Flipkart to host six-day 'Big Billion Days' festive sale from October 16

 E-commerce firm Flipkart on Saturday revealed the timeline of its flagship sale event of the year, 'The Big Billion Days' (BBD), which will commence from October 16. The six-day event aims to tap the country’s festive season, as millions of consumers, sellers, artisans, and brands are expected to come online to buy and sell products.

The BBD this year will bring offers each hour from lakhs of sellers and thousands of brands across categories. Further, Flipkart Plus customers will be able to have an ‘early access’ on October 15.

“This festive event continues to focus on Flipkart’s commitment to providing value for consumers, opportunities for growth for MSMEs (medium and small enterprises) and sellers, and employment generation through e-commerce,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group. “Through strong partnerships with brands and sellers, we have tapped into the power of interconnected businesses and technology to bring consumers a wide range of products at great prices at their doorsteps this festive season.”

Walmart-owned Flipkart has enabled new and convenient payment offerings on its platform, to pave the way for an inclusive and consumer-centric shopping experience. Flipkart consumers shopping during BBD will be able to avail a 10 per cent instant discount through their SBI debit and credit cards. No-cost EMIs will be made available to consumers through offers from Bajaj Finserv EMI cards and other leading bank credit and debit cards. Flipkart has also partnered with digital payments firm Paytm to offer assured cashback to consumers paying through Paytm Wallet and Paytm UPI. Debit-card EMIs on select cards (with no minimum balance) and Flipkart Pay Later continue to bring credit access to consumers.

Flipkart said it would offer deals across categories such as mobile, TVs and appliances, fashion, beauty and food. The other categories include toys, baby care, home and kitchen, furniture and grocery. Flipkart’s Private Brands are being offered by the lakhs of sellers and Flipkart Samarth artisans, weavers, handicraft makers, and other under-served communities,

Flipkart has also forged new strategic partnerships with top brands across each category to bring a wide assortment of products and deals to ensure that consumers from metros to tier-IV cities look forward to BBD. Moreover, this festive season consumers will also experience 2GUD through its social commerce platform. They would be able to witness an uninterrupted video shopping experience with their favourite influencers showcasing the best offers on the latest fashion trends, gadgets and beauty.

Flipkart is also working with celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Virat Kohli, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Sudeep Kiccha, and Mahesh Babu, who will be seen in creative avatars as they engage with the BBD event.

Flipkart halts new order from Tuesday night, to resume in a few days

Flipkart, one of the two largest e-commerce platforms, will stop taking new orders on its site starting Tuesday night, according to internal communication sent minutes earlier.

“We want to first disable taking all orders and then start enabling categories in a sequential manner,” Adarsh Menon, senior vice president, Flipkart said in an email to employees.

The directive follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Tuesday announcement of a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

It comes hours after Amazon, the other large e-tailer, said it was suspending the delivery of non-essential products and prioritising household staples, packaged foods, and healthcare items.

“All the 3 supply chains viz. grocery, non large and large will stop taking orders from tonight or tomorrow morning,” said Menon.

“Leadership will evaluate how to get supply chains back in consultation with government and stakeholders but as of now the platform will not accept any orders.”

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A Flipkart spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Flipkart has earlier told sellers that it shutting down all fulfilment centres till April 2, and would not pickup products stored at seller warehouses.

Amazon, in a blogpost published Tuesday, gave buyers the option to cancel pending orders and claim refund.

E-commerce operations across the board have been disrupted for a week. Indians observed a self-imposed quarantine on Sunday, and on Tuesday it was extended to be followed from March 25 to April 15.

Major disruption is faced by grocery delivery firms like BigBasket and Grofers, which have seen their orders shoot up over the last week.

Both these firms have had to shut down warehouses in North India, and go back on orders. BigBasket app crashed several times on Tuesday.

Despite the government assuring that e-commerce deliveries were allowed — later saying that only essential items should be delivered — there are reports of delivery boys being harassed by on-ground police.

NCLAT asks CCI to probe against Flipkart over alleged unfair practices

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday asked the fair trade regulator CCI to initiate again the probe against Flipkart for an alleged use of its dominant position.

A three-member bench of the NCLAT headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya has set aside the earlier order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in this regard.

Earlier, the CCI had absolved e-commerce major Flipkart of unfair practices using its dominant position.

The appellate tribunal has directed the CCI to ask its probe arm Director General (DG) to investigate into the allegations. "We set aside the order passed by CCI...," the bench said adding that the fair trade regulator "is directed to initiate probe againstFlipkart." The NCLAT said that the All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA) has successfully made its case here. Passing an order on November 6, 2018, the CCI had held that the business practices of Flipkart and Amazon are not in violation of competition norms and rejected allegations of abuse of market dominance made by AIOVA.

The AIOVA had alleged abuse of market dominance against Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, which is into wholesale trading/distribution of books, mobiles, computers and related accessories, and e-commerce marketplace Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd. The CCI had ruled that looking at the present market construct and structure of online marketplace platforms in India, "it does not appear that any one player in the market is commanding any dominant position at this stage of evolution of market".

NCLAT revokes insolvency proceedings against Flipkart for alleged default

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside the order of the NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings against e-commerce major Flipkart.

A three-member bench of the NCLAT released Flipkart from the corporate insolvency resolution process and directed the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) appointed by NCLT to handover the records and assets of the company back to its promoter immediately.

Earlier, on October 24, 2019, the Bengaluru Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had admitted the insolvency plea filed by Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies, an operational creditor of Flipkart.

"We set aside the impugned order dated October 24, 2019 passed by the adjudicating authority (NCLT) and the application filed under Section 9 by the operational creditor Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies Pvt Ltd, company petition is rejected," said NCLAT.

It further said: "The Flipkart India Pvt Ltd (corporate debtor) is released from the corporate insolvency resolution process."

