Wednesday, April 24

Tag: Snapdeal

Snapdeal delivers ‘fake’ products; company founders booked
News

Snapdeal delivers ‘fake’ products; company founders booked

The police here have registered a case against Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal after a local Congress leader alleged that the online shopping site sent him fake products. They were booked for cheating under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code after businessman Indermohan Singh Honey complained that instead of a Woodland belt and a wallet, he was delivered fakes. Singh had acted as a spokesperson of the party during the recent Lok Sabha election campaign. He placed the order on July 17, paying online for it, police said. In a complaint lodged at the city's Gumanpura police station, the businessman said he suspected the genuineness of the products delivered at his home, and took them to a Woodland showroom. The staff there examined the products and said they we...
Snapdeal set to acquire Shopclues
ACQUISITION

Snapdeal set to acquire Shopclues

New Delhi: Online e-commerce platform Snapdeal is in talks to acquire rival ShopClues in a deal likely to be pegged around $200-$250 million, according to sources. Snapdeal has started the due-diligence process and is likely to take a call on the acquisition over the next few weeks, the sources close to the development said. When contacted, a Snapdeal spokesperson declined to comment, while ShopClues said the company does not comment on market rumours. The two e-commerce companies have engaged in such discussions in the past as well, but this is the first time that it has made it to the due-diligence phase. The deal will be an all-stock deal and is expected to be valued between $200 and $250 million, the sources added. ShopClues' investors, including Singapore’s sovereign w...
Infibeam Cancels Snapdeal’s Unicommerce Acquisition
ACQUISITION

Infibeam Cancels Snapdeal’s Unicommerce Acquisition

eInfibeam Avenues had announced that its up to Rs 120 crore-deal to acquire Unicommerce, a subsidiary of e-commerce platform Snapdeal, however, the deal has been terminated. "...we wish to inform you that the SPA has been terminated as the conditions precedent were not fulfilled within the stipulated time period," Infibeam said in a regulatory filing. In May, Infibeam Avenues had announced signing a definitive share purchase agreement (SPA) with Unicommerce eSolutions and Jasper lnfotech (which runs Snapdeal) to acquire 100% stake in Unicommerce. It had sated that the acquisition would boost its e-commerce enablement capabilities and expand the product offerings for existing clients. The transaction was scheduled to close in three-fiv...
Senior Executive Anand Chandrasekaran Quits Facebook
News

Senior Executive Anand Chandrasekaran Quits Facebook

Facebook’s director of platforms and product partnerships Anand Chandrasekaran based in its Menlo Park headquarters has resigned from the company. He started his job at Facebook in 2016 and after two years of his work, he quit. His departure ends a two-year stint which began in September 2016, where he had joined to work on Facebook’s popular Messenger product. Along with this, Chandrasekaran is also an active angel investor in the Indian startup ecosystem. According to the sources, while the 40-year-old had initially joined Facebook to work on the tech giant’s Messenger platform, “he began overseeing the company’s India business, acting as a bridge between the two markets.” Facebook believes India to be its largest market, with over 250 million active users. It has also been said...
Google Soon to Launch its ‘Shopping’ Tab in India
News

Google Soon to Launch its ‘Shopping’ Tab in India

The technology giant and the largest search engine Google is reportedly going to launch its ‘Shopping’ tab in India. This would allow users to search for products to buy and directing them to merchant websites or e-commerce platforms for product listings. The tab is currently in working and in a few months, the Shopping tab will be piloted soon, prior to a full-fledged launch before the end of the year. “We are always exploring options to help consumers find the products they want to buy more quickly and efficiently from local merchants,” a Google spokesperson stated. Google has been in talks with e-commerce players such as Flipkart, Paytm Mall and Snapdeal to join together in the company’s shopping tab initiative. Besides large e-commerce websites, Google is also expected to tap into...
Top Ecommerce Companies of India After Flipkart Acquisition
Story

Top Ecommerce Companies of India After Flipkart Acquisition

India's technology industry is bracing itself for the next era of e-commerce warfare, especially after the mega Walmart-Flipkart deal has come into play. While the acquisition has returned a lot of liquidity in the ecosystem, it has also sparked off a maiden opportunity for new entrepreneurs and investors, adding to the wait for the $100 Bn Indian internet giant to go on. So With Flipkart's already gone to American giant Walmart, which companies should be considered next players to make it big within e-commerce landscape? Well, there are some prominent names that have it in them to create "the Flipkart wave" back again. The names in the list have been chosen because these companies are based in India founded by Indian entrepreneurs. Additionally, their majority stakes are also held by...
Snapdeal CEO Jason Kothari Quits, Joins Infibeam as President
News

