Friday, April 26

Tag: e-commerce

Snapdeal Will Roll Out 15% Pay Hike of Employees Amid Sell-off
News

Snapdeal Will Roll Out 15% Pay Hike of Employees Amid Sell-off

E-commerce major Snapdeal will shell out an average pay hike of 12-15 percent as it looks to assure employees amid the online marketplace scouting for a potential buyer. According to sources, the pay revision will be effective from April 1 and will see salaries of employees at the mid and junior-level go up by an average 12-15 percent. For senior management, the hike will be 9-12 percent, but the company may offer 20-25 percent raise to exceptional performers, they added. The cash-strapped company is also believed to be distributing nearly 1 percent of its stock to about 150 employees. Earlier this year, the company's founders had admitted to have made mistakes and said they would take a "100 percent cut" in their own salaries. The decision to give such a good pay hike has b...
News

Flipkart to Grow With Careful Considerations to Costs: Binny Bansal

Flipkart Co-founder Binny Bansal said while the latest funding round provides the fuel the company needs to reach its goal of transforming commerce in India through technology, it should continue to grow its business with careful considerations to costs. "I must stress that we still have some distance to go before fulfilling our mission - to transform commerce in India through technology. And, while this funding round provides the fuel we need need to reach that goal, we have to continue growing our business with careful considerations to costs," he said in a mail shot-off to his employees after raising USD 1.4 billion from Tencent Holdings, Microsoft Corp and eBay Inc. "I look forward to your continued support," he added. The announcement comes in the wake of Flipkart, India's la...
Flipkart Acquired Ebay India, Also Received $500 Million Cash Investment From Ebay
ACQUISITION

Flipkart Acquired Ebay India, Also Received $500 Million Cash Investment From Ebay

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), a global commerce leader, and Flipkart, a leading eCommerce company in India, have agreed to jointly pursue eCommerce opportunities in the Indian market. In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay will make a $500 million cash investment in and sell its eBay.in business to Flipkart. Flipkart will own and operate the eBay.in business upon the close of the transaction. eBay and Flipkart have also entered into an exclusive agreement in which they will jointly pursue cross-border trade opportunities to make eBay's global inventory accessible to more India consumers, while eBay's millions of active buyers globally will have access to more unique Indian inventory provided by Flipkart. "The combination of eBay's position as a leading global eCommerce company...
Flipkart to Re-Enter Grocery Segment: Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Entrepreneurs Talk

Flipkart to Re-Enter Grocery Segment: Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy

Locked in an intense battle with Amazon, homegrown e-commerce major Flipkart is looking at re-entering the grocery segment that accounts for a significant portion of Indias retail industry. "Yes we will get into grocery... 80 per cent of units bought in India is grocery... USD 400-600 million is grocery market, so we have to get into it," Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said at a TiE event here. This will be the second attempt into the grocery segment for the Bengaluru-based firm. In October 2015, Flipkart had launched a separate groceries ordering app called Nearby for delivering fruits, vegetables, soaps and other staples from supermarkets to customers. However, following a weak response, Flipkart closed the business a few months later. Flipkarts rival Amazon India has launched it...
Paytm Mall Surpasses Rs 100 Crore Sales in Two Wheeler Category
News

Paytm Mall Surpasses Rs 100 Crore Sales in Two Wheeler Category

Paytm today said its e-commerce platform, Paytm Mall, has crossed sales of Rs 100 crore from the two-wheeler category. "Paytm Mall has noted a massive surge in two-wheeler sales over the last year as sales figures crossed Rs 100 crore. The company is currently witnessing over 3X quarter-on-quarter growth in the number of vehicles sold," Paytm said in a statement. Launched in February 2016, Paytm Mall's two-wheeler booking platform includes offerings from brands like Suzuki, Honda, Hero and Yamaha, among others. The company sold 50,000 units in 2016. The aim is to sell over half a million two-wheelers this year, the statement said. "Our goal is to partner with offline stores by helping them grow their business online rather than to cannibalise their sales. We aim to bring brand ...
Under Pressure, India’s Snapdeal Woos Staff With Promises of Profit
News

Under Pressure, India’s Snapdeal Woos Staff With Promises of Profit

Seeking to calm employees rattled by reports of a cash crunch, the founders of Indian online retailer Snapdeal have gone directly to them with a string of townhall meetings in past weeks, according to sources, promising profit and brushing off takeover talk. The sources, familiar with the group, declined to be named as the meetings were not public. Like most e-commerce players in India, Snapdeal is burning cash to sustain discounts - and keep customers - in a cut-throat online market. But as the number three player, it also is under growing pressure from investors and its own employees to consider its bottom line, as well as market share. One of the sources said there had been at least five townhalls in recent weeks, with founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal delivering motivationa...
Despite E-comm Rise, Offline Stores Generating 91% Sale: Study
ANALYSIS