NCLAT order came over a petition filed by Neeraj Jain, Director of Flipkart India Private Ltd.

"Interim resolution professional will handover the records and assets of the corporate debtor to the promoter immediately, who will manage the corporate debtor," it added on its order passed on February 24.

Flipkart's operational creditor Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies, which used to supply the e-commerce major imported LED TVs, had filed a petition before NCLT contending that Flipkart defaulted for an amount of Rs 26.95 crore.

However, it was rejected by NCLAT saying that the demand notice delivered under Section 8(1) of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was "not proper and was also incomplete".

"The operational creditor failed to submit any documents to prove in existence of the operational debt and the amount in default," the appellate tribunal said observing that Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies also failed to submit the copy of invoices and copies of all the documents referred in the application.

Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies had contended that Flipkart contacted it in selling its product of LED TVs and entered into a supply agreement on December 29, 2016.

As per the agreement, it would receive the purchase order, after which it will import and procure the required quantities of LED TVs and deliver the same to Flipkart at its desired location.

According to the operational creditor, Flipkart received delivery of the first few batches but after that it avoided taking delivery of the LED TVs on the ground of lack of warehouse space.

It further submitted that later, Flipkart started delaying the collection of the LED TVs, and in some instances did not collect them at all.

In an attempt to gain more profit out of the goods ordered, Flipkart was putting pressure on Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies to offer the already imported and warehoused LED TVs, at a discounted price.

Later, the operational creditor demanded payment of the LED TVs procured and imported from October 11, 2017 to December 1, 2017, based on the import and the purchase order issued by Flipkart, which failed to collect more than 70 per cent of the stock as ordered by them till March 2018.

It issued a demand notice on June 8, 2019.

This was rejected by Flipkart, saying that there was no admitted debt or liability and an amount of Rs 85.57 crore was paid.

Challenging the order of NCLT, Flipkart contended that the order was passed without appreciating the fact that Cloudwalker Streaming has not produced any documentary evidence as purchase orders, acceptance letters, invoices and proof of any intimation of sale to the end customers or any post-delivery services with specific reference to the amounts.

Moreover, claim for damages cannot amount to an operational debt under IBC and hence it can not be treated to have committed default, contended Flipkart.

Consenting to submissions of Flipkart, NCLAT said: "The operational creditor has failed to submit the relevant documents under which the debt has become due."

On August 18, 2018 US retail major Walmart had completed acquisition of 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion, a deal which gave the US retailer access to the Indian e-commerce market.

Now, Flipkart challenges India anti-trust probe after Amazon gets stay

E-commerce firm Flipkart has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI’s) order on probing some of its business practices. The move comes just a week after Amazon secured an interim stay on the probe from the high court.

The CCI ordered an investigation against e-commerce players last month after the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, a traders’ body, filed a complaint against the firms’ practices like giving deep discounts on online sales of smartphones and cherry-picking sellers.

The investigation covered Flipkart and Amazon. In its writ petition, Amazon had made the CCI, DVM and Flipkart respondents. After hearing the case for three consecutive days, the court granted an interim stay on the investigation.

In its petition, Flipkart is also expecting to get a similar “stay order”, according to the sources.

“Flipkart is challenging the same CCI order, which was also opposed by Amazon last week. Though the order has been stayed, Flipkart had not challenged it technically,” said a person with knowledge about Flipkart’s writ petition. “It would be a very short hearing because the court has already taken a view on the matter and there might be a hearing soon,” said the person.

According to legal experts, Flipkart had to file the petition as it was one of the respondents in the one filed by Amazon and its legal counsel had also argued against the CCI’s order. “The Karnataka High Court has issued an interim stay of the CCI probe. We are a party to the CCI order and a respondent in Amazon’s writ against the order,” said a Flipkart spokesperson. “Given this position and the high court Stay, as a procedural matter, we are filing a writ,” the spokesperson said.

According to sources, Flipkart’s main contention revolves around Section 19 (3) of the Competition Act, which stipulates six parameters that the competition watchdog needs to consider while evaluating if a firm has flouted norms. These include creation of barriers to new entrants, driving existing competitors out of the market, and improvements in production or distribution of goods or provision of services. Flipkart’s petition talks about how some of those parameters were not considered by the CCI while ordering for a probe, according to sources.

“In the Amazon vs CCI hearing last week, Flipkart pointed out the legality of the CCI’s probe order and by filing this petition, it is reinforcing that,” said a person familiar with the development. The HC found no merit in CCI’s order. According to an analysis of the order, the CCI did not follow set norms for such matters. The order says Flipkart submitted that jurisdiction of the high court under Article 226 of the Constitution was upheld by the Supreme Court in the Bharti Airtel case.

Unless a prima facie case is made out, investigation under section 26(1) of the Competition Act cannot be ordered. The impugned order does not disclose jurisdictional facts and satisfaction of the CCI with regard to the prima facie case, they said.

The story so far

Flipkart’s petition in Karnataka High Court revolves around the Competition Commission of India not following the norms set for such matters

Its rival Amazon had filed a petition for the same order and was granted a stay

The Karnataka HC has prima facie not found merit in the CCI’s order

The court has granted the respondents eight weeks to file a counter

Trade body CAIT says the petition by Flipkart meant these firms are scared of the government investigation

After Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart challenges India antitrust probe

Walmart's Flipkart has filed a legal challenge against an antitrust investigation ordered against the company in India, a court filing seen by Reuters showed, following a similar petition by its rival Amazon.com Inc.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in January ordered a probe into alleged violations of competition law and certain discounting practices by the two e-commerce giants, but a state court put the investigation on hold last week following a challenge by Amazon.

Flipkart's legal filing was aimed at signalling the company is aggrieved by the CCI's probe order, a person familiar with the matter said.

