Flipkart switches to consumer brand mode

Mobiles to TV, washing machines to A Cs, firm plans own brand across product lines

E-commerce major Flipkart is swiftly moving into its own consumer durable products and electronic devices space as part of its private label initiative. A 230,000sq ft manufacturing facility in the Selaqui industrial area, outside Dehradun, is churning out LED television sets, under the ‘MarQ’ brand owned by Flipkart.

SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY writes

Stepping up competition in the e-commerce space, Flipkart is swiftly moving into its own consumer durable products and electronic devices as part of its private label initiative. The sprawling 230,000sq ft manufacturing facility in the Selaqui industrial area outside Dehradun is a move in that direction. The facility is churning out LED television sets, manufactured under the MarQ brand owned by Flipkart.

Among the private labels owned by the company, MarQ occupies flagship position in many ways. Being the first private label for large appliances launched in early October, it has already managed to sell more than 5,000 units of LED television sets and an undisclosed number of microwave ovens.

This is expected to push up the company’s revenue share from private labels, currently pegged at 1 per cent, to double digits in the coming months.

The Bengaluru-based company has also announced plans to sell smartphones through private label ‘Billion’, to be manufactured by homegrown device maker Smartrone. The company is also gearing up to launch a further set of products such as washing machines and upgrade production of its recently released television sets and microwave ovens.

Adarsh K Menon, vicepresident and head of private labels & electronics, said MarQ was being readied to launch a range of washing machines as early as November 21. Air conditioners and home theatres are also under consideration in the near future.

For television, Flipkart has pulled out all stops, partnering with Noida-based Dixon, an electronic system design and manufacturing company which currently produces TV sets for established players such as Panasonic, Hitachi and Haier among others.

“We are confident since we’ve decided to stick to the policy of selling all our products at 15-20 per cent below the market average,” Menon said.

Flipkart is banking on its massive consumer reach for the private label push.

The TV sets are being sold in colour-printed cardboard boxes — a first for the industry — along with an extra covering to make it attractive to consumer. “The escalation in costs will be a small price to pay once we capture the market,” a Flipkart official said, while giving a guided tour of the manufacturing facility.

“The product has been designed by us since we have decades of experience in the industry and currently command more than 25 per cent of the total market share in TV which are outsourced to consumer electronic brands,” Pankaj Sharma, chief operating officer at Dixon said.

The 24-inch variant of MarQ TV is priced at ~8,999 while the 32-inch costs ~12,499. Company data shows that most buyers of the 24-inch variant are from eastern India.

Officials refused to disclose the exact number of MarQ TV sets currently under production.