Saturday, December 28

Flipkart CEO confirms sellers about no change in operating processes

While the world hasn’t got over with mega e-commerce acquisition of leading giants, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy has reached out to sellers on its platform reassuring that there will be no changes in the operating process of Bengaluru based firm post $16 billion acquisition deal with US retail major Walmart.

Krishnamurthy has said that the company will continue to focus on making sellers succeed adopting the “same vigour as in recent years“.

Flipkart and Walmart will maintain distinct brands and operating structures post the investment, the CEO said while reinforcing that Flipkart will continue to remain a marketplace where sellers from around the country can connect with customers.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail mammoth Walmart Inc took the world to storm after it officially announced the acquisition of 77 percent stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion in its biggest deal till date.

While communicating with sellers last evening, Krishnamurthy said,

We will keep making deep investments in technology, innovation, supply chain and business processes to grow the e-commerce market even more in the coming years, with the aim to increase the number of people shopping online, and the average spends.

Stating that the company wanted its sellers to “thrive”, he said the firm will continue to extend all support to ensure the same.

Some sellers believe that the process could improve for Flipkart as assured by Krishnamurthy’s communication as Flipkart is about to begin for the summer sale along with its rival Amazon slated May 13-16, which is often touted as a mini version of their annual discounting sale.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), which comprises of about 3,500 sellers on large platforms like Flipkart and Amazon has said that it will closely monitor on how Walmart is increasing its control over Flipkart marketplace.

The seller community had previously complained that they were kept refrained from the loop from protracted talks that were going on between Walmart and Flipkart for many months before the deal got sealed.