Despite E-comm Rise, Offline Stores Generating 91% Sale: Study

Despite rise in e-commerce business, brick and mortar stores still generate 91 per cent sales globally, a study has claimed. "Despite the rise of e-commerce, the physical stores still draw a significant shopping crowd. In fact, 91 per cent of all retail sales are still being generated in brick-and-mortar stores," the study released by Zebra Technology said today. Zebra Technology interviewed nearly 1,700 retail decision-makers across various retail segments, including speciality stores, department stores, apparel merchants, supermarkets, electronics, home improvement and drugstore chains, globally in 2016. "Around 28 per cent of the sample size were taken from Asia Pacific. Findings at Asia Pacific level are reflective of trends in India," Zebra Regional Sales Director for India a...
Indias Leading Ecommerce Company Saves Rs 3 Crore Per Month Using Anti-Fraud Policy
News

Indias Leading Ecommerce Company Saves Rs 3 Crore Per Month Using Anti-Fraud Policy

E-commerce firm Snapdeal today said various anti-fraud measures taken by it have resulted in savings of Rs 3 crore per month for the online platform. "From checks on bogus or fake sellers to identifying fake user accounts, to deploying sophisticated algorithms that identify any suspicious trends, Snapdeal has consistently been working on enhancing security and transparency across the entire ecosystem. "The initiatives have resulted in the company saving close to Rs 3 crore per month," Snapdeal said in a statement today. Snapdeal said that range of initiatives launched at curbing fraudulent online transactions using analytics are accruing massive cost savings for the company. "For instance, based on purchase patterns and past behaviours, the system can identify whether a seller ...
Jana to Launch Internet Browser With Free Data Service in India
News

Jana to Launch Internet Browser With Free Data Service in India

Mobile advertising company Jana will launch tomorrow an internet browser for Android users that will enable consumers to surf the web by offsetting mobile data costs. The company plans to invest over USD 90 million in India and other emerging markets to strengthen its customer base. "We have raised nearly USD 92 million which we will be putting into both in India and other emerging markets, but India is our largest market," Jana co-founder and CEO Nathan Eagle told Pixr8 here. A user of the browser, mCent, would initially get a data refund of up to 10 MB per day and 70 MB per week and will also be provided with unrestricted internet access to online content. mCent, which will compete with the likes of UC browser and Opera mini, is an ad-sponsored model through which advertisers wo...
Alibaba, SAIF Partners to Invest $200 Million in Paytm E-commerce Platform
FUNDING

Alibaba, SAIF Partners to Invest $200 Million in Paytm E-commerce Platform

Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba, along with investment firm SAIF Partners, will pump in USD 200 million in Paytm's online marketplace unit. Alibaba Singapore E-Commerce Pvt Ltd will invest USD 177 million in Paytm E-Commerce Pvt Ltd, the demerged unit of digital payments company, One 97 Communications that operates under Paytm brand. The remaining amount will come from SAIF, an early investor in One 97, according to a filing with the Registrar of Companies. Post the investment, Alibaba Singapore E-Commerce will have a shareholding of 36.31 percent, while SAIF Partners India will own 4.66 percent in Paytm E-Commerce. Paytm declined to comment on the matter. This deal is expected to pave the way for the much-awaited entry of Alibaba into India, where the Chinese firm will go head-to-h...
Couponhaat Receives Pre-Series A Funding From a Private European Investor
FUNDING

Couponhaat Receives Pre-Series A Funding From a Private European Investor

New Delhi, February 28, 2016: Couponhaat, a Delhi based start-up and India's leading e-commerce company which provides best coupons and deals for online shoppers receives funding from a private European Investor. The undisclosed amount of funding is Couponhaat’s first Pre-Series A funding. Axel Wawrina, an investor based out of Europe has invested in the company. The fund-raising drive is in sync with its expansion plans and increasing the team size with an aim to achieve more milestones. Since the time of its very inception in the month of April 2015, Couponhaat has managed to cater to the growing demands of its huge consumer-base for best discounted coupons and deals by being self-funded so far. Couponhaat has raised its graph tremendously and attracted over 1 million hits on the websi...
2017 to Be a Better Year For Indian Startups: Qualcomm Ventures
News

2017 to Be a Better Year For Indian Startups: Qualcomm Ventures

Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment arm of US-based chip maker Qualcomm Inc which has a USD 150 million India-focused fund, expects 2017 to be a better year for the startup ecosystem, especially early stage companies. "2016 was the hardest year, and that is behind us. 2017 will be a better year. There was a crunch in investment dollars, especially Series C and Series D investments," Varsha Tagare, senior director, Qualcomm Ventures India told Pixr8. "Funding in early stage is not gone down, but there is more selective funding. What is needed is more well-defined companies after the early stage," she said. The USD 150 million fund will be our only funding vehicle for the venture firm, she said. She pointed out that the ecosystem in India is quite mature, as there are several ...