Flipkart acquires Walmart India for undisclosed amount

New Delhi: Flipkart on Thursday announced the acquisition of Walmart India for an undisclosed amount, and said it will launch ‘Flipkart Wholesale’ next month, as the homegrown e-commerce major looks to tap into the $650 billion B2B retail market in India.

Walmart India runs 28 Best Price wholesale stores in the country.

The announcement comes a week after Flipkart had said it had raised $1.2 billion in funding from a Walmart-led investor group. In 2018, Walmart Inc had invested $16 billion for acquiring 77 per cent stake in the group.

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Flipkart signs MoU with Karnataka govt to promote local art, craft and handlooms

Flipkart signs MoU with Karnataka govt to promote local art, craft and handlooms

Bengaluru: Flipkart on Friday, July 10 said it has signed an MoU with Karnataka MSME and Mines department to promote the states’ arts, crafts, and handloom sectors by bringing them on to e-commerce and providing market access.

The partnership under the Flipkart Samarth program will enable local artisans, weavers, and craftsmen of Karnataka to showcase their hallmark products to a pan-India customer base, the company said in a release.

“Both the Government of Karnataka and the Flipkart Group will focus on creating avenues to increase business and trade inclusion opportunities for these underserved segments of the society, thereby adding further thrust to Made in India efforts,” it said.

The partnership will see renowned Karnataka based brands- Cauvery – Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation and Priyadarshini Handlooms, part of Karnataka Handlooms Development Corporation joining the Flipkart Samarth program.

“The collaboration with Flipkart will be instrumental in driving commercial and social development in the state. This partnership will help in taking the local handicrafts and handlooms businesses of Karnataka to a national consumer base,” Principal Secretary, Department of MSME and Mines, Maheshwar Rao said.

He said MSMEs in the state will also benefit from skills of branding, digital marketing, and financial management while showcasing the locally made high-quality products.

Flipkart said its Samarth program seeks to break entry barriers for artisans by extending time-bound incubation support, which includes benefits in the form of onboarding, free cataloging, marketing, account management, business insights, and warehousing support.

“These are challenging times, and as a homegrown platform, we believe it is our responsibility to boost local businesses and catalyze ecosystem partnerships to help transform them,” Flipkart Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar said.

Flipkart includes Kannada, Tamil, Telugu on its platform

Flipkart includes Kannada, Tamil, Telugu on its platform

Bengaluru: Flipkart, a homegrown e-commerce marketplace, on Wednesday enabled three new languages on its platform – Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada – as part of its vision to make online commerce more inclusive and accessible for Indian language users.

The launch would help reduce barriers to e-commerce for native language speakers, the company said in a statement.

“Following the launch of Hindi interface last year, the new regional languages interface have been built on Flipkarts Localisation and Translation Platform that will empower customers to comfortably undertake an end-to-end e- commerce journey in their local language with ease,” the statement said.

Walmart says Flipkart’s ‘limited operations’ negatively affected Q1 growth

Walmart says Flipkart’s ‘limited operations’ negatively affected Q1 growth

New Delhi: Retail major Walmart on Tuesday said “limited operations” by its Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart amid coronavirus outbreak has “negatively affected growth” of its international business in the March 2020 quarter.

Walmart group’s overall net sales stood at USD 133.67 billion during the reported period, logging a growth of 8.7 percent.

Walmart International, which is present in nine markets including China, Japan, Mexico, the UK apart from India, saw sales growing by 3.4 percent to USD 29.76 billion in the January-March period, with e-commerce accounting for 9 percent sales.

“E-commerce contributed 9 percent of total segment net sales, led by growth in China, Canada, UK, and Mexico. Limited operations of the company’s Flipkart business in India for a portion of the quarter negatively affected growth,” said Walmart in a post-earnings statement.

India is presently under an unprecedented lockdown since March 25 to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government imposed the lockdown, restricting commercial activities and vehicular movements, among other curbs.

While in the US market Walmart recorded a 74 percent growth in its e-commerce business.

“Store pickup and delivery, ship to home, ship from store and marketplace channels were strong throughout the quarter,” it said.

During the quarter, Walmart International’s gross profit increased 10 basis points on a reported basis, primarily due to the company’s Flipkart business.

However, this was “partially offset by an outsized change in mix towards lower margin categories and formats in response to COVID-19”, said Walmart.

During the quarter, Flipkart had also announced the partnership with ride-hailing platform Uber to deliver everyday essentials to customers.

Flipkart partners Meru for essentials delivery

Flipkart partners Meru for essentials delivery

New Delhi: Walmart-owned Flipkart on Wednesday, April 29 said it has partnered with cab operator Meru to deliver grocery and essential items to customers in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad amid the nationwide lockdown.

Previously, the e-commerce major had tied up with Uber for a similar service for people in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi.

“Flipkart and Meru have partnered to provide people access to grocery and essential items as people stay indoors, supporting ‘social distancing’ during the ongoing lockdown,” a statement said.

It added that this partnership will help in delivery to Flipkart customers at their doorstep across Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad through the safe and sanitized supply chain.

“Flipkart Group is committed to customers as India fights this unprecedented battle. This partnership with Meru is a result of our teams exploring new, innovative ways to drive value for our ecosystem of sellers, brands, partners, and customers to ensure the safe and swift availability of grocery and essential goods,” Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

“The company has a very secure and safe supply chain where standard operating procedures are followed diligently,” he added.

“Meru will use its fleet to ensure the timely and safe delivery of essentials to Flipkart’s large customer base in a hassle-free manner. This service will also offer our driver-partners an additional earning opportunity during this challenging time,” Meru Mobility Tech founder and CEO Neeraj Gupta said.

“In line with the government guidelines, Meru is providing its ozone sanitized fleet to help Flipkart with their deliveries. The dispatch hubs have been installed with Ozone Air Purifier, encouraging all driver-partners to sanitize their cabs,” the statement said.

“Meru driver-partners will undergo Flipkart’s training module for a better understanding of its processes for safe and timely delivery of the grocery items, while the cab operator is educating and updating its driver-partners on various preventive measures like using alcohol-based sanitizers and wearing face masks to curb the spread of the virus,” it added.

E-commerce companies are allowed to sell only essential items like grocery, healthcare, and pharmaceutical products amid the nationwide lockdown – likely to end on May 3 – that has been imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus infection.