With District by Zomato clocking a Net Order Value (NOV) of Rs 2,063 crore in Q2FY26—up 32% YoY—Eternal’s third major vertical is moving beyond its early experimentation stage. In a conversation with Anees Hussain, Rahul Ganjoo, CEO, District by Zomato, talks about why he believes the real opportunity in the ‘going-out’ business lies in solving the entire consumer journey rather than just the transaction. Excerpts:
Ticketing is software, but ground reality—traffic, infrastructure—is a hardware problem. How deep are you going into operations?
We believe the venue determines the experience, not just the artist. For example, we are importing and owning Norwegian technology for toilets to solve hygiene issues rather than using standard local portaloos. We already own the Terraform venue in Bengaluru and plan to own more to improve unit economics. We are also investing in peripheral assets. At MMRDA grounds in Mumbai, building and destroying a ‘mini-city’ for every show in 24 hours is inefficient. We are now buying our own inventory, from stage setups to the tarps used to prevent dust, to reuse across events. We want to own the experience end-to-end, not just the ticket code.
Is the plan to own only large arenas?
We are scouting for all formats, but a major gap is the lack of “stepping stone” venues holding 500 to 2,000 people. The artist discovery funnel is currently broken. You need a pipeline where an artist sells out a 500-seater today to graduate to a stadium later. We want to build these micro-venues to create that supply chain. It also builds habit—if there’s a quality venue with a Rs 300-500 ticket, you will go every Friday regardless of the artist.
Rahul on District’s future plans
Is District planning to enter the resale market?
Currently, resale is the wild west. But often, the need for resale actually is a tour planning issue. If a Tier-1 artist announces a single city show, 60% of the audience will fly in. If a second city is announced days later, those early buyers feel cheated. That panic drives the frenzy. We are minimising that through better planning. As for the resale market itself, we are working with regulators. When we have clarity, we will address it. For now, we are adding security features to make unauthorised transfers difficult.
Will District offer integrated solutions beyond just the ticket, like travel or stays?
Absolutely. For Rolling Loud, we integrated with MakeMyTrip so users could book travel packages within the ticket flow. All allocated packages sold out completely. We also partnered with Uber for mobility. The idea is to solve the entire journey. You will see more of these value services because for us, the event doesn’t start at the venue gate, it starts at discovery and when you decide to go.
How do you plan to increase revenue potential in the events’ off-season?
We can’t rely only on open-air concerts. We are building a calendar of “all-weather” content, like Titanic, Marvel, or F1 immersive art exhibits. These are high-ticket, weather-proof formats that keep revenue flowing even when outdoor events are impossible like monsoons.
Rahul on UAE plans for District
Will you also look to build infrastructure in the UAE?
It was a natural move because 60-65% of the audience is South Asian. The content overlap with India—artists and organisers—gave us an immediate right to win. However, right now UAE is a pure ticketing play because the infrastructure is already solved. Venues like Etihad Arena, and Coca Cola Arena are plug and play, where an artist can enter 4 hours before a show and leave 2 hours after. We don’t need to build the “mini-city” we build in Indian cities.
How has your recently launched BNPL feature performed?
We launched a BNPL for the first time at Rolling Loud as a product to solve for affordability, and the uptake was massive, 40% of total tickets were sold via this channel with near-zero defaults. We didn’t need an NBFC because we built it as a layaway model: pay a percentage now to block the ticket, the rest later. If you don’t pay, you forfeit it. It is a risk-free way to make premium experiences accessible to a wider demographic.
What problems are the new verticals ‘Stores’ and ‘Play’ solving?
In ‘Stores’, we are bridging online fintech and offline retail. Discovery of affordability is broken offline, so we launched a feature that detects your credit cards to show No-Cost EMI options at the specific store you are in. We are also testing privileges like skipping billing queues or booking changing rooms. In ‘Play’ (sports arena bookings), the friction is social. We are solving payment splits, so one person doesn’t have to chase 11 others for turf fees. We are also fixing matchmaking with technology. Today, with advanced video processing systems, we are able to map skills through a video upload.
What differentiation are you bringing into movies and dining?
Movies and dining are mature businesses; they aren’t in the experimental phase like ‘Play’ or ‘Stores’. Our focus there is using tech innovation to improve the journey—like integrating F&B seamlessly when you book a cinema seat. We recently launched District Pass, a platform-wide membership designed to drive habit across all these verticals. The goal is to make District the default choice for any going- out occasion, whether it’s a Friday movie or a Sunday brunch.