Snapdeal CEO Jason Kothari Quits, Joins Infibeam as President

Jason Kothari the former chief executive of Snapdeal is joining Ahmedabad-based online e-commerce platform Infibeam as President. In the sudden move, Kothari will now hold company's lead strategy, corporate development, international operations, and investor relations process. According to the press release, the company said, Kothari will help drive infibeam next phase of growth with the leadership team, it added. Jason Kothari said, "I'm very excited and happy to work with Mehta and the team at Infibeam to help accelerate the company's expansion. Earlier, Kothari served as the Chief Strategy and Investment Officer at Snapdeal. Now Snapdeal CFO Vikas Bhasin has taken over the responsibilities of Snapdeal. "Jason joins us with a history of high-impact business and strategic lead...
FreeCharge Co-founder Kunal Shah raises $30 Mn via Sequoia Capital
FUNDING

FreeCharge Co-founder Kunal Shah raises $30 Mn via Sequoia Capital

Kunal Shah, Co-founder of Payment company Freecharge has successfully raised $30 million from a group of investors led by led by venture capital investor Sequoia Capital, as reported by the sources. Kunal is starting a new incubator that would be dedicated to helping startups in consumer space. One of the sources on request of anonymity said, The funding round has been closed and Kunal has raised over $30 Million to start his new venture that will be launched very soon. He has raised funds mostly from foreign investors. Sequoia has also invested in his new venture. Sequoia the leader in the investment round has been associated with Kunal for quite some time. In February 2017, Kunal joined marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital as an advisory role, which came to an end this Ja...
Foxconn Unit Put Downs Another $40 Mn Investment In Snapdeal
BUSINESS

Foxconn Unit Put Downs Another $40 Mn Investment In Snapdeal

While foreign investments have been raining in Indian e-commerce marketplace, Foxconn Technology Group has announced another write off of an additional $40 million of its $200 million in e-commerce company Snapdeal. Earlier in August 2017, FIH Mobile had written in its annual report that its entire $200 million investment in Jasper Infotech ( Snapdeal owner and operator) cannot be recovered. Moreover, Foxconn had registered impairment loss of around $160 Mn for its investment in Jasper Infotech for six months and the loss period ended June 30, 2017. FIH Mobile, The subsidiary of world's largest contractor Foxconn has forecasted that the recoverable amount from its investment in Jasper Infotech is $3 Mn while citing the failed merger between Flipkart and Snapdeal as being one of th...
Infibeam to Acquire Snapdeal’s Unicommerce for Rs 120 Crore
ACQUISITION

Infibeam to Acquire Snapdeal’s Unicommerce for Rs 120 Crore

Infibeam Incorporation Ltd, parent company of the country’s only listed e-commerce will acquire 100% stakes in the tech solutions company of Snapdeal, Unicommerce. Infibeam released a statement stipulating that in reached an agreement with Snapdeal’s parent company, Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd to acquire Unicommerce for the sum of Rs 120 crore. Snapdeal reported a 75% jump in loss for the financial year ended March 2017 and are now selling Unicommerce for 55% less than they acquired it in 2015 for $40 million. Founded by IIT Delhi alumni Ankit Pruthi, Karun Signla and Vibhu Garg in 2012, Unicommerce licensed a product called Uniware that is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application for end-to-end management of order fulfillment. The application specializes in managing vendors, procurem...
Twitter Founder Invests in Delhi based AI Startup
FUNDING

Twitter Founder Invests in Delhi based AI Startup

Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone has invested in his "personal capacity" in a Delhi based health startup that makes use of an artificial intelligence bot in its app, as he wants to contribute to a future where AI is seen as a "positive enhancement of humanity". "Visit", founded in 2016 is an on-demand healthcare service provider that facilitates consultation from a pool of medical specialist and general physicians to its users. The startup has recently introduced an AI-based "chatbot" which acts as a digital assistant to provide "smart help" to patients in accessing doctor's consultation. Indian investors Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl, co-founders of Snapdeal have also invested in their personal capacity in Visit. Vaibhav Singh, Co-founder, and Head at Visit said, This is country's ...
Shopclues Sacked 45-50 Employees
News

Shopclues Sacked 45-50 Employees

It has been announced that Shopclues fired 45-50 employees from different domains. A company spokesperson confirmed the layoffs but pointed out that they were made according to the individuals’ work performance, which according to the firm “has impacted less than 4% of the company’s overall workforce.” "Unfortunate as it might be, the rigors of a merit-based system requires that we keep the bar high on individual performance. As we wrap up the review cycle for FY 2018, this decision has impacted less than 4% of the total workforce," the company spokesperson said. The firm currently employs between 1,150-1,200 individuals. The layoffs come at a time when Shopclues is losing long strides to India’s two biggest e-commerce companies – Flipkart and Amazon. Snapdeal is also changing ...