Flipkart Singapore pumps Rs 2,190 crore into India wholesale unit: Report

Singapore-based Flipkart has pumped in Rs 2,190 crore into its Indian wholesale arm to up its game against rivals, The Hindu Business Line reported.

The move will help Flipkart India to integrate large-scale technology across sourcing, merchandising, supply chain, logistics and hire special talent to drive the business forward. The capital will also help the Bengaluru-based firm to enhance in-store integration with kirana stores across the country to enable hyper-local grocery deliveries, the report said.

The capital infused on December 4 by the Walmart-controlled entity is reportedly the first big infusion after it acquired a 77 percent stake in Flipkart for $16 billion.

"This is just the first of many such tranches that Walmart will infuse into Flipkart to run operations more efficiently as much of the $16 billion that it paid for acquiring majority stake in Flipkart would have gone into buying stakes of other stakeholders," founder of India’s first e-commerce company, K Vaitheeswaran, told the paper.

The move will also help Flipkart step-up its game against Amazon. At present, 80 percent of India's e-commerce market, which is estimated at more than $4 billion, is controlled by Flipkart-Myntra and Amazon India, according to analysts.

In March, the Singapore-based parent had invested Rs 4,472 crore in the wholesale arm.

Supplying through a wholesale arm gives e-commerce companies more control over the quality and supply chain, especially for de-risking key categories, industry experts told The Economic Times.

The capital will also help Flipkart focus on enhancing its B2B platform to supply to more sellers on its platform, especially given the change in guidelines restricting sales from a single seller to 25 percent of total sales.