The filing comes days ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to India, and amid U.S. concerns about India's tightening of foreign investment rules for the ecommerce sector.

In its Feb. 18 court filing in southern Bengaluru city, which is not public, Flipkart argues the CCI ordered its probe without initial evidence that the company's practices were harming competition.

Flipkart said the CCI order was "perverse (and) passed without any application of mind".

"Such an order exposes responsible corporate entities ... to the rigors of an intrusive investigation prejudicially affecting not only its credibility and reputation, but also its commercial prospects," said Flipkart, urging the court to quash the probe.

A spokesman for Flipkart did not comment on the contents of the filing, saying it was a "procedural matter". The case is likely to be heard next week.

The CCI did not respond to a request for comment.

Amazon and Flipkart have faced criticism from Indian retailers which accuse them of violating local laws by racking up billions of dollars of losses to fund deep discounts and discriminating against small sellers.

The companies deny the allegations.

The antitrust probe was ordered after a New Delhi-based trader group complained that the e-commerce giants were promoting select sellers and in turn hurting business for other smaller players.

Flipkart in its filing said the CCI had "failed in its duty" to close the frivolous complaint and an investigation would harm the company's reputation, lead to significant managerial time loss and legal costs.

Flipkart aims to penetrate tier 2 cities of India with cheaper deals

E-commerce platform Flipkart has decided to focus on tier 2 cities of India and resort to value play instead of delivery speed, taking a long-term view of its business strategy in the country .

Flipkart is of the view that this differentiator will work in its favour to grow its business further.

“From being a start-up unicorn, we have emerged as a sizeable company and there is a need to take a long-term view to grow the business for the future. We have been focussing on tier 2 business but it has become more intense now. We want to be a value player focussed on tier 2 locations”, Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer at Flipkart, told Business Standard.

Since, fashion is the biggest category for India's largest online retailer, sales from tier 1-3 locations now account for around 70 per cent of the total sales and the micro-small sellers account for 80 per cent of the total sales in terms of value.

Kumar said that the focus of the firm is on offering products at the best possible price so that value-seeking consumers can be tapped. “Delivery (speed) will follow automatically”, he said.

The focus on rural and semi-rural belts come after US retail giant Walmart picked up a controllable 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for $16 billion in 2018.

Kumar said that although Walmart has representatives on the Flipkart board, it doesn’t intervene in its day-to-day operations. In effect, decisions are governed and taken by the board.

The company has been growing its seller base of MSMEs through direct reach and collaboration with industry bodies. The e-commerce platform now has 200,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) firms as active members on the platform.

The online retail giant has also been focussing on roping in more artisans and has come up with the Samarth programme which has been designed to guide artisans to sell online and become familiar with the online model of sales. Under this initiative, artisans are helped with onboarding, cataloguing, account management, business insights, dedicated seller support, reduced commission where eligible, and warehousing support.

Flipkart has been working with NGOs and state governments to tap more artisans as well as rural entrepreneurs, with a special focus on women-led enterprises, differently abled entrepreneurs, artisans, and weavers, who often face obstacles such as lack of access to working capital, poor infrastructure, and inadequate training.

According to the official, Flipkart has been befitting form the slowdown as consumers are shifting to online ordering which offers better value than offline players.

“Because of our value proposition, we have been getting more business in times of the slowdown”, Kumar told this newspaper.

Flipkart ups physical retail presence to take on rivals, boost business

Walmart-owned Flipkart may absorb Walmart India’s wholesale business, which includes 28 Best Price stores and three warehouse properties, as the two groups look at consolidating operating units and driving synergies, said people in the know. If the amalgamation goes through, Flipkart will acquire a sizable physical retail footprint, which will likely complement its core e-commerce business.

Flipkart, which operates Myntra marketplace and PhonePe payments app, will use Walmart India’s centres as stocking and fulfilment units for fast-moving items, such as groceries, consumer packaged foods (CPGs), and kitchen inputs, the sources said. This will enable faster hyperlocal deliveries of these items.

According to a media report, Flipkart may also use these units to strengthen its own business-to-business (B2B) sourcing business, which will now be focused on selling inventory to kirana stores. A spokesperson from Flipkart declined to comment on the matter.

In September, Flipkart had said it brought onto its platform 27,000 kirana stores in non-metro cities to expand its reach. Taking those partnerships a step further, the e-commerce player may now start supplying to them as well. The move follows the launch of JioMart, the e-commerce venture by Reliance Industries, which has partnered with thousands of kiranas to sell on JioMart, and also buy through it.

“The customer base of Flipkart and Walmart wholesale is very different. Flipkart’s customer base is consumers, while Walmart’s is quasi-consumers,” said Devangshu Dutta, CEO at retail-focused consulting firm Third Eyesight. “But as fulfilment points or inventory holding points, there would definitely be synergies.”

The development comes at a time e-tailers are taking an omnichannel approach to grow business. In August 2019, Amazon had signed a deal to acquire 50 per cent in a joint venture with Future Group, the operator of Big Bazaar and Easy Day chains, which also gave the former a stake in Future Retail.

As part of the deal, Amazon India has become the authorised online sales channel for all Future Retail stores. Amazon also owns 5 per cent in the Shoppers Stop chain.

“Flipkart’s digital capability and Walmart’s supply chain will create competition for Amazon and Jio,” said Vishnu Gullipalli, CEO and solution advisor, Retail Insights, a retail technology consultancy firm.

“Flipkart leadership in the B2C segment will help extend its position in the B2B market, especially in the grocery category. Flipkart last-mile delivery strength will make the B2B2C space relatively exciting,” said Gullipalli.

Walmart India was set up in 2007 as Bharti Walmart, a joint venture between Walmart and Bharti Enterprises. The JV was dissolved in 2013. Walmart has faced challenges scaling the business in India, both before and after Bharti Enterprises’s exit. In FY19, it posted a Rs 172-crore loss; it earned Rs 4,065 crore as revenues.

