Flipkart sold more than Amazon in last 2 months
BENGALURU: India’s largest online retailer Flipkart is showing early but clear signs of sustaining the turnaround that began with its win over arch-rival Amazon India during the Big Billion Day (BBD) sale in October, belying predictions of investors and analysts who thought Amazon may run away with India’s $14-15 billion e-commerce market.
Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd pulled in gross sales of more than ₹2,600 crore in both December and January on the back of bumper sales of smartphones, said two people familiar with the matter. Amazon (Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd) generated gross sales of roughly ₹2,300 crore, on average, in these months, said two other people familiar with Amazon’s numbers. If sales at Flipkart’s fashion units Myntra and Jabong are included, the company is far ahead of Amazon. Gross sales reflect the value of goods sold on the site, before product returns.
Monthly sales at Flipkart over the past two months have increased sharply from the ₹2,000-crore levels they hovered around in the months before BBD. Amazon had overtaken Flipkart in terms of gross sales (on a standalone basis) in at least two months before the BBD.
“As a policy, we do not comment on sale numbers. However, as a market leader, we continue to grow the e-commerce market in India through India-centric innovations and by continuously improving customer experience. We are focussed on delighting our customers across the length and breadth of the country by bringing the best selection of quality brands and products at affordable price points,” said a Flipkart spokeswoman in response to queries from Mint.
Amazon didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
Flipkart’s performance sets it up for a much-needed fund raising, which had looked improbable last year given Amazon’s ascent and a series of markdowns by its own investors.
Mint reported in October that encouraged by its BBD win, the company will hit the market to raise $500 million to $1 billion.
Equally significantly, the strength in sales indicates that Flipkart is capable of holding on to market leadership and that it is gradually returning to its peak of 2014, when it set the standards in India’s e-commerce market despite the presence of Amazon.
The revival in sales at the online retailer has been driven by its new CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who replaced Binny Bansal last month.
The key to Flipkart’s turnaround has been its successful effort to reclaim the smartphone category, which accounts for more than half of all online retail in India.
Flipkart had changed the face of retail in India in 2014 by expanding the market through the introduction of high-quality low-cost smartphone brands such as Xiaomi and Motorola. These brands which were exclusive to Flipkart shifted loyalties to Amazon. Since Krishnamurthy returned to the company, he made winning back smartphone brands Flipkart’s No.1 priority.