Flipkart acquires mobile and repair services company F1 Info Solutions
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Sep 26, 2017, 04.40 PM IST
BENGALURU: Homegrown online retailer Flipkart has acquired mobiles and IT repair services company F1 Info Solutions, said the company on Tuesday. F1 Info Solutions, which has a pan-India presence of owned and franchised centres, will be a part of Jeeves, Flipkart’s company that is a third party service provider for large and small appliances, furniture.
This acquisition will help Jeeves significantly expand Flipkart’s offerings to entire lifecycle of mobile phones, IT products, and consumer electronics, from sales to after sales to repair services.
ET had recently reported that Flipkart is going to use the eBay India platform to sell second-hand and refurbished products including smartphones. This acquisition ties-in with their strategy of collecting second-hand products through the company’s buyback guarantee and exchange offers and repair them in order to make it re-sellable.
The acquisition also adds complementary capabilities to Jeeves’ existing expertise in large appliances and furnitures, along with a huge network of service centres -- with a facility for Flipkart customers to walk into an F1 Info Solutions store to get their devices repaired, added the company.
“We want to give our customers a comprehensive service ecosystem that takes care of the repair and service needs of all their products,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart. “With Jeeves and F1 Info Solutions now, we’re closer to that goal.”
Established in 2012, F1 Info Solutions is a neutral service provider with a distributed repair service network of around 158 centers in 135 cities. Shammi Moza, the company’s cofounder and chief executive will be join Flipkart as a senior director as part of the deal, and will continue to hold responsibility for the business. He will report to Abhijit Upadhye, head of Jeeves.
Focussed on comprehensive repair and service of mobiles, IT products, consumer electronics, AV devices and smart classroom technology, F1 Info Solutions has close to 1000 employees, including technicians, and handles more than 50,000 service calls every month across the country. It is also a service partner of several global mobile and IT brands such as Apple, Samsung, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Asus, among others.
This acquisition will help Jeeves significantly expand Flipkart’s offerings to entire lifecycle of mobile phones, IT products, and consumer electronics, from sales to after sales to repair services.
ET had recently reported that Flipkart is going to use the eBay India platform to sell second-hand and refurbished products including smartphones. This acquisition ties-in with their strategy of collecting second-hand products through the company’s buyback guarantee and exchange offers and repair them in order to make it re-sellable.
The acquisition also adds complementary capabilities to Jeeves’ existing expertise in large appliances and furnitures, along with a huge network of service centres -- with a facility for Flipkart customers to walk into an F1 Info Solutions store to get their devices repaired, added the company.
“We want to give our customers a comprehensive service ecosystem that takes care of the repair and service needs of all their products,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart. “With Jeeves and F1 Info Solutions now, we’re closer to that goal.”
Established in 2012, F1 Info Solutions is a neutral service provider with a distributed repair service network of around 158 centers in 135 cities. Shammi Moza, the company’s cofounder and chief executive will be join Flipkart as a senior director as part of the deal, and will continue to hold responsibility for the business. He will report to Abhijit Upadhye, head of Jeeves.
Focussed on comprehensive repair and service of mobiles, IT products, consumer electronics, AV devices and smart classroom technology, F1 Info Solutions has close to 1000 employees, including technicians, and handles more than 50,000 service calls every month across the country. It is also a service partner of several global mobile and IT brands such as Apple, Samsung, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Asus, among others.