“If you look at their growth strategy medium- to long term, they are tapping into India’s retail sector. They are trying to be a retailer in India. Walmart had to follow the wholesale route because its JV with Bharti fell through. Amazon is following a financial portfolio route. One way or the other, the target is to be a retailer,” said Dutta.

Flipkart-owned PhonePe receives Rs 585.6-cr infusion from parent firm

Flipkart-owned digital payments company PhonePe has received a fund infusion of about Rs 585.66 crore from its parent firm in another round, according to regulatory filings.

PhonePe Pvt Ltd, Singapore, (formerly Flipkart Payments Pvt Ltd) was allotted 13,81,278 shares and the total amount paid was Rs 585,66,18,720, according to documents sourced by business intelligence platform Tofler

The company declined to comment on the fund infusion.

In July this year, PhonePe had received a fund infusion of about Rs 698 crore from its parent firm.

The latest fund infusion is expected to provide PhonePe more muscle to compete in the burgeoning payments segment in India. It competes against the likes of Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and others in this space.

Paytm had recently announced a USD 1 billion (around Rs 7,173 crore) fund raise led by the US-based asset management firm T Rowe Price. Existing investors Alibaba, Softbank and Discovery Capital had also participated in the funding round.

Digital payments have seen significant growth in India after the government's demonetisation drive in 2016. Players like PhonePe and Paytm have witnessed strong growth in user base as well as transaction value and volumes.

PhonePe has seen its losses mount to Rs 1,904.72 crore in 2018-19 from a loss of Rs 791.03 crore for the year ended March 2018.

However, its revenue from operations rose manifold to Rs 184.22 crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 42.79 crore a year ago.

Previously, PhonePe had stated that it had seen 380 million transactions on its platform in August 2019, as compared to 290 million in the month of June.

There have also been reports that Flipkart is looking at hiving off PhonePe into a separate entity, a move that would help the payments company raise funds independently.

With billions in pockets, Amazon, Walmart run into 70 mn Indian shopkeepers

In the heart of New Delhi’s largest wholesale bazaar, merchants who normally compete with each other have united against a common enemy.

“Amazon, Flipkart!” one merchant after another shouts into a microphone from a small stage in Sadar Bazaar’s central traffic circle. Some 50 other shopkeepers gathered around shout back in unison: “Go back! Go back!”

The sit-in, which created more chaos than usual among the rickshaws, motorbikes and ox-carts plying the market road, was one of as many as 700 protests against Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. -- owner of local e-commerce leader Flipkart -- that organizers say took place at bazaars across India on a recent Wednesday.

India’s shopkeepers are mobilizing against the global e-commerce giants, alleging they are engaged in predatory pricing in violation of new rules meant to protect local businesses. At stake is the future of retailing in a country with 1.3 billion consumers, where Walmart and Amazon have sunk billions of dollars trying the crack the market and capture its growth potential.

“Amazon and Flipkart are a second version of the East India company,” said Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders at the Delhi protest, referring to the British trading house whose arrival in India kicked off nearly 200 years of colonial rule. “The motive of Amazon and Flipkart is not to do business, but to monopolize and control.”

India’s government in October announced an investigation into the allegations of predatory pricing. Amazon and Walmart said in statements to Bloomberg News last week that their operations comply with Indian laws, and that they act only as a third-party marketplace.

The conflict comes amid a broader global backlash against the breakneck expansion of tech firms -- from protests by taxi drivers against an Uber-clone in Jakarta, to couriers for a Softbank-backed delivery startup creating a bonfire of their backpacks in Bogota in protest of low wages and poor benefits.

Representing about 70 million small merchants who collectively control almost 90 per cent of India’s retail trade, India’s shopkeepers union has shown itself to be a strong political force. The traders are an important part of the voter base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

“For a government, especially a government of the BJP, which has the support of small businessmen, it may not be prudent or politically advisable to totally ignore such demands,” said Sandeep Shastri, a political scientist at Jain University in Bangalore. “They would have to be seen taking some steps at least.”

The union’s power is a significant reason the government has placed such onerous restrictions on foreign retailers -- including a minimum $100 million investment and strict local sourcing rules. Because of the hurdles, the likes of Walmart and Carrefour SA have all but given up on opening their eponymous stores in the country.

amazon flipkart

The shopkeepers won a key victory against the foreign e-commerce players last year when the government tightened regulations on how the platforms are allowed to sell goods. The rules, aimed at creating a level playing field on pricing, forced Amazon and Flipkart to pull thousands of items from their virtual shelves and restructure large parts of their local operations.

The changes, coming after Walmart announced its acquisition of Flipkart, threw the foreign companies into chaos and prompted analysts to question their India investments. With Amazon shut out of China and Walmart’s e-commerce performance in the US decidedly mixed, both companies have settled on India as key to growth. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has pledged to spend $5.5 billion to win India, while Walmart’s $16 billion Flipkart deal was the retailer’s biggest ever.

Now the shopkeepers are alleging Amazon and Flipkart are circumventing the rules with predatory pricing and deep discounting.

They are demanding the government shut down the companies’ online marketplaces until they are in compliance.

Amazon said its sellers have complete discretion on what price to sell their products. Flipkart said it provides sellers with data to help determine what product offerings will sell best at what price, but business decisions are ultimately the sellers’ to make.

The flash point for the latest escalation was Diwali, a Hindu festival that’s occasion for a gift-giving bonanza akin to Christmas in Western countries. This year’s festival in October came amid a slowdown in consumer spending that’s hit everyone from carmakers to shampoo sellers. But while the shopkeepers union said its members saw as much as a 60 per cent drop in Diwali sales, Amazon and Flipkart managed to report record revenue from the six-day festival.

