From a start-up with an investment of just four lakhs rupees, Flipkart has grown into a $100 million-revenue online retail giant in just five years. Ushamrita Choudhury tracks the fairytale.
“It came to me as a Christmas gift from my Secret Santa, and it was all about choice, convenience and a new relationship,” is how Naveed Ansari, a 26-year-old Project Executive from Mumbai, recounts his first experience with Flipkart. A typical professional from a metro, he's short on time, and he's invariably seeking convenience. So, an e-voucher from Flipkart seemed an ideal fit. This gift marked his initiation into the sphere of e-commerce, and the journey for him has “just begun”.
Many Indians today are embracing e-retailing with enthusiasm. Popular portals such as Flipkart are spearheading the conversion of offline shoppers into online bargain hunters. Adds Naveed, as an afterthought, “I felt Flipkart was the best option as the transaction was easy, and the variety of products was a bonus.” For Flipkart, this means the unlocking of a vast audience waiting to experience the joys and comfort of shopping online. Sachin Bansal, CEO and one of the co-founders of Flipkart (the other being Binny Bansal), is an ardent believer in the merits of customer service. “A simple desire to create a tailor-made product for the Indian consumer has grown into something beyond what we imagined,” Sachin muses. A quick glance at Flipkart's timeline shows it was to start as a price comparison platform, but there weren't enough e-commerce sites to compare. So, both the Bansals, who were colleagues at IIT-Delhi, and then at Amazon.com, thought, “why not start an e-commerce site?” That was the genesis of Flipkart. From an initial investment of $8,000, this humble seed of desire has germinated into a $100 million e-retailing favourite. The founders' passion for the consumer Internet space manifests itself in the brand, which is synonymous with customer service and satisfaction. ‘Don't count your customers before they smile' is the company's operating mantra, and it's a mantra they're applying successfully alright!
E-commerce: Good to go?
The concept of e-commerce is downloading at a fairly rapid pace in the psyche of the Indian consumer. In the metros, shortage of time is a big driver for online shopping. On the other hand, accessibility to a variety of products makes audiences from smaller towns and cities opt for the online route. Major retailers face challenges in stocking their stores adequately. Often, customers are unable to