/
•
•
Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Working together finally, Walmart and Flipkart may have the key to unlock the massive wholesale grocery market.
Editor's note: When Walmart Inc. acquired Flipkart in 2018, it paid 5x of what it paid for an upstart e-commerce player, Jet.com, in the US to compete against its bitter rival, Amazon.com Inc. While Jet was shut down last year, Flipkart has gone in the opposite direction by acquiring its parent’s wholesale business in India. Both Walmart’s India operations and Flipkart’s founding year coincided in 2007 and now over a decade later, it seems Walmart has firmly put its India bet—both retail and wholesale—into a consolidated e-commerce play. The move is significant for two reasons. First, Walmart India's wholesale business is estimated to be in the ballpark of Rs 7,000 crore; the company is the second-largest wholesale cash and carry player in the country by revenue, with Metro Cash & Carry (the Indian subsidiary of German company Metro AG) in first place. Second, Flipkart has little to show in the grocery retail category that Walmart’s wholesale business thrives on (it accounts for around two-thirds of its revenues in India). It is worth reminding again that for all the bluster of e-commerce, including …
Working together finally, Walmart and Flipkart may have the key to unlock the massive wholesale grocery market.
Editor's note: When Walmart Inc. acquired Flipkart in 2018, it paid 5x of what it paid for an upstart e-commerce player, Jet.com, in the US to compete against its bitter rival, Amazon.com Inc. While Jet was shut down last year, Flipkart has gone in the opposite direction by acquiring its parent’s wholesale business in India. Both Walmart’s India operations and Flipkart’s founding year coincided in 2007 and now over a decade later, it seems Walmart has firmly put its India bet—both retail and wholesale—into a consolidated e-commerce play. The move is significant for two reasons. First, Walmart India's wholesale business is estimated to be in the ballpark of Rs 7,000 crore; the company is the second-largest wholesale cash and carry player in the country by revenue, with Metro Cash & Carry (the Indian subsidiary of German company Metro AG) in first place. Second, Flipkart has little to show in the grocery retail category that Walmart’s wholesale business thrives on (it accounts for around two-thirds of its revenues in India). It is worth reminding again that for all the bluster of e-commerce, including …
As the smart fan maker gears up for an IPO, prospective investors could do with some clarity on what the company’s next phase of growth will look like.
The retailer has shrunk operations to fix its loss-making vertical. But a reduced presence risks hurting volumes in a segment dominated by Blinkit and Instamart.
Its acquisition of Kirana Club signals an attempt to find a new growth engine, but grocery retail has been a challenge for even well-funded players.
As the smart fan maker gears up for an IPO, prospective investors could do with some clarity on what the company’s next phase of growth will look like.
The retailer has shrunk operations to fix its loss-making vertical. But a reduced presence risks hurting volumes in a segment dominated by Blinkit and Instamart.
Its acquisition of Kirana Club signals an attempt to find a new growth engine, but grocery retail has been a challenge for even well-funded players.
