After all, talk of Amazon buying into Flipkart has been doing the rounds for long, although the two Bansals have denied it many times before.
Flipkart eyes another $500 mn from eBay, which seeks to merge India ops with it and exit business
Global e-commerce company Amazon has said it sees "substantial uncertainties" in interpretation of Indian laws, which could impact its business in one of the world's fastest-growing multi-billion dollar online shopping market.
According to experts, the company might be trying to ape Amazon, the largest e-commerce player in the world.
As for his interest in space, Amazon founded Blue Origin, a privately funded aerospace company.
Besides Jeff Bezos-led Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart is also facing a threat from Asia's richest man and RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, who is also betting big to grab a share of the country's e-commerce market.
Flipkart Group on Monday said it has raised $3.6 billion (about Rs 26,805.6 crore) in funding led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, valuing the e-commerce giant at $37.6 billion. The company, which competes with Amazon, Reliance Industries' JioMart and others in the burgeoning Indian e-commerce market, said it will continue to make deeper investments across people, technology, supply chain and infrastructure to address the requirements of a rapidly growing consumer base in the country. The current funding round has also seen participation from sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad as well as marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global.
Flipkart has not been able to process with its plans of getting into the grocery vertical and is stuck on running pilots in select cities.
The gig economy market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent to reach a gross volume of $455 billion by the end of 2024, according to a white paper by The Forum for Progressive Gig Workers. Estimates suggest the gig economy has the potential to create 90 million jobs and add 1.25 per cent to India's GDP (gross domestic product) over time.
Fresh capital will help Flipkart further grow its e-commerce marketplace in India as the world's second-largest internet market begins to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
Alnoor Peermohamed & Raghu Krishnan find out why the new CEO is said to be the perfect man for turning around Flipkart's fortunes.
Shopclues, the latest unicorn, was at the bottom of the sector loss pie.
Prominent print advertisements on Monday pitched Amazon's discount strategy against Flipkart's.
The government has imposed a penalty on e-commerce major Amazon for not displaying mandatory information, including the country of origin, of products sold on its platform, according to an official order. Last month, the consumer affairs ministry had issued notices to e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon for not displaying such information. The ministry has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Bengaluru-based Amazon Seller Services as well as each of its directors as per the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the Legal Metrology (Package Commodities) Rules, 2011.
The Bansals losing out operational control of Flipkart comes at a time when global rival Amazon, in which Tiger Global holds a minority stake, is stepping up investment in India in an attempt to overtake the Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm.
In its first acquisition in India, the American online retail giant is planning to buy out the fashion portal
Chinese e-commerce giant planning to enter India this year, will take on global e-retailer
While the investment amount could not be immediately ascertained, a report pegged it at about $2 billion.
Unlike some of India's largest online retailers like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra and Jabong, which are very secretive about their data and use it to cut better deals with brands than their competitors, the Nykaa monetising its insights. If it is is able to do so without giving away any of its advantages to competitors, it could be on to a winning model.
Several firms are stepping up to help their workforce cope with soaring temperatures
'Illegal gambling operators are systematically exploiting India's advertising and payment infrastructure, siphoning off crores of rupees from outside the country.'
Some companies are already seeking review of the new norms.
Growth in demand for diesel, India's most consumed petroleum product, fell to its lowest since the pandemic in the financial year ended March 31 as the economy expands at a slower pace and consumption shifts to cleaner fuels. Diesel consumption rose 2 per cent to 91.4 million tonnes in 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) fiscal, according to provisional data released by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Oil Ministry.
India's internet economy is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030, primarily due to e-commerce, which is expected to be worth $325 billion and rank third globally, according to industry experts. Last year marked a crucial turning point for India's e-commerce sector, with notable changes in consumer trends, technology, and regulations. InGovern Research Services, a leading corporate governance advisory firm, hosted a virtual roundtable to deliberate on the notable developments in India's e-commerce sector in 2023, with a particular focus on the essential role of customer trust in fueling its ongoing expansion.
At present, other large players in the grocery and food retail space include Flipkart Supermart, Bigbasket, and Grofers.
"Some people think I said something negative against Amazon. If you look at the context of my statement, I said investment should come within the law and regulations. This process is followed across the world," the minister told reporters in Ahmedabad when asked to comment on his statement.
Amazon has shot off yet another letter to market regulator Sebi, accusing Future Retail of insider trading and called for an investigation as the US online retailer looks to ratchet up pressure against the Future-RIL deal. Future Group, however, vehemently denied the charges, saying these allegations were "Amazon's ill-motivated attempts to throw everything at the situation to stultify the transaction."
Whether it's Carrefour, Ford, or other foreign majors, they are ready to adjust their strategies and design their plans in a way that would address the Indian consumption story.
'"We want to get the learnings from Flipkart and take it to other parts of the world," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon was quoted as saying.' 'That is a very large tuition fee for an MBA in a country that outdoes Brazil and perhaps even China in busting multinationals' knees and sometimes their heads as they try to crack a market of mostly impoverished people run by a government that has never really given up the sadistic pleasures of administering the license raj,' notes Rahul Jacob.
The partnership will initially focus on the Future Group fashion brands.
This is the sixth consecutive markdown in the valuation of Flipkart by the US firm.
Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday said the company is in compliance with Indian laws, including FDI regulations, and will cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate on the notice sent to the e-commerce major. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show cause notice of Rs 10,600 crore to Flipkart and its promoters for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law, official sources said on Thursday. When contacted, Flipkart said it is in compliance with Indian laws and regulations, including FDI regulations.
Sellers on platform listed products out-of-stock on Monday against increased commission, fees on returns.
Seeks to cut biz costs by 10% for sellers across 24 verticals, by slashing fees and delivery charges.
Google will be able to co-relate data from the first click to the final delivery of product. This kind of knowledge is invaluable, something which even Amazon does not have.
Future, which recently tied up with Amazon in India to sell its fashion and food products exclusively on the American giant's marketplace platform, is looking at a gross merchandise value of about Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) in the next three years from the venture.
The top five most trusted brands are Samsung Mobiles, Sony, LG, Nokia and Tata.
Goyal wondered why an e-commerce market place model, where a firm provides an IT platform for buyers and sellers, was incurring such huge losses adding that it needs to be looked into.
'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
Flipkart, India's largest e-tailer, raised $210 million in a fresh round of funding from a group of four investors led by internet-focussed investment group DST Global, it said in a statement on Monday.
