The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to many consequences in various sectors of the world starting from education, health, retail , tourism and so on. Yet when we focus on the sector on the sector of E-commerce , we understand the importance of the lockdown that has been largely commending particularly in this industry directly or indirectly.
While the pandemic has reversed the lives of the people , but online shopping has increased rapidly ever since this pandemic began. Now it’s no longer an option it’s an necessity. Due to Covid, a large number of consumers has sifted to online shopping as a preferred alternative and also as a precaution factor.
One of the major well known e-commerce company that has gradually became successful amidst this pandemic is Flipkart. Flipkart which started out in 2007 as a online bookstore , the service has now expanded itself to be one of the biggest companies in India. It is one of the biggest inspiring example of the scope of success that are held by the startups of India.
About Flipkart:-
Image Source – GoogleÂ
Flipkart is India’s dominant e-commerce platforms which was started in 2007 with it’s headquarters in Bengaluru. It was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal , this online journey had initially began as a online bookstore. The more the business surged , it grew and expanded it’s project. The platform started to sell a variety of products like mobiles , music , as well as movies. Flipkart gradually expanded with new item categories in it’s collection.
At present the company facilitates over 80+ million product starting from different ranges of over 80 categories of computers, laptops, books, e-books, sports, fitness, baby care , toys etc.
In November 2020, according to Walmart , Flipkart had registered a large record number of monthly active customers.
Flipkart Founders:-
Image Source – GoogleÂ
Flipkart founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal , both being 2005 graduates from IIT Delhi. Both of them were officially exposed to the workplace of Amazon . They sat down and explored their mutual interest and thought of creating a change in the e-commerce industry in India.
This led to quit their jobs at Amazon in 2007 and tried to set up a similar e-commerce platform that specifically focuses on the Indian user base.
The two wanted to offer the Indians with an online store that is created and made in India , which eventually led to the making of Flipkart.
Flipkart Business Model :-
With more than 150 million products of 80 categories , today Flipkart stands as one of the dominant e-commerce company. The platform acquires different social media platforms starting from Facebook, Instagram, You Tube to promote their products as well. Flipkart, being a Business to Consumer model firm , it offers freedom to the consumer in selecting their choice of item from various options.
With the customer increasing day by day on this online shopping for it’s convenience , the sector promises a brighter future and for further expansion.
One of the chief USP of Flipkart is that it’s pricing. The platform offers branded products at more or less economical prices. Apart from this, the user also gets various benefits like discounts , Cash on delivery feature , refund policy and much more.
The development of Flipkart :-
 Flipkart’s AcquisitionsÂ
Flipkart had set up more centers in Mumbai and Delhi from their center in Bangalore in 2009. Flipkart began it’s acquisition binge in 2014 when it acquired Myntra for $400 million. With this later on the 2016, Flipkart purchased Jabong which is a fashion website at $70 million. Also in 2017. In 2017, Flipkart purchased PhonePe which is a payment website and also ebay.
In 2011, the firm started an office in Singapore. In 2018, Flipkart acquired Walmart with a 77% share of the platform.
From the time of Flipkart’s launch till 2016, Sachin Bansal had been ruling Flipkart as the CEO. Binny Bansal took over him after 2016 as the CEO with Sachin taking over the post of Executive Chairman. Presently the company’s CEO is Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who is a Tiger Global Executive.
The largest complete moment for Flipkart was when it was acquired by Walmart. Flipkart has noticed a wide degree of growth and advancement from it’s initial start in 2007 , that is encouraging the arrival of various startups in our country. Flipkart has also announced with it’s establishment of Flipkart Wholesale. It has also invested in the fresh produce supply chain company that is Ninjacart.
According to the statement by Flipkart in Economic Times , the firm has recently crossed over 1.5 billion visits per month.
 Flipkart Funding :-
Flipkart at present stands at $24.9 billion USD in 2020. Some of the key investors of the company include Axis Bank , eBay, Naspers , Manhattan Venture Partners and Softbank Vision Fund etc. One of the biggest turning point of Flipkart was when it gained by Walmart in for $16 billion. With Walmart gaining 77% share in the company. As per the reports, Flipkart’s most recent funding was $1.2billion. Flipkart now is in talks to raise $3 billion from investors. From Walmart, Flipkart has raised $560.45 million in July.
Conclusion
With the acceptance of e-commerce services boosting in the past couple of months , Flipkart plays a very promising online service that is rising consistently in popularity and also inspiring and gaining a success story that will be remembered by the upcoming young businessmen for many more years.
Read More: Asianatimes.com
