The Success Story of Flipkart
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted several global industries, including education, health, retail, transportation, and tourism. However, when we concentrate on the E-Commerce sector, we see that the lockdown’s effects have largely been positive for this industry in particular and those involved in it, whether directly or indirectly. This has created a pathway for potential opportunities for the booming sector.
Flipkart is a well-known e-commerce company that has steadily prospered further amid this epidemic. A two-bedroom flat in Koramangala, Bengaluru, where the service first began as an online bookstore in 2007, it is now one of the largest enterprises in India. It serves as an inspiring illustration of the level of success that Indian startups may achieve.
About Flipkart
One of India’s leading e-commerce platforms is Flipkart. It began in October 2007 and has its main office in Bengaluru. The internet business, which Sachin and Binny Bansal founded, started as an online bookstore, but as its notoriety rose, it flourished and expanded its activities.
The portal began selling various additional goods, including music, cell phones, and movies. Flipkart rapidly expanded, steadily adding new product categories to its inventory as e-commerce began transforming the retail industry and gaining traction in India.
The company currently offers more than 80 million products in over 80 different categories, including mobile phones and accessories, computers, laptops, books and e-books, home appliances, electronic goods, clothes and accessories, sports and fitness, baby care, games and toys, jewellery, footwear, and more.
According to Walmart, Flipkart set a record number of monthly active customers in November 2020. The company currently leases more than 1 million square feet of space in several locations, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, etc., to ensure quick delivery to its customer base.
Flipkart Founders
The Bansals brothers, Sachin and Binny, started Flipkart. Both individuals, who graduated from IIT Delhi in 2005, were formally introduced to the retail industry while employed by Amazon. The two connected at work and discussed their shared passion in transforming India’s e-commerce sector.
Due to this, both left their employment at Amazon in 2007 and started working on building a rival e-commerce business that catered particularly to Indian users. The two wanted to give Indians access to an online store developed in India, which is how Flipkart, as we all know it now, came to be.
Flipkart Business Model
One of the country’s leading online retailers, Flipkart, offers over 150 million products across 80 different categories.
The platform uses social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram to advertise its products. Being a business that uses the business-to-consumer model, it allows users to choose their vendors and products from a wide range of possibilities.
With consumers becoming more dependent on online shopping and its ease, the online retail industry has significant potential for future growth, and Flipkart is working to take full use of this trend in their sector’s favour.
The cost of this platform is one of its main USPs. The marketplace is renowned for selling name-brand goods at quite a reasonable pricing. In addition to this, users are given enticing benefits and discounts. Its cash on delivery (COD) function, refund policy, and customer service are a few of its extra advantages.
The Progress of Flipkart
In addition to its hub in Bangalore, Flipkart opened additional locations in Mumbai and Delhi starting in 2009. The platform started its acquisition spree in 2014 when it paid $400 million for Myntra. The platform started looking to spend $70 million to buy the apparel website Jabong later in 2016. The business acquired the e-commerce giant eBay and the payment platform PhonePe in 2017.
Additionally, the platform combined all of its Bangalore operations into a single large complex that spans 8.3 lakh square feet. Flipkart opened an office in Singapore in 2011.
With the purchase of Flipkart by Walmart in 2018, the US retail behemoth now owns 77% of the site.
The CEO of Flipkart from the time of its launch till 2016 was Sachin Bansal. Binny Bansal took over as CEO in 2016, and Sachin was promoted to Executive Chairman. Currently, Tiger Global executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy serves as the company’s CEO.
Flipkart’s acquisition by Walmart was undoubtedly its most transformative moment. Since its launch in 2007, the platform has experienced tremendous growth and development, inspiring the creation of other entrepreneurs throughout the nation.
Flipkart’s Funding
The founders had contributed a total of $5,600 USD as the company’s initial investment. Following this, the company received investments from Accel India and Tiger Global; Tiger Global is still a significant investor.
eBay, Axis Bank, Manhattan Venture Partners, Naspers, and Softbank Vision Fund are a few of the platform’s major backers. The platform’s major turning point came when Walmart bought it for $16 billion, taking a 77% interest in the business.
According to NDTV Gadgets 360, the $1.2 billion (approximately Rs. 9,048 crores) that Flipkart raised in a recent equity round led by its main owner, the US e-commerce behemoth Walmart, was its most recent funding. According to the company, the recently obtained cash will be invested over the remaining fiscal year in two portions.
As of June 2021, the platform is currently in discussions with investors to raise at least $3 billion, including SoftBank Group Corp. and several sovereign wealth funds.
Walmart contributed $560.45 million to the $1.2 billion round Flipkart disclosed in July.
Final Thoughts
As e-commerce services have increased significantly over the last few months, Flipkart offers a lot of promise for continuing to grow in popularity and creating a success story that will be remembered and told by young, ardent entrepreneurs for many years to come.
