One of the leading contenders in the Indian e-commerce space, Snapdeal has seen its fortunes falling amid strong competition from Amazon and Flipkart.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is in India this week and is expected to meet top government functionaries, business leaders and SMBs.
Prominent print advertisements on Monday pitched Amazon's discount strategy against Flipkart's.
When Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was conceived last December, the idea was to reduce the dominance of e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart. It was also to bring in a level-playing field for small merchants in India's fragmented but fast-growing $1-trillion retail market. However, those goals have changed now as large e-commerce players such as Flipkart, Amazon and Ecom Express are in various levels of talks with the ONDC team. They want to form partnerships like integrating with the network as well as providing their expertise to build it, according to the industry sources.
Flipkart and Snapdeal take a cue from Amazon even as they differ on who is ahead in the race
Probe has allegedly found calculation errors by Amazon. The company paid higher GST but instead of claiming refund took wrong input tax credit.
This is the sixth consecutive markdown in the valuation of Flipkart by the US firm.
'"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 case may drag for a few years, experts say, as CAIT and DVM have said they will appeal against the interim relief granted to Amazon.
"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.
'We are having an outsize impact not only on the lives of the customers and livelihood, but also the economy of India.'
The latest infusion brings the total capital pumped into Amazon's e-commerce business in India to Rs 22,390 crore
The online retailer offers largest assortment of products.
According to industry studies, the Hindi Internet user base is likely to outgrow the English user base by 2021 and along with Marathi and Bengali users, will drive volume growth.
Seeks to cut biz costs by 10% for sellers across 24 verticals, by slashing fees and delivery charges.
Sellers on platform listed products out-of-stock on Monday against increased commission, fees on returns.
As Amazon India, Flipkart are forced to shut down 60 categories and push out 45 mn products, a new lobby group comprising sellers is in the making to take up e-com concerns.
In October 2012, Flipkart entered the menswear segment; later it launched a womenswear range
The e-commerce industry is expected to return to high growth next year as large players such as Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall begin to look beyond the 20 million customers who shop online on a monthly basis.
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.
Kishore Biyani led-Future Group has filed a caveat before the Delhi high court requesting it to be heard if any plea is filed by e-commerce major Amazon over its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Mukesh Ambani-led RIL. Anticipating a move by Amazon, which had got an interim arbitration award in its favour, putting the announced deal on hold, the Future Group firm has moved the Delhi high court.
Amazon India Country Head Amit Agarwal refers to all talk of mergers as 'noise'. 'All this is a distraction, when the focus should be on the customer,' he says.
Flipkart aims to double the total value of goods it sells to $8 billion in the next three years.
The deal that promises to make Flipkart a leading force in fashion segment - estimated at Rs 3 lakh crore - came after hectic weekend parleys.
Amazon Fashion flaunts its triple digit month-on-month growth, races ahead of competitors Flipkart, Jabong and Myntra.
Earlier this month, retail associations across the country held a meeting with the hardware manufacturers industry body -- MAIT -- to raise the issue of undercutting prices.
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.
Amazon's Indian unit said earlier it will open five new warehouses in the country, which will almost double its storage capacity to half a million square feet.
Leading up to Valentine's Day on February 14, quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart have witnessed a phenomenal uptick in the sales of products related to the occasion, such as roses and chocolates. Meanwhile, e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart have gone live with their respective Valentine's Day sale events, offering generous discounts on products. Sales of chocolates and roses on Zomato-owned Blinkit shattered previous records at the beginning of this year's Valentine's Day week, on February 7, which is celebrated as Rose Day.
The new deal will value Flipkart at close to $19 billion on the secondary market, a huge jump from Walmart's initial offer to investors.
Although Walmart-Flipkart wholesale game-plan is to target about a $150 billion market out of a total pie of $700 billion in the country, the consolidation marks the end of the multi-brand dream of the American retail giant.
The Walmart chief stated that the values of the two companies were "very much aligned"
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According to sector officials and watchers, the funding (among the largest so far in the segment) from its existing investors -- Naspers, Accel Partners, Tiger Global and Iconiq Capital -- might be a sign of confidence they have in the company but it's still unsure if it will be enough for Flipkart to turn a corner and become profitable.
Indian Sellers Collective (ISC), a trade association of micro and small enterprises and family businesses, on Wednesday urged IT veteran NR Narayana Murthy to cooperate in the Competition Commission of India's antitrust probe against Amazon for alleged anti-competitive practices. In 2014, Murthy's Catamaran and Amazon had formed a joint venture, Prione Business Services. On Monday, the partners announced that they have mutually decided not to continue the JV beyond May 2022. ISC thanked Murthy for deciding to end the joint venture with Amazon.
The move comes after Flipkart decided to pass on shipping costs to its sellers, including charging them for reverse logistics.
Flipkart's valuation of $15.2 bn arrived at during latest round of $700-mn fund raise.
'If you are watching cricket and don't want to leave the screen, you could check the menu and order through Zomato (or any other app) from a small part of your screen. That is what we are working towards.'
He said he will be 'cheering from the outside' and urged Flipkart team to continue with the momentum.
From a modest two-bedroom apartment in Koramangala, the Bengaluru-headquarted company now has multiple offices across the country.
US mutual funds Valic Co 1 and Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, which have minority stake in Flipkart, have marked down the value of their stocks in the company
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