BENGALURU: E-commerce giant Flipkart was looking for a space at Metro stations for their back-end operations but they have been outsmarted by newbies in the business.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) had earlier announced that it was offering space at Metro stations for commercial purposes. The agency recently completed the selection process and major stations will soon house offices of startups, firms, retail stores etc.
BMRCL spokesperson Vasanth Rao said, “Yes, Flipkart has been beaten in the selection process by other firms.”
BMRCL had called for bids from startups, corporates, businesses to utilise space at five stations - Baiyappanahalli, SV Road, Indiranagar, Trinity Circlce, and Halasuru. Many applied for the bids and Flipkart was one of them.
Sources said the e-commerce company had checked for basement spaces at the metro stations but did not make it through the selection process.
Baiyappanahalli metro station will have 11 spaces dedicated to commercial establishments, Indiranagar will have six, S V Road and Trinity Circle will have five, and Halasuru will have three.
Preethi, one of the founders of a startup called Walnutstores.in, an online store for pulses, rice, said, “We couldn’t have asked for a better place to open our retail stores. We have got three spaces at Baiyappanahalli, Trinity Circle and Indiranagar metro stations. Although products can be ordered via our app, the stores will be ideal for shoppers who are not keen on online shopping.”
Brekki, a breakfast delivery startup, will also have its first retail outlet at one of the metro stations. Haripriya, co-founder of Brekki, said, “We aim to provide healthy meals to all commuters.”
Boost for small businesses, startups
BMRCL’s move to rent out space at metro stations has come as blessing for these startups and small businesses as it saves them from having to pay hefty rents business hubs like Koramangala, Indiranagar and HSR Layout. This will also cut down on travel cost for employees and add to overall productivity.
The initiative is also aimed at helping BMRCL generate revenue to pay off debt incurred by the agency for the construction of Phase 1 of Metro. At present, BMRCL pays `2 crore as interest. The agency had received external funding of $250 million from Asian Development Bank, `4,000 crore from JIKA, and `700 crore from HUDCO.