The shopkeepers union argued that the online holiday deals must be in violation of the new rules, prompting Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to announce an investigation.

“E-commerce companies have no right to offer discounts or adopt predatory prices,” Goyal said in October. “Selling products cheaper and resulting the retail sector to incur losses is not allowed.” Another government official said policy makers are looking at setting up a dedicated e-commerce regulator.

A spokesperson for the commerce and industry ministry didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Vinod Kumar, a 35-year-old shopkeeper selling women’s cosmetics in the Delhi bazaar, is looking for relief. Standing by his small stall, he picks up a bottle of a rosewater-based hair product. He sells it for 40 rupees (56 cents), but says customers can get it from Amazon or Flipkart for 30 rupees, with delivery right to their home.

“If everything is available online, why would anyone come here to face the heat and the crowds?” he says. “My business is shrinking by the day.”

Kumar says if the situation continues he may go out of business, as many other shops already have.

Overall data show sales at traditional mom-and-pop shops are still growing in India. Though these stores have seen a decline in their share of total retail sales since 2014 as e-commerce and organized retail chains grab market share, the consumer market is expanding at such a pace that absolute spending with mom-and-pop shops increased nearly 60 per cent, according to consultancy Technopak Advisors. That pace of absolute growth is projected to slow slightly to 50 per cent over the next five years.

That may be cold comfort to Muhammad Yusuf. The 72-year-old, who runs a jewelry shop at the Delhi bazaar, says he’s unable to match the prices online, has cut his staff from six employees to two and is in danger of not being able to pay rent.

Yusuf is conspicuous in the e-commerce protest, however, in that he’s sporting a fleece jacket bearing the Amazon logo. Asked why he’s wearing it, he shrugs and says he needed something to keep him warm and found it in a clothing stall nearby. He bought it because it was cheap.

Flipkart unveils smart assistant to handhold first-time e-commerce users

Walmart-owned e-commerce company Flipkart has introduced a ‘smart assistive interface’ feature called ‘Flipkart Saathi’ to support first-time e-commerce users on the platform and enhance their overall shopping experience. This feature is available in Hindi and English to start with and is Flipkart’s attempt towards further humanising e-commerce. With this feature, Flipkart aims to empower consumers across tier II, III cities and beyond in rural India, as it seeks to bring the next 200 million consumers online.

The assistive interface feature (audio-guided navigation) aims at mimicking the typical real-life shopping experience for consumers who are comfortable being assisted by a salesperson. It uses a combination of text and audio-based instructions to guide new users in their e-commerce journey. This includes a list of key actions in the form of pop-up texts followed by audio for a better understanding. As audio is simple to follow and offers relatability, consumers can follow the instructions in a more immersive manner.

“Flipkart is committed to bringing the next 200 million consumers online and solving for that in every possible manner. Our talented technology team has worked hard to make Hindi interface and smart assistive interface available to consumers at a time when an increasing number of consumers from smaller cities are getting access to data,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Group chief executive officer, Flipkart. “We are confident of such initiatives bringing about a massive change in our efforts to democratize e-commerce in India.”

Industry research suggests that 90 per cent of new internet users in India are native language speakers. Hence it becomes imperative to offer a native e-commerce experience to impart familiarity, comfort and aid in decision making. With this assistive interface, users will be able to see relevant information. They would also be able to search for their desired products in Hindi – a language whose internet user base is expected to outgrow English in India by the year 2021. Flipkart said the feature will also be made available in other regional language interfaces in the coming months.

“This initiative will further make it easier for consumers especially in Tier-II cities and beyond to access and enjoy the online shopping experience,” said Jeyandran Venugopal, chief product and technology officer at Flipkart.

Flipkart undertook extensive research for nearly a year to develop this solution. It received insights from consumers yet to experience e-commerce, and occasional users in tier-II cities to understand how assistive interface as a concept, resonates with end-users. The company said the smart assistive interface also aims to reduce consumers’ reliance on others to experience e-commerce.

Flipkart invests Rs 30 crore in customer engagement firm EasyRewardz

Flipkart has invested in customer engagement and rewards platform EasyRewardz in a deal that will see two firms offer customer engagement solutions to sellers on the Flipkart platform.

While the two companies declined to disclose the specifics of the transaction, sources said the Flipkart's investment is around Rs 30 crore.

Flipkart continues to make investments in the Indian ecosystem in order to deliver value to our customers. Our investment in EasyRewardz is part of our ongoing initiatives to give superior customer experience,” a Flipkart spokesperson said in an emailed response to a Business Standard query.

In a statement, Easyrewardz said the investment will help it drive new product development and accelerate global expansion.

"CRM Software has a market size of $48 bn, and is seeing a 16 per cent year-on-year increase globally, with APAC growing faster at over 20 per cent. We see CRM Software adoption fastest amongst SMBs in retail as customer-centricity continues to hold centre-ground in retailing,” said Soumya Chatterjee, co-founder and chief executive officer, EasyRewardz.

Chatterjee along with Tejas Kadakia, Angad Singh, and Sapan Kadakia founded the firm in 2011. Easyrewardz the customer engagement software as a service to customers in India, West Asia, and the Middle East, among others. The company has annualised revenue of Rs 25 crore, it claimed.

Now, Flipkart will collect plastic packaging used in orders from consumers

Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart on Thursday announced the roll-out of a new initiative that focuses on creating awareness among consumers on the proper disposal of plastic packaging and make them active participants in its sustainability agenda. As part of this initiative, Flipkart is conducting a pilot project to collect plastic packaging back from consumers at select hubs across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, and Ahmedabad.

The pilot aims at ensuring existing plastic packaging in the system is recycled and reused. Flipkart will send out an intimation to consumers asking them to voluntarily hand over plastic packaging to Flipkart delivery executives (wishmasters) for its proper disposal, at the time of product delivery. The collected packets will then be sent to registered vendors to ensure it is disposed of responsibly to avoid ending up in landfills. The delivery executives have also been provided proper training in explaining the various facets of this initiative to consumers to ensure high participation.

“We have taken bold steps towards reducing single-use plastic in the system by replacing it with various eco-friendly alternatives and are constantly innovating with our approaches,” said Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart Group. “We are proud to be the first-ever e-commerce marketplace to channelize plastic packaging back into the system through a door-to-door collection with the help of our wishmasters. We believe a collective approach of all stakeholders would help us in achieving... the country's vision to phase out single-use plastic,” said Kumar.

This programme is in continuation of Flipkart’s sustainability agenda under which it has already reduced the utilization of single-use plastic by 33 per cent. It aims to move towards 100 per cent recycled plastic consumption in its supply chain by March 2021. Towards this goal, Flipkart has filed for EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) and is targeting 30 per cent collection back in the first year.

Flipkart is working on various initiatives, including the introduction of eco-friendly paper shreds and replacing poly pouches with recycled paper bags. It is also replacing bubble wraps and airbags with carton waste shredded material, and 2-ply roll as part of its long-term sustainability initiatives.

Earlier this year, the company announced the introduction of electric vehicles in its last-mile delivery network with the aim to replace nearly 40 per cent of its existing last-mile fleet of delivery vans with EVs by March 2020. By leveraging technology in its workflow at fulfillment centres, Flipkart optimizes the type and volume of packaging to be used, instead of leaving it to human decision.

Flipkart gets stay on insolvency proceedings initiated against it at NCLT

Flipkart has obtained a stay order on insolvency proceedings initiated against the e-commerce firm by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in a case involving alleged withholding of dues to a seller on its platform.

CloudWalker Streaming, a Mumbai-based supplier of LED TVs, has alleged the Flipkart did not honour its purchase agreement and had not paid dues totalling to Rs 26.95 crore. The firm moved NCLT and had petitioned that Flipkart be recommended for insolvency under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

On October 24, accepting the petitioner’s argument, the Bengaluru bench of NCLT ordered initiation of insolvency proceedings. Flipkart followed up with a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court and a day later obtained a stay on the NCLT order, a Flipkart spokesperson told Business Standard.

In its next hearing held on October 31, the Karnataka HC ordered continuation of the stay. The date of the next hearing has not been set yet. “In view of the above, it is clarified that as on date, Flipkart is not undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process and is continuing its operations on a going concern basis under its present management,” the company said in an email statement.

The matter pertains to an agreement between CloudWalker and Flipkart that dates back to December 2016. CloudWalker, which sells TV under Cloud TV brand, had alleged that Flipkart had signed the agreement to purchase stock worth Rs 103.62 crore but only bought goods worth Rs 85.57 crore, and that too after many delays.

After receiving two batches of TVs — in January and March 2017 — Flipkart stopped taking deliveries on the pretext of lack of warehousing space, which in piling up of unsold inventory with the seller, according to claims in the order copy dated October 24 posted on the NCLT website.

Further, “in an attempt to gain profit out of the goods ordered, (Flipkart) coerced the operational creditor (CloudWalker) to offer a discount on the LED TVs, which were already imported and warehoused by the operational creditor on behalf of the corporate debtor (Flipkart). The operational creditor facing huge losses and liquidity crunch agreed to offer the said discount…,” as per CloudWalker’s claim in the court document.

Flipkart also delayed payments over several occasions in 2017 and as on March 2018, had failed to pick up 70 per of the stock it ordered, alleges the petitioner.

In its response, Flipkart said that it paid Rs 85.57 crore to CloudWalker, as per what it claims was the original purchase agreement, and is not liable to make any further payments. “Further, the petitioner has failed to produce any PO’s (purchase order) or invoices in support of its alleged claims. This clearly shows that the alleged claim of Rs 26,95,00,000 is false and the same is denied by the respondent,” Flipkart is quoted as saying in the court document.

It also said that invoking IBC proceeding is a coercive step by CloudWalker to get Flipkart to succumb to illegal demands.

This is not the first time Flipkart has had tussle with a seller on its platform. Back in May, the e-commerce firm locked horns with Vishal Gondal’s smart-watch company GOQii, which alleged Flipkart was offering unsustainable discounts on its products. The start-up sued Flipkart in a Mumbai court, alleging that its devices were sold at around 70 per cent discount on the retail price, much more than the two sides had originally agreed upon. However, the matter was subsequently settled out of court.

Flipkart Big Diwali sale: iPhone 7 to Realme XT, the best smartphone deals

Home-grown e-commerce platform Flipkart is hosting a five-day festive season sale in which it is offering discounts, deals, exchange offers, bank offers, zero-interest equated monthly instalment schemes, etc, on a wide range of products, including smartphones. Named the Flipkart Big Diwali sale, the festive-season sale started on October 21 and will continue until October 25.

In the sale, the e-commerce platform is offering up to 10 per cent instant discount on SBI cards and credit-card EMI transactions. Additionally, Flipkart is also offering a 10 per cent off on select mobile phones on all debit and credit card transactions.

Here is a look at some of the best deals on smartphones:

iPhone 7 (32GB)

Though three generations old now, the iPhone 7 is still a decent choice for someone who wishes to get into the Apple product ecosystem. This smartphone is currently available at a discounted price of Rs 26,999, nine per cent lower than its prevailing retail price of Rs 29,900. Flipkart is also offering no-interest EMI, exchange offer, and Rs 1,000 off on all prepaid orders. Additionally, the e-commerce giant is offering six months of free YouTube Premium access with this phone.

iPhone 7

Realme XT (4GB/64GB)

The Realme XT is a midrange smartphone with 64-megapixel sensor-based quad-camera set-up on the back. The phone is currently available at Rs 15,999. Flipkart is also offering no-interest EMI, exchange offer, and bank offers on this phone. Additionally, the e-commerce giant is offering six months of free YouTube Premium access with this phone.

Flipkart Big Diwali sale: From iPhone 7 to Realme XT, best deals on phonesXiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro (4GB/64GB)

The Redmi Note 7 Pro is currently available at a discounted price of Rs 11,999, which is 25 per cent lower than its prevailing retail price of Rs 15,999. Flipkart is offering an additional Rs 1,000 off on prepaid transactions, which brings down the phone’s effective cost to Rs 10,999. The phone has a 48MP dual camera set-up on the back, Corning Gorilla Glass protection on the front and back, dot notch-shaped screen and USB type-C charging and data transfer port. At its current discounted price, this phone is a steal.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 ProMotorola One Vision (4GB/128GB)

This smartphone is available at a discounted price of Rs 14,999, which is 34 per cent lower than its prevailing retail price of Rs 22,999. It is the only phone in its segment that offers 48MP primary camera, punch-hole screen with cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio and ample storage space of 128GB. The phone is eligible for Flipkart’s no-interest EMI, exchange offer, and bank offers. Additionally, the e-commerce giant is offering six months of free YouTube Premium access with this phone.

Motorola One VisionPixel 3a (4GB/64GB)

The most affordable of Google smartphones, after festive-season discount, is available at Rs 29,999, which is 25 per cent lower than the prevailing retail price of Rs 39,999. The Pixel 3a is an affordable variant of the Google Pixel 3 smartphone. Though it has similar features, including the camera, it trades off the premium specifications of the elder sibling and is a deal for Pixel lovers at its current price.

Flipkart's flagship sale event Big Billion Days to begin on September 29

Flipkart’s flagship sale event, Big Billion Days, will take place between September 29 and October 4, with a four-hour early access to Flipkart Plus customers, the firm said. While home appliances, furniture, beauty, sports, etc, products will go on sale on the first day, mobiles, electronic devices, and accessories will be available from the second day of the sale.

This time, the customers would also be able to buy insurance for the appliances, Flipkart said.

Over the past few months, the company has scaled up its supply chain considerably, both in first- and last-mile delivery, largely in under-penetrated parts of the country to cater the needs of consumers and sellers. The firm has more than doubled the number of pincodes, where it offers pick-up capabilities to sellers and has added around 30,000 kiranas to its network.

Flipkart CEO sees UP becoming India's first trillion-dollar state economy

Projects that formed part of the second Ground Breaking Ceremony will help in Uttar Pradesh's quest to be first trillion-dollar state economy in India, Flipkart Group Chief Executive Officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy said here Sunday.

"The groundbreaking ceremony will play a key role in propelling Uttar Pradesh as an industrial and innovation hub in the country and help in the state's quest to be India's first trillion-dollar state economy," he said on the sidelines of the event for groundbreaking of industrial projects worth around Rs 65,000 crore, for which memoranda of understanding were signed during the UP Investors' Summit last year.

Krishnamurthy also said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "vision and enabling initiatives will boost investor confidence in the state" as ease of doing business is expected to improve.

"UP is an important state for us at Flipkart. We not only have many sellers and local MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) manufacturers who are accessing the nationwide market to sell their products more efficiently and in a cost effective way, but we are also encouraging local handicrafts to market their products.

"Thousands of artisans, small businesses and women entrepreneurs are finding partnership with Flipkart beneficial as they grow and connect with a pan-India market," he said.

Using homegrown technology and innovation, Flipkart is proud of making a difference in the lives of millions of people, he said, adding that through Myntra, a fashion platform, "we are excited to give market access to artisans/weavers across the state".

Krishnamurthy lauded the chief minister's efforts to partner with the industry to drive inclusive growth in the state.

"We are looking forward to partner with UP as we bring in the next 200-300 million customers to experience e-commerce and connect lakhs of MSME suppliers, small farmers and farmer-producer organisations to the marketplace while creating lakhs of new livelihood opportunities," the Flipkart Group CEO added.

Flipkart, which was acquired by the US retail firm Walmart last year, is equally keen on promoting MSMEs and one-district-one-product (ODOP) in Uttar Pradesh, its Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar told PTI.

The ODOP project is one of the key initiatives of the Adityanath government which seeks to promote traditional industries synonymous with their respective districts to spur the local economy and create jobs, Kumar said.

There are specific products in Uttar Pradesh that are found nowhere else, such as ancient and nutritious 'Kala namak' rice, the rare and intriguing wheat-stalk craft, world-famous chikankari, zari-zardozi work on clothes, and also the exquisite Banarasi silk work.

The state government during the investor meet in February 2018 had signed 1,047 initial agreements entailing proposed investment of Rs 4.68 lakh crore by private and public sector companies.

The state in July last year organised the first ground-breaking ceremony to mark the launch of industrial proposals worth Rs 60,000 crore.

Flipkart plans to tap 50,000 MSMEs for expanding in small towns

Online marketplace giant Flipkart plans a major drive to bring 50,000 medium and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under their fold by the end of this year. The company claims to have almost 100,000 MSMEs on the platform. This move, the firm believes, will create a million secondary jobs as part of the necessary logistics that would have to be in place for rapid growth.

For Flipkart, onboarding MSMEs as sellers on the platform is crucial as it will help the firm in sourcing maximum number of categories locally as well as help in faster deliveries and cut logistics costs. In the next phase of growth, which heavily hinges on expansion in tier-III cities and small towns, the MSMEs connect would help it cover maximum ground. “Our knowledge and understanding of the Indian ecosystem allow us to construct frameworks such as ‘Growth Capital’ through which sellers can scale their businesses, prosper, create more employment opportunities, and continue to transform the country’s economy,” Kalyan Krishnamurthy, group chief executive officer, Flipkart, said.

According to sources, in a non-festive month, over 20 million units are sold on Flipkart and almost 70 per cent of transactions on the platform come from small sellers. For expanding to tier-III cities, the company is set for hyper growth, which will see it bringing more number of smaller companies, retailers and kirana stores into the fold.

According to sources, in the past 12 months, over 2,500 sellers have conducted business of more than Rs 1 crore. Group company Myntra has connected over 20,000 kirana stores in 24 states for its last-mile delivery programme, helping build a new income source for small shopkeepers.

“Our aim is to ensure that India’s internet economy becomes a hub for innovation and as a home-grown company. We want to solve unique Indian problems through technology. We are committed to making it happen through our initiatives focused on MSMEs, agriculture, Make in India, skilling, and building partnership with kiranas,” Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart Group, said.

Flipkart plans to roll out electric vehicles for last-mile deliveries

Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart on Thursday unveiled plans to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) for its last-mile deliveries across the country. The initiative is part of Flipkart’s sustainability commitment to reinvigorate efforts towards building technologies for solving crucial environment and civic issues, the company said.

“Our team is working with local ecosystem partners to help them co-design concepts for electric vehicles best suited for the growing e-commerce industry,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, group chief executive officer, Flipkart. The introduction of EVs, the company said, would happen in a phased manner. The aim is to replace nearly 40 per cent of its existing last mile fleet of delivery vans with EVs by March 2020. To start with, the company is looking at deploying nearly 160 e-vans by the end of 2019.

At present, Flipkart has already deployed eight e-vans in Hyderabad, 10 in New Delhi and 30 e-bikes in Bengaluru. “We see tremendous growth opportunity in electric freight mobility from a greener supply chain perspective, which will play a key role in building a robust supply chain for the future,” said Amitesh Jha, senior vice-president, Ekart and Marketplace, Flipkart. “These efforts will help us contribute towards electric mobility by reducing our dependence on conventional power sources, while bringing cost efficiencies for the business.”

Flipkart will also be working closely with EV manufacturers to get the right designs suitable for e-commerce deliveries. In the past six months, the e-commerce firm had conducted multiple pilots for deployment of EVs in its supply chain. It is also setting up the necessary charging infrastructure at its hubs in order to deploy EVs at large scale and ensure their seamless operations.

Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart, said the company would use its existing infrastructure at warehouses and hubs to overcome challenges such as charging stations and electricity for the vehicles. “Eventually, our vision is to completely make the last and first mile (delivery) electric.” With these initiatives, the company is looking at reducing its carbon emissions by over 50 per cent.

Ankur Pahwa, partner and national leader, e-commerce and consumer internet at EY India, said electrification of last mile delivery platforms (both hyperlocal and logistic arm of companies) was a crucial step towards curbing pollution.

He said adoption at scale would help in bringing down costs of production of EVs, more acceptability towards this mode of transport and would spur innovation for the betterment of this technology.

“It will help in bringing down their maintenance and delivery cost which in turn has a positive effect on their unit economics. It will also help brands position themselves as environment-friendly and socially conscious,” said Pahwa. With the government’s aim to have at least 30 per cent of vehicles be EV by 2030, the step taken by e-commerce and hyperlocal platforms to adopt this technology could be the tipping point in the right direction,” he added.

There are already a few small firms in the country which provide EVs and services to large e-commerce and foodtech companies. One among them is DOT, which offers green mobility services through its fleet of two- and three-wheeler electric vehicles. Some of its major clients include Amazon, Walmart, BigBasket and Swiggy. Currently operating in over 20 cities, the firm has plans to expand to 600 towns by 2020.

Ride-hailing company Ola has also set up an electric vehicle arm called Ola Electric Mobility (Ola Electric). It is running several pilots, involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments. Also, in March, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation said they would invest $300 million in Ola. The deal will see the three companies collaborate towards developing the fleet and mobility solutions, building India-specific EVs and infrastructure.

Flipkart's Binny Bansal sells Rs 531 cr-worth stake to Walmart: Report

Binny Bansal, the co-founder of India's leading e-tailer Flipkart, sold around 54 lakh of his equity shares valued at $76.4 million (Rs 531 crore) to world's retail giant Walmart's Luxembourg entity FIT Holdings SARL, business intelligence platform Paper.vc said on Monday.

"Walmart increased its equity holding in Flipkart by buying 5,39,912 shares of its erstwhile co-founder Binny Bansal for $76.4 million through its Luxembourg-based entity FIT Holdings SARL," said the Chennai-based Paper.vc in an e-mail to IANS.

"According to regulatory filings by Flipkart, Bansal transferred 5,39,912 of his shares to Walmart's entity for a cash consideration of $76.4 million," it added.

Though the other co-founder Sachin Bansal exited Flipkart when Walmart bought controlling stake (77 per cent) in it for a whopping $16 billion on May 9, 2018, Binny stayed on to lead its management team.

"Binny, however, resigned a few months later (November 13, 2018) after an investigation by Walmart into allegations of personal misconduct (sexual harassment) on his part," the Paper.vc statement said.

The latest sell-off, however, is not Binny Bansal's first monetisation of his equity holding in 12-year-old Flipkart.

"Binny's holding fell to 63,53,838 shares post-acquisition from 74,76,271 in pre-acquisition. Our assessment is he sold 11,22,433 shares of his for $159 million when Walmart took over Flipkart," the statement added.

According to Paper.vc's calculations, Binny Bansal's holding has reduced 0.33 per cent to 3.52 per cent from 3.85 per cent after the current sale proceedings.

The financial data platform for private markets has derived the share holding in Walmart from its current Esop pool.

"Our estimates may vary from the authoritative numbers maintained by Walmart/Flipkart," added the statement.