mean the economics of D2C beauty companies aren't working or is it something else that’s leading to Sugar’s downfall?Find out more here.Can glass bottles fill the gap left by aluminium?Aluminium cans have suddenly become a headache for India’s alcohol and beverage companies.

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And while the West Asia crisis may seem like the obvious culprit, there’s actually more to it.A series of events, both global and domestic, has made it surprisingly difficult for companies to get the aluminium they need in the form of cans required to package beverages. And now, with the festive season approaching, they are forced to turn to PET and glass bottles to keep their drinks flowing.But there’s a catch. This workaround comes with its own set of costs and complications.