The Flipkart Story in India

Flipkart was launched in 2007 as an online platform for selling books by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. Ten years later, the e-commerce company had 54 million active users and 100,000 plus sellers and had sold 261 million units. The founders had taken several steps to garner this growth, by making investments in technology, undertaking high-decibel advertising campaigns and promoting attractive offers on products sold on the platform.

Despite the growth, the company was not making profits, and investors like Tiger Global were unhappy. Tiger Global Management brought in Kalyan Krishnamurthy to Flipkart in 2016, and a year later, Kalyan became the chief executive officer (CEO), replacing co-founder Binny who got promoted as group CEO. In May 2018, American retailer Walmart paid USD 16 billion to buy out Flipkart and in the same month, Sachin exited the venture by selling his shares for USD 1 billion. Seven months later, Binny was forced to resign on charges of personal misconduct.As these events unfolded, Flipkart was no longer the company founded by the Bansals.

The case highlights critical issues in the Flipkart growth story and helps readers understand the nuances in managing stakeholders, including customers and investors.India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart said Monday it raised $3.6 billion in fresh funds from global investors.

The new round of funding was led by Singapore’s GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart.

Flipkart now has a valuation of $37.6 billion.India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart said Monday it raised $3.6 billion in fresh funds from global investors, including sovereign funds, private equity and from its parent company, Walmart.

The new round of funding was led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart. It also included investments from sovereign funds like Qatar Investment Authority, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad and DisruptAD, the venture arm of the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, ADQ.

Other backers included China’s Tencent, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global.“This investment by leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart’s capabilities to maximise this potential for all stakeholders,” Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in a statement.

He said the company will focus on helping millions of small- and medium-sized Indian businesses to grow, including small family-owned grocery shops known as kiranas, and plans to continue investing in new categories and home-grown technologies.

SoftBank’s return

Japan-based SoftBank had previously sold its Flipkart stake to Walmart in 2018 and its return comes at a time when reports suggest the Indian firm is exploring potential listing options. Flipkart said it now has a valuation of $37.6 billion.SoftBank has backed other Indian tech start-ups, such as digital payments firm Paytm, budget hotel rooms start-up Oyo and ride-sharing company Ola.

“SoftBank’s re-investment in Flipkart is driven by our experience with and conviction in the company’s management team to continue addressing the needs of the Indian consumer in the decades to come,” Lydia Jett, a partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement.

India’s e-commerce potential

Most of India’s retail shopping takes place in brick-and-mortar stores, but the online potential remains enormous: India has one of the fastest-growing and largest internet population in the world.

In recent years, a combination of reforms, a push toward digitization and last alue in India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, according to the report.

Flipkart’s competitors include U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon, which has invested billions of dollars in the Indian market, as well as domestic names such as JioMart, the online grocery delivery app from Reliance Industries.

For its part, the Indian government has reportedly proposed new e-commerce draft rules in June that is expected to have an impact on Flipkart and Amazon India.