Homegrown e-commerce firm, Flipkart on Thursday announced its foray into online wholesale business with the launch of Flipkart Wholesale which will work with the country’s local neighbourhood kirana stores.
Flipkart also announced a 100 per cent acquisition of Walmart India Private Limited, which operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business across the country. Acquiring Walmart India will help Flipkart scale up its digital wholesale venture since the former entity has nearly 1.5 million customers in India including Kiranas and other MSMes.
Flipkart Wholesale will launch its operations in August 2020 and will do pilot services for the grocery and fashion categories.
It will be headed by Adarsh Menon, a veteran at Flipkart. Sameer Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer at Walmart India, will remain with the company to ensure a smooth transition, later he will move to another role within Walmart, the company said in a statement.
With the acquisition of the Walmart India business, its employees will join the Flipkart Group and the home office teams will integrate over the next year. The Best Price brand will continue to serve its 1.5 million+ members via its omnichannel network of 28 stores and e-commerce operations.
“With the launch of Flipkart Wholesale, we will now extend our capabilities across technology, logistics and finance to small businesses across the country. The acquisition of Walmart India adds a strong talent pool with deep expertise in the wholesale business that will strengthen our position to address the needs of kiranas and MSMEs uniquely. With this development, the Flipkart Group will further build upon the synergies across its businesses to drive greater value and choice for end-consumers and businesses alike,” Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Flipkart CEO said.
Walmart India has been operational in the country for over 12 years now had earlier announced to infuse $500 million to double its Cash and Carry stores footprint . However, the losses went up by 89% in FY19 to Rs 172 crore according to the company’s corporate ministry affairs’s filings.
“Today marks the next big step as Walmart India’s pioneering cash-and-carry legacy meets Flipkart’s culture of innovation in the launch of Flipkart Wholesale. By leveraging each other’s strengths and unique expertise, this combined team will break new ground in their shared mission to help Indian businesses grow and succeed. We look forward to a bright future for Flipkart Wholesale," Judith McKenna, President and Chief Executive Officer, Walmart International said in